Angie Braddock has settled into community of Rolling Brook, Ohio, friendly with both Amish and English. When her transplanted parents start a home improvement project, things take a turn for the worse when someone is electrocuted. One of Angie's old friends is a suspect and the crime echoes one from the past. Several books in, this series has continued to shine. I really like how Alan intersperses humor along with facts about Amish life. Now that Angie's officially the girlfriend of the Sheriff, and since the murder happened at her parents, her intervention seems inevitable. I've been glad to see that local Nubian goat Petunia has managed to retain her position as an important secondary character. ( )

Probably my favorite in this series as Angie Braddock takes on a new set of problems when the electrician working at her parents' home turns up electrocuted and the coroner rules it a murder. The chief suspect is Angie's childhood friend Jonah, who also happens to be the son of one of her best friends, Anna. Angie not only has to unravel the facts of the murder, run down more suspects, and find the real killer, but she is forced to do this while navigating a horde of Bigfoot enthusiasts who have descended on the town because of the misguided enthusiasm of her friend Willow. Only Alan could put a plot together that maintains believability in the midst of this group of quirky characters. A fun read! ( )

Murder, Handcrafted is the fifth book in the An Amish Quilt Shop Mystery series.

For me, it's always nice to visit with interesting people of Holmes County. Of the Amish series that I read this is my two favorites.

Angie enlists Jonah to board up the sliding glass doors that her father has put some kitchen cabinet through while attempting to remodel the kitchen. Jonah takes over the project when injuries to Angie's father prevents him from finishing the job. When Jonah comes to the job the next morning he finds the the body of electrical contractor, Griffin Bright, next to the steps of the construction trailer. Someone had connected a live wire to the metal steps and Bright was electrocuted. Jonah immediately becomes a prime suspect when it learned that his cousin had died by electrocution some ten years ago, working for Bright.

Angie sets off to clear Jonah's name and the more she investigates, the more suspects she finds. In addition, Angie is also trying to find out who might be dressing up as “bigfoot”.

This series has a wonderful cast of characters and Bradford does an excellent job of handling the interaction of the Amish and the other residents. Of course, Oliver and Dodger are back and being their adorable selves.

Quilting plan also included with the book.

Will be watching for the next book in this great series. ( )

Another great adventure of Angie and her faithful companion Oliver. Things have started to settle down for Angie until her mom decides to remodel her house. During this time her dad gets hurt and they have to hire outside help. Then the electrician is found dead and the new help is blamed for it.
I liked seeing how Angie was able to tie together the parts of the story and was able to see how they were related and why they seemed reluctant to share the truth. And as always I love seeing what Oliver, Dodger, and Petunia have been up to in this story. This is a great book and a great series and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a good read with humor thrown in.
I received a copy from the author/publisher to read and review. ( )

Murder, Handcrafted by Isabella Alan is the fifth Amish Quilt Shop Mystery novel. Angela “Angie” Braddock owns Running Stitch in Rolling Brook, Ohio. Angie gets a call that her father hurt himself (his back) trying to take down cabinets in her parent’s kitchen (they are starting a renovation). Her father insisted he could do it (you watched some videos). Angie hurries over to her parents’ house with her dog, Oliver (she takes him everywhere with her). While Daphne (Angie’s mother) takes Kent (Angie’s father) to the hospital, Angie gets her best friend, Jonah Graber (they grew up together) to finish the kitchen. Jonah is getting assistance from Eban Hoch, a newcomer to Rolling Brook. But then Jonah finds out that the electrician is Griffin Bright. Jonah blames Griffin for the death of his cousin, Kamon. But the two agree to work together to complete the kitchen. Things proceed until Angie gets a call early one morning. She rushes over and finds out that Griffin Bright is dead (this kitchen project seems doomed). He was electrocuted. Jonah ends up being the number one suspect. Sheriff James Mitchell (and Angie’s boyfriend) knows that Jonah would not hurt anyone, but he has to follow the evidence (which points to Jonah). Angie blames herself since she got Jonah involved in the project and sets out to clear Jonah’s name. Miriam, Jonah’s wife, intensely dislikes Angie (I believe she dislikes Angie more than the goat, Petunia—did I mention Jonah’s goat mowing service). Angie does not understand why and this incident is not helping the situation. Maybe Anna, Jonah’s mother can shed some light on the situation. Angie will have to rely on her capable employee, Mattie Miller to take care of Running Stitch. But Mattie has been a little secretive lately. Something is up with her. Then there is the Bigfoot problem! Life is certainly not dull in Rolling Brook, Ohio. Join Angie in her investigation in Murder, Handcrafted.

Murder, Handcrafted is just charming. I liked how the murder was committed (very clever), but I was quickly able to identify the killer. The Bigfoot subplot was funny and added some humor to the story (but was not too ridiculous). There was a lack of clues in the book. They did not seem to pop up until right before the reveal of the killer (not that you need them, but I like finding the clues in the story). The novel had a sweet, romantic ending that I enjoyed. I give Murder, Handcrafted 4 out of 5 stars. I did find that some information was repeated a couple of times. Overall, the novel is well-written and had a good flow (pace) which made for a pleasurable reading experience. I will definitely be reading more books by Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower) in the future. There is a preview of Prose and Cons at the end of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of Murder, Handcrafted from NetGalley (thanks to the author and her publisher) in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel. ( )