Book 1

Murder Simply Brewed

by Vannetta Chapman

Published 25 March 2014

When the coffee shop manager is murdered in Middlebury's Amish Artisan Village, two women from different walks of life must join together to solve the mystery.

Spring has arrived in Middlebury, Indiana, and Amber Wright is optimistic about the growing profit from her collection of Amish shops-until she receives a call that Ethan Gray is dead. Hurrying over to A Simple Blend, she finds a solitary hole in the front window and the store manager lying next to the espresso machine, dead from an apparent heart attack. All the money is still in his register.

When Amber hires a young Amish woman, Hannah Troyer, to take over the shop's duties, the two women become fast friends-as well as amateur sleuths. The police believe Gray's death is a by-product of vandalism, but Amber and Hannah aren't convinced.

Clues that don't add up, a neighbor who is pulled into the midst of the investigation, a town with secrets to hide, and a blossoming romance-all will combine to push Amber and Hannah into unfamiliar roles in order to reveal answers to the mysteries around them.

"Chapman's latest is a mix of mystery and romance with vivid characters, a realistic setting and themes of loss, trust and love." - Romantic Times, four-star review


Book 1


Book 2

Murder Tightly Knit

by Vannetta Chapman

Published 16 December 2014

Something is amiss at The Cat’s Meow yarn shop. 

Even before she heard of Owen Esch’s death, Hannah Troyer knew something wasn’t right. The yarn store has been closing at odd times, the ever-dependable Mary isn’t always at her post . . . and an Englisch man has been loitering around back.

Now, as leaves of brown, gold, and orange blanket Middlebury, Indiana, Owen lies dead on the Pumpkinvine Trail. The only clues to the murderer’s identity point in two very different directions—one of them leading right to The Cat’s Meow.

The police call in a federal investigator, but Hannah and village manager Amber Bowman are in no mood to wait for them to figure out what they already know—that no one from the Amish Village killed Owen Esch. In a town where Amish and Englisch mingle daily, mutual suspicions build.

Amber and Hannah need to work quickly to solve the murder mystery and bring harmony back to the Amish community. 

  • Sweet and cozy Amish mystery
  • Part of the Amish Village Mystery Series. Book 1: Murder Simply Brewed; Book 2: Murder Tightly Knit; Book 3: Murder Freshly Baked
  • Book length: 85,000 words
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs

 


Book 3

Murder Freshly Baked

by Vannetta Chapman

Published 9 June 2015

When delicious baked goods become lethal, a trail of poetry leads to a sweet-toothed killer.

Don't taste it / Don't share it /Just throw it away / If you try my bakery pie / You won't live to see another day.

The Amish Artisan Village of Middlebury, Indiana, might be the last place you would ever expect to find a murderer. But Amber has been managing the Village for decades and there's nothing she hasn't seen. Or so she thought.

When poetic notes begin appearing around the bakery, warning that some of the pies have been poisoned, Amber is as confused as she is concerned. Who poisons pies? And more to the point, who leaves poems of warning after they've done it? When Amber decides to help the police track down the sweet-toothed saboteur, she enlists Hannah Troyer for another round of Amish-style detective work.

Can Amber and Hannah help the police before the Poison Poet strikes? Both women will need to draw on their faith to preserve the peaceful community they've built in Middlebury . . . and to protect the girls who work in the Amish Artisan Village.