A Churn for the Worse (An Amish Mystery #5) by Laura Bradford

Every once in a while I find a series and an author that stands out and demands special attention. Laura Bradford writes with such skill and beautiful storytelling that I have to mention that first. This is what a good story looks like!  A Churn for the Worse (An Amish Mystery #5) by Laura Bradford, is my favorite mystery so far this year and you all know how many I have read so far.

From the back of the book:

The national bestselling author of Suspendered Sentence returns to Heavenly, Pennsylvania, where shop owner Claire Weatherby and Detective Jakob Fisher must put on their thinking kapps to solve a string of robberies and a murder in the Amish community...

When an Amish farmer is found dead in his barn, his family accepts his death as God’s will. But Detective Jakob Fisher knows the farmer didn’t hit himself in the head with the shovel lying beside his body. And when it comes to light that a stranger appeared at the farmer’s home and now money is missing from their milk can, Fisher suspects robbery as the motive—especially when another Amish family is victimized.

Getting to the truth proves difficult, however, since Fisher has two strikes against him in the eyes of the Amish—his chosen career, and the Amish roots he left behind. Desperate to stop a murderous thief, Fisher turns to Heavenly Treasures shop owner Claire Weatherly for help. The trust she’s earned from the Amish community enables her to go where the detective cannot—straight into the path of a killer.

My thoughts:

When I find a story to rave about you know why. Characters. The characters in this story are so deep and dimensional that I couldn't help but feel something for them all. Claire and Jakob are probably the most adorable couple I have seen in a cozy. I genuinely felt the connection they had for each other.

The setting was a so real and charming. I have never been to an Amish area but after reading this book I felt like I had. You get a real sense of the people and lifestyle. The mystery was a good one, I liked how it had more than a few moving parts. It was a hard one to figure out and I did not. That of course could be because I was so lost in the world that I wasn't puzzling the clues too intensely. 

This was a one sitting read for me. I highly recommend it. I can't wait to get my hands on more by Laura Bradford.

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