Amanda Flower is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of over thirty-five mystery novels. Her novels have received starred reviews from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Romantic Times, and she had been featured in USA Today, First for Women, and Woman’s World. She currently writes for Penguin-Random House (Berkley), Kensington, Hallmark Publishing, Crooked Lane Books, and Sourcebooks. In addition to being a writer, she was a librarian for fifteen years. Today, Flower and her husband own a farm and recording studio, and they live in Northeast Ohio with their two adorable cats.
Q: What inspired the idea for the story?
Amanda: I knew the book would be set at Christmas time. One of the local libraries around here does a life-size Candyland game. Children loved to play it with their moms and dads. I made it for a whole village, while the real game is inside a building. I also want to put in gingerbread even though I do not like the taste, just the smell. Plus, I wanted to tie the plot to the new candy factory opening.
Q: How do you come up with the humor, like Jethro the pig’s mischievous deeds in the opening of the book?
Amanda: He is a rascal, especially in this book when he gets taffy all over him. Bailey has to pig-sit all the time. I also like to come up with sayings like ‘pigs in a blanket,’ after tucking him into Bailey’s parka. I tried to put in the humor to make the plot lighter and uplifting.
Q: Do you feel these plots go beyond just murder mysteries?
Amanda: Yes. It is about these characters’ lives and how the community all supports each other. Even the grumpy character, Ruth Yoder.
Q: How would you describe Lida?
Amanda: Nervous, has anxiety, indecisive, sweet, caring, kind, and dedicated.
Q: In the story, the Amish get robbed. Can you explain that aspect?
Amanda: Amish are of the belief that they trust in G-d who will protect them and their businesses. Some Amish businesses do not have electricity so they could not have security cameras. Plus, since they do not have Internet, they could not look on their phones if there is trouble.
Q: How would you describe Zeph, the victim?
Amanda: A troublemaker, unreliable, easily distracted, and a free spirit. He was probably going to leave the Amish. He had one foot in the Amish and English worlds. This happens to Amish young people.
Q: What can you share about Bailey’s parents?
Amanda: They created stress for her. The dad was former Amish, and he felt uncomfortable because he was not a rule follower and never embraced his Amish roots. Now in coming back, he is reminded of all the reasons he wanted to leave. The mom was very opinionated and wants the wedding plans made already. Bailey and Aiden waited so long to get engaged. Now that they are engaged, everyone wants them to get married yesterday.
Q: Can you tell us about your upcoming books?
Amanda: Lida will appear in other books. There will be book 10 of the “Amish Candy Shop Mysteries series,” but I am in negotiations to continue the series after that. Book 10 will be Aiden and Bailey’s wedding.
In February, it is the third and final Emily Dickinson mystery. It is titled I Died for Beauty. It will have the great freeze in New England in 1857. Emily and Willa, her maid, are solving a murder involving a house fire.
The second Katharine Wright mystery comes out in May. It is titled Not They Who Soared. In 1904, Katharine went to the St. Louis World’s Fair and a murder was committed there.
The next Millie Matchmaker book is titled Newlyweds Can Be Knocked Off. It is coming out in November next year. Millie and her friend Lois travel to Pinecraft, Florida, going on a girl’s trip to the Amish community there. They find a dead body on the beach. Jethro is in this book.
Gingerbread Danger by Amanda Flower does not disappoint with the loveable and quirky characters that are colorful and fun to read.
Bailey King is on top of the world. She has recently opened Swissmen Candyworks Factory as a counterpart to Swissmen Sweets, the candy store she helps her Amish grandmother run. She’s happily engaged to county sheriff Aiden Brody. And she’s the go-to sitter for her future mother-in-law’s pet pig, Jethro.
This Christmas season, local community organizer Margot Rawlings has decided to construct a huge Candy Land game on the village square that includes Bailey’s recently perfected recipe for gingerbread men. She asks one of Bailey’s Amish workers to put up a Candy Land piece on the roof of the factory. Unfortunately, Zeph, falls off the roof and dies. Aiden is promptly on the case and realizes that Zeph’s death was no accident, but a murder. Together, he and Bailey soon learn that the victim was working for some powerful men in the county, and in doing so was spying on his own Amish community. They work together to identify the killer. They are also trying to figure out who is responsible for breaking into Amish businesses and whether it’s related to the killing. Lida, his sister, is heartbroken when her father refuses to let her continue working for Bailey, because she wants to help solve Zeph’s murder and the family wants nothing to do with him.
This is a great holiday read because it blends suspense with some Christmas cheer.
