Falling to Pieces (Shipshewana Amish Mystery, A) [Paperback]

Vannetta Chapman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 4, 2011 | Series: Shipshewana Amish Mystery, A

In this first book of a three-book series, author Vannetta Chapman brings a fresh twist to the popular Amish fiction genre. She blends the familiar components consumers love in Amish books---faith, community, simplicity, family---with an innovative who-done-it plot that keeps readers guessing right up to the last stitch in the quilt. When two women---one Amish, one English---each with different motives, join forces to organize a successful on-line quilt auction, neither expects nor wants a friendship. As different as night and day, Deborah and Callie are uneasy partners who simply want to make the best of a temporary situation. But a murder, a surprising prime suspect, a stubborn detective, and the town's reaction throw the two women together, and they form an unlikely alliance to solve a mystery and catch a killer. Set in the well-known Amish community of Shipshewana, Falling to Pieces will attract both devoted fans of the rapidly-growing Amish fiction genre, as well as those who are captivated by the Amish way of life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vannetta Chapman has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving over two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather's birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her first novel, A Simple Amish Christmas, quickly became a bestseller. Chapman lives in the Texas hill country with her husband.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (October 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310330432
• ISBN-13: 978-0310330431
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Vannetta Chapman writes fiction full of GRACE. She has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather's birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her first novel, A Simple Amish Christmas, quickly became a bestseller. Chapman lives in the Texas hill country with her husband.

For more information, visit her at
webpage -- www.VannettaChapman.com
blog -- http://vannettachapman.wordpress.com
facebook -- www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks, and
pinterest -- http://pinterest.com/vannettachapman

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars New Cozy Mystery Series September 29, 2011

By Fitzysmom

Format:Paperback

Vannetta Chapman is a new author to me, and one that I will be looking forward to reading again. She has a fresh voice in this genre. I enjoy reading Amish fiction and I liked the way this story came at things in a different way.

If I were classifying this piece of work I'm not sure that I would classify it as Amish fiction. The main character, Callie, is not Amish nor are several of the other leading characters. There is a very large Amish presence in this novel because it is set in Shipshewana, Indiana which has a large Amish and Mennonite population. I would prefer to classify it as a cozy mystery with an Amish twist.

The plot was fast paced and kept the pages turning. In the end I thought that I knew who had committed the crime and why...but I was wrong. To be wrong about a mystery is the best!

One of the bonuses with this book is that it has discussion questions in the back. It would be a nice read for your book club, especially if you have just finished something very heavy in subject matter. I am looking forward to reading the next two installments in this delightful series.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Amish Mystery September 29, 2011

By Maureen

Format:Paperback

Description: When two women-one Amish, one English-each with different motives, join forces to organize a successful on-line quilt auction, neither expects nor wants a friendship. As different as night and day, Deborah and Callie are uneasy partners who simply want to make the best of a temporary situation. But a murder, a surprising prime suspect, a stubborn detective, and the town's reaction throw the two women together, and they form an unlikely alliance to solve a mystery and catch a killer.

What a great read this book was. I had to keep going in order to find out who the killer was and why! Two completely different worlds collide with Callie, all English, and Deborah, a very Amish woman.

Deborah turns out to be a very calming and good influence on Callie, who arrives in Shipshewana IN to close her Aunt Daisy's estate. Callie has had a hard past few years, and Deborah can feel in her a need to be at peace. She doesn't take "No" for an answer, and Callie agrees to keep Daisy's Quilt Shop open, at least until she can find a buyer?

When the Editor of the paper is found dead, Callie becomes a suspect. Here she will maybe find some friends?

Love the descriptions of the Amish family life, and I can hardly wait for the other two books in this series.

A must read for Amish book lovers and a good mystery to boot!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Zondervan Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars First of a three book series October 14, 2011

By Gramma Geri

Format:Paperback

Callie's aunt dies and she inherits her quilt shop in the Amish community of Shipshewana, Indiana. So she leaves Texas to go to Indiana to sell her aunts shop and pick up her aunt's dog, Max. But when she gets there, Deborah, an Amish woman, befriends her and asked Callie to reopen the shop. A realtor, also, advised her to reopen the shop to bring more buyers to the shop. So Callie reopened the shop until she could get a buyer.

Everyone in Shipshewana is very friendly, except for Mr.Stakehorn, the editor of the local paper. He printed lies about her and her shop in the newspaper. When she confronted him in the coffee shop, she got so irritated with him, she poured her glass of iced tea on his head and left.

Later, she was going to take proof to him that he was wrong when she entered the newspaper office and found him dead in his chair. Things did not look good for her. Others had seen her confrontation at the coffee shop and with him dead and her" finding him" things did not look good for her. Especially, with the overzealous policeman in charge of the case.

I enjoyed reading this book and would like to thank Book Sneeze for my complementary copy to read and review. I was so disappointed at the way it ended. I wanted to know more but then I found out this is the first of three book series. So I guess my questions will be answered in the other books.