Falling to Pieces A Shipshewanna Amish Mystery Series
by Vannetta Chapman
Zondervan (2011)
Five Stars *****
Review by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Callie is a young widow who comes to Shippshewanna after her
beloved aunt dies. Auntie owned a quilt shop and several Amish women are
reliant upon her to sell their quilts. One of the women has a significant need
for the funds as she has a child with a rare illness. Callie is a spunky woman from a big city in Texas suddenly
in small town Indiana. A real fish out of water. But as the story progresses one senses she
was a goldfish swimming in the ocean who needed to be in a tank, required the
cozy closeness that provided. Lovely job of dropping that into the story over
time. The Amish quilters are lovely women,
each with distinct voices that are also unlike most other Amish stories I have
heard.
Callie hasn’t gotten over the loss of her husband, in fact
doesn’t even share this with her new friends until very late in the book. She is an endearing character despite her
prickly behavior, which furthers the story line, especially when she becomes
the prime suspect in a murder. This is not a romance but there are a couple of
romantic possibilities. By the end of the story we have a real possibility for
a boyfriend in the next book, which I am looking forward to reading/listening
to!
This was a great Christmas season listen because it a) has
an easy tempo b) has an excellent narrator (amazingly she sounds almost exactly
like the real Vannetta Chapman!) c) it’s like having a girlfriend in your room
with you telling you the story d) while it is a suspense/mystery it has a cozy
feel and is not knuckle whitening – I mean who needs that this time of year? It
has a soothing quality to it despite the suspense and the murder mystery. It
may be one of the first women’s fiction reads I’ve read in a long time, but
Vannetta’s book almost defies genres.
I plan to listen to this book again sometime as I really
liked it and it has the qualities of a repeat listen - great voice, characterization, and pleasing story line.
Bibliotherapy: Loneliness, estrangement, grieving, child
with a rare disease, and friendships.
Formats: I listened through http://audible.com and it is available in paperback, ebook (e.g., Kindle), and audio.
Giveaway: Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of one
of Vannetta’s books this week.
