FALLING TO PIECES by Vannetta Chapman

BLURB:  NOT YOUR USUAL BUGGY RIDE!
Deborah Yoder needs to sell her quilts.  Callie Harper has reluctantly inherited her aunt's quilting store.  Deborah is Amish, tall and hearty, the mother of five.  Callie is English, petite, young and single. They form an unlikely partnership. Deborah reveals her plan to auction her quilts...online...in a town where few residents ever have electricity.

In the tiny community of Shipshewana, what could be more implausable?

A murder.

And when circimstances and a relentless detective point to a surprising prime suspect, Deborah and Callie set aside their differences aside and work together in an attempt to solve the mystery and catch a killer.

In FALLING TO PIECES the first in a three book series, author Vannetta Chapman blends the best components of Amish fiction with a great who-done-it twist.  You'll be glad she did.  Two women, an auction, a dead body and one friendship Quilt. Shipshewana will never be the same.

EXCERPT: Daisy stood in the middle of her garden admiring the chaos of flowers. May rains and warmer days had brought a burst of color.  Brilliant orange flowers dolted with butterflies spread across the ground, white false indigo had grown waist high and the purplish pink blossoms of Joe- pue- weed fought for their place in the sun.  Unfortunately grass and common weeds had also shot up with extra zeal   Her garden looked almost like a thing abandoned.    She glanced back toward the quilt shop.  Paperwork waited for her there.  The garden beckoned her here.  And where was Max?  As if he could read her thought, the sixty pound yellow Labrador bounded past her, practically knocking her on her keister.......

Most folk stuck to the main street and Daisy was curious, Peeking through the evergreens, she glimpsed a man rounding the corner of the deserted alley.  She didn't recognize the editor of their small town newspaper at first....

REVIEW:  In this first book of a 3 book series, author Vannetta Chapman brings a somewhat fresh spin to the ever popular Amish fiction genre.  She takes components people love in Amish books, faith that will leave the reader wondering right till the last stitch in the quilt.  When two women, both very different, one English, one Amish- each with very different reasons,  join together to have a online quilt auction.  Neither one expects or wants a friendship. Deborah and Calle are  uneasy, but just want to make the best of a temporary situation.  But a murder, a prime suspect, a my way or no way detective, and the reaction of the town throw the two women together and they form an unlikely  pair to solve a mystery and nab a killer.

Set in the well known Shipshewana, FALLING TO PIECES will attract fans of the rapidly growing genre of Amish fiction. Can you relate to either of these characters.? Maybe the contrast between Deborah and Callie.? Deborah dressed, working on something she likes to do while Callie is under the covers, no food and no plans.  I feel the garden of has real and casual friends.  Well, real friends are those that stick by you no matter what .  Casual friends you might go out to a movie with or have a cup of coffee with.  The book was well written and flowed very well.  I loved the fact that you never knew what would happen next.   The author was very descriptive of the characters and the surroundings.  The comparisons of the people were like night and day.  I loved that, no one was similar to anyone else.  I think of an Amish community of being void of violence, but they have their problems too, such as this murder that took place.  Really makes you wonder who the killer is.  Is it someone from the town or an outsider?   I didn't like the fact that Esther went to this garden to ease her pain.  We all have pain from one thing or another but there always isn't an outlet.  So I can see where the garden would be a quiet, comforting place to let some of that hurt and pain go into the ground.  Read this, It's quite a book.  I'd give it 4 stars.

This complimentary print book FALLING TO PIECES was given to my by Night Owl Reviews on behalf of Vannetta Chapman for this unbiased review.