Kristina Anderson
Botched Butterscotch by Amanda Flower has Bailey King expecting her parents for Mother’s Day weekend. Bailey has been busy preparing treats for the Mother’s Day Tea at the church that is supporting Abigail’s Farm, a place for women to recover from addiction. While everyone is enjoying the tea and butterscotch bars, a sticky-fingered thief makes off with the contents of the donation box (over $10,000). Detective Little is going solo and Bailey promises to help him nab the crook and recover the cash. Botched Butterscotch is An Amish Candy Shop Mystery Novella (No. 4.5). It can be read on its own (but why would you want to miss any of the books in this entertaining cozy mystery series). I sat down and quickly devoured this humorous story. I love the cast of characters that Amanda Flower has created for this series from Bailey King to Jethro, the polka-dotted pig. The descriptions of the sweet treats from Swissmen’s Sweets will have you craving something yummy (recipe at the end of book). There are delightful laugh-out-loud moments especially with Juliet Brody and her pet pig, Jethro. Juliet is determined her son, Aidan will wed Bailey very soon (they are dating, but no imminent proposal). The setting of Harvest, Ohio is bucolic. I like that it is a combination Amish and English area. The mystery suits the story and I enjoyed following Bailey as she solved the crime while giving Deputy Little credit. Botched Butterscotch is an amusing tale that will tide me over until Marshmallow Malice comes out. Botched Butterscotch is a delightful cozy mystery with precocious pigs, batches of butterscotch bars, a matchmaking mama, purloined philanthropy, and Mother’s Day mayhem.