Dating Can Be Deadly
An Amish Matchmaker Mystery #5
by Amanda Flower
In Dating Can Be Deadly, childhood friends Milly Fisher and Lois Henry are pulled into another murder mystery when a quilting contest turns deadly.
Dating Can Be Deadly Summary
Readers are back in Harvest, Ohio, this time for the county fair. Millie Fisher is, for the first time, entering a quilt into the quilting contest. Lois Henry, Millie’s lifelong best friend, is there to meet a man (potentially husband #5) she connected with on a dating app. But when the head judge for the competition is murdered, Millie and Lois make finding the murderer their top priority.
Thoughts on Dating Can Be Deadly
I love the pairing of Millie Fisher, a widowed Old Order Amish woman and Amish matchmaker, and Lois Henry, an over-the-top Englisher. The contrast between Millie, with her quiet demeanor, demure prayer cap, Amish dresses in dark colors, and Lois, with her spikey purple-red hair, bright colored patterned clothing, chunky costume jewelry, heavy use of eye shadow, and a bag Mary Poppins would envy for the amount of items it contains is one of the best things about the novel. Even though they are as different as night and day, their lifelong friendship is strong. They model what true friendship looks like-accepting of each other, even though they may not understand each other (esp. Millie when it comes to Lois’ English ways) or agree 100% of the time.
The small village atmosphere encompasses both English and Amish communities, and the friction as well as the friendships are well-written into the novel. While the Amish way of life is a strong part of the series, it isn’t a whitewashed way of life. Flower’s characters reflect both the good and bad of members in both cultures.
Characters from Flower’s Amish Candy Shop Mystery series also make appearances. It’s fun to see which ones make cameo appearances.
The plot is also strong. Flower excels at planting red herrings and plot twists, and I found myself going back and forth between several viable suspects. This one kept me guessing until the final reveal.
There are four other books in this series, and while you can read this as a standalone, I would recommend reading the other books in the series first. You can read a sample from Dating Can Be Deadly here. If buying the book is too much of a commitment, then check out a copy from your local library. However you obtain your books, get a copy and read Dating Can Be Deadly.
Publishing Information
Published by: Kensington
Imprint: Kensington Cozies
336 Pages, 4.11 x 6.79 x 0.86 in
ISBN: 9781496737489
ON SALE: 10/24/2023
FICTION / MYSTERY & DETECTIVE / AMATEUR SLEUTH
Thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonCozies for providing an electronic copy for review. Thanks to the author for providing
a hard copy for review. All opinions are my own.