Premeditated Peppermint: An Amish Candy Shop Mystery by Amanda Flower

Image provided by Kensington Books.

I was so excited when Premeditated Peppermint arrived in the mail.  It was sent to me as an advanced copy (without a promise of a review) because I had reviewed a previous book in the Amish Candy Shop mystery series.  Eager to know what was going to happen next to Bailey, it didn’t take me even twenty-four hours to read the book once I had started it.  Yet, despite my enjoyment of the story, I waited to post about it.  I wanted to be sure others were able to buy the book or get it from the library before I said a word.

                It’s time for the Christmas Market in the Amish community of Harvest, Ohio.  Chocolatier Bailey King is busy making peppermint treats in her grandmother’s Amish candy shop when the last person she ever expects walks through the door.  That person is her ex-boyfriend, celebrity chef, Eric Sharp.  Not one for the quiet of a place like Harvest, Ohio, Eric claims he is in town to see Bailey.  But, as there usually is with Eric, there is an ulterior motive to his visit.

                Technically, yes, Eric has come to Ohio from New York to see Bailey, but it’s all for his TV show.  He and his producers have decided to create an Amish Christmas Special.  The plan is to explore an Amish town and film in an Amish shop.  A shop just like Swissmen Sweets, the shop of Bailey’s family.  Oh, and there’s one more catch.  The producers want Bailey to rekindle her romance with Eric, on camera.      

                While Bailey can see the benefits of the shop being on Eric’s show, she absolutely refuses to have any part in the romance rekindling.  Now that she has been apart from Eric for a while, Bailey can see Eric for who he truly is, and that is not someone she wants to be with.  Which is exactly what Bailey wants to talk to executive producer Rocky Rivers about.  Before she can, though, Bailey finds Eric standing over Rocky’s body in the town square’s gazebo.

                Eric claims he’s innocent, and despite her initial reluctance, Bailey believes him.  She agrees to help Eric clear his name, which means questioning all those involved in the show’s production.  This is a task more jarring than one would first think because no one seems truly upset by Rocky’s murder.  They’re all far more concerned with their own careers and the fate of the production.  It’s a way of thinking that Bailey isn’t used to anymore, although she may have to become used to it again.  While she was against the show at first, an unexpected turn of events could take her back to a world she thought she had left behind her forever.

                I was very happy that Bailey’s best friend Cass was so much a part of this book.  It’s funny how in some ways Cass gets more accepted into the Harvest, Ohio community, both Amish and non-Amish, than Bailey does.  The reason I say this is because Cass does not at all look like she belongs in an Amish community.  With her black clothes and black and purple hair, the townspeople find her quite a shock to see at first.  Then, somehow, everyone falls in love with Cass.  I don’t blame them, I really like Cass as well.  What’s so odd is that they love Cass, but yet so many refuse to accept Bailey who lives in the town and has family there.  For some reason, no matter how hard she tries, a lot of people just won’t warm up to Bailey.

                Someone who does warm up to Bailey, too much in my opinion, is the Sheriff’s Deputy’s mother, Juliet Brody.  Juliet runs around town talking about how Bailey and her son Aidan are engaged.  It doesn’t matter that these two people haven’t even had a date yet.  In Juliet’s mind this is what’s happening, and she has their entire future planned.

                Despite how inaccurate Juliet’s statements are, that doesn’t mean Bailey and Aidan couldn’t head in that direction.  They do really like each other.  The problem is, they want to get together on their own terms, and with Juliet running around saying what she is saying, that is hard to do.  What I’m hoping is that Juliet curbs her actions and lets things happen between Bailey and Aidan naturally.  If she doesn’t, no matter how hard Bailey and Aidan try, everything between them could fall apart.