Dead Set: A Cozy Mystery (Agatha's Amish B&B)

Dead Set: A Cozy Mystery 

(Agatha's Amish B&B) 

September 12, 2021

by Vannetta Chapman  (Author)

It was supposed to be a simple remodel.

She didn’t plan on finding buried treasure…or looking down the barrel of a gun.

Agatha Lapp is elated when Channel 4 News decides to run a feature story on Amish businesses. The extra publicity should guarantee even more success for her Plain and Simple B&B, especially after she’s finished with the remodel. The cameras are rolling live when Agatha raises the rubber mallet and punches the first hole in her living room wall. That’s when things get complicated…

Hidden inside the wall is a diamond-studded belt buckle stolen twenty years earlier. The police return the buckle to the owners and refuse to re-open the case. The public is convinced more stolen goods are hidden at Agatha’s. When overzealous treasure hunters break into the B&B and a dead body is found half a mile down the road, Agatha knows she needs to take this investigation into her own hands.

With the help of a retired detective and her best friend, Agatha sets out to solve the mystery of the Lost Texas Treasures and find a killer. Their chase leads them through the Texas Hill Country to the famed YO Ranch where Agatha finds herself looking down the barrel of a gun. Suddenly, she’s no longer worried about a remodel. She just wants to live through this showdown.

Marilyn’s thoughts:

‘This cozy mystery had me immense into the tale from the start. Dead Set has the same calm feeling as Chapman’s other cozy mysteries she has written. There is wit, some romance, questionable characters who could be the culprit in all the attacks and the wonderful characters Agatha, Tony and Gina who gets involved to resolve the mysterious find in the walls Agatha’s bed and breakfast. I like how the Amish community in Hunt gets involved to help Agatha even though the Englischers are involved with the hidden treasure found in the walls of her B & B.

 

I really appreciate how Chapman spins her stories with events to enhance possible twists and turns to solve the cozy mystery.  This book can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend fans of Amish cozy mysteries read the entire series in order to see how Agatha, Tony and Gina relationships has grown throughout the series.

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author without any obligation to write a positive review. I have shared my own thoughts.