Falling to pieces : Shipshewana Amish mystery #1 / Vannetta Chapman.

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Title:

Falling to pieces : Shipshewana Amish mystery #1 / Vannetta Chapman.

Author:

Chapman, Vannetta

ISBN:

9780310330431

Publication Information:

Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan, 2011.

Physical Description:

332 p. ; 22 cm.

Series:

Shipshewana Amish Mystery #1

Abstract:

Coming together to organize an on-line quilt auction, two women--one Amish, one English--find their alliance moving beyond the short-term business venture after the town's newspaper editor is murdered and an unexpected prime suspect is identified.

Subject Term:

Amish women -- Fiction.

Female friendship -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Shipshewana (Ind.) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery stories.

Christian fiction.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Inspirational Fiction Book Paperback	120791002491948	F CHA	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

In this first book of a three-book series, author Vannetta Chapman brings a fresh twist to the popular Amish fiction genre. She blends the familiar components consumers love in Amish books--faith, community, simplicity, family--with an innovative who-done-it plot that keeps readers guessing right up to the last stitch in the quilt.When two women--one Amish, one English--each with different motives, join forces to organize a successful on-line quilt auction, neither expects nor wants a friendship. As different as night and day, Deborah and Callie are uneasy partners who simply want to make the best of a temporary situation. But a murder, a surprising prime suspect, a stubborn detective, and the town's reaction throw the two women together, and they form an unlikely alliance to solve a mystery and catch a killer.Set in the well-known Amish community of Shipshewana, Falling to Pieces will attract both devoted fans of the rapidly-growing Amish fiction genre, as well as those who are captivated by the Amish way of life.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

A quilting shop is the setting for this mystery with an Amish woman as amateur detective. Deborah Yoder solves a series of crimes that have embroiled her non-Amish friend, Callie. Unfortunately, Chapman (A Simple Amish Christmas) strains credulity with plot and characters: the villains lack subtlety; a county coroner has usurped the duties of police and district attorney; journalists blithely engage in behavior that would get real ones fired, sued, or boycotted. Although this novel is published by an evangelical Christian publisher, law-abiding characters cheerfully engage in unethical practices, such as a cop seeking to date a murder suspect. Yoder is generally well drawn, but there's a moral disconnect when she devises a plan to have a newspaper print lies in order to catch the bad guy. Lying is a far more serious offense for the Amish than the novel's chosen problem of doing business over the Internet. The Amish also don't use weapons to attack others, even if the weapons are quilting implements. This is the first book of a planned trilogy that could be vastly improved with better research. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Callie Harper goes to Shipshewana, Indiana, a town of 600, to settle her deceased aunt Daisy's affairs, never intending to stick around. She soon forms an unlikely friendship with a local Amish woman, Deborah Yoder. Callie reopens Daisy's Quilt Shop to help Deborah sell quilts, but soon Deborah must help Callie, who finds herself the suspect of a murder investigation. The editor of the local newspaper is dead, and Callie was the last one to call him. Several break-ins occur after the murder, and Callie and Deborah work together to find the killer before others get hurt. In her second book, Chapman offers a smattering of Pennsylvania Dutch to establish Shipshewana's proximity to the Amish community, but the heart of the book rests firmly in the Englisch world. And while the mystery becomes central to the plot, it doesn't occur until 100 pages in. Readers looking for an Amish thriller may be disappointed, but those unconcerned with genre will likely enjoy it.--Richard, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist