Lemon Drop Dead - (Amish Candy Shop Mystery) by Amanda Flower (Paperback)

Bailey King, the owner of Swissmen Sweets, wants to do something special for her hard worker, Emily Keim, by giving her a baby shower. Amish tradition does not consider this, and most of those people have never been to one. All are anxious to attend and see what it is like. Emily is excited as half of the town will meet at the town gazebo, which is decorated with lemon-themed decor that everyone loves. Emily asks Bailey a favor: Could she please invite her sister Esther? Although she knows she probably won't come, she has a store, Esh Family Pretzels, which is located right next to the store. A secretive woman approaches Emily, claiming to reveal what happened to Emily's first baby. When Esther finds a dead body that evening after the shower, everyone naturally assumes that she killed Rosemary. What we learn is that Rosemary had adopted Emily's daughter Hannah at birth and had never been in contact.  She suddenly wanted her to meet her real birth mother, and now things are going wild. Bailey, along with her boyfriend, who works for the Police, wants to solve this mystery, but more and more suspects seem to be connected and possibly kill Rosemary. Bailey is determined to help solve the mystery and is shocked when Emily asks if he can adopt her daughter. Very interesting and a great quick read.

Lemon Drop Dead by Amanda Flower is the 6th An Amish Candy Shop Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series, but you will be missing out on a delightful series of books. I found Lemon Drop Dead to be well-written with steady pacing and charming characters. I enjoy visiting Harvest, Ohio where there are Amish and Englisch residents. There is a great cast of characters that includes Bailey King, Clara King, Charlotte King, Aiden Brody, Juliet Brook, Margot Rawlings, Emily Keim, and let us not forget, Jethro. Jethro is a show stealer along with Bailey’s cat, Nutmeg and rabbit, Puff. Bailey is friendly, talented, and helpful. She is actually a little too obliging as she finds herself babysitting Jethro more and more often as Juliet performs her duties as a pastor’s wife. There is a sweet scene with Jethro, Puff, and Nutmeg that I just loved. I like that we get to know more about Emily is this story as well as what happened to her little girl. The whodunit was enjoyable. I had to laugh at the 9-1-1 operator’s response when Bailey called in the dead body. I enjoyed following Bailey as she interviewed people and collected clues. This mystery was more complex that others in the series which I loved. It is nicely wrapped up at the end of the book. I enjoyed the addition of Hannah (such a sweetie) and look forward to seeing more of her in future tales. Jethro, as always, added plenty of humor to the story. He is one cute and amusing pig. I was dismayed at Aiden’s news. It certainly puts a crink in Aiden and Bailey’s relationship. I was glad that Millie and Lois from An Amish Matchmaker Mystery series made an appearance in Lemon Drop Dead. They are a part of Harvest too. Fans of the series will be happy to know that Charlotte is ready to make a decision about her future (you will have to read the book to find out the answer). I am eager for the next tale in An Amish Candy Shop Mystery series. Lemon Drop Dead is an engaging cozy mystery with swine sitting, a child conundrum, a mystifying Amish woman, creamy chocolate, a baby shower bash, a sour sister, and relationship tribulations.