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    A Perfect Square
    A Perfect Square
    A Perfect Square
    Audiobook10 hours

    A Perfect Square

    Written by Vannetta Chapman

    Narrated by Pam Ward

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Amish-English sleuthing duo Deborah Yoder and Callie Harper set out to solve a murder. But more than an innocent man’s future is at stake. In book two of the Shipshewana Amish Mystery series, God’s grace touches the long-lost past as well as lives shaken by current tragedy.

    There's more to the quaint northern Indiana town of Shipshewana than handcrafted quilts, Amish-made furniture, immaculate farms and close-knit families. When a dead girl is found floating in a local pond, murder is also afoot. And Reuben, brother of Deborah's best friend's fiancé, is in jail as the suspect! Reuben refuses to divulge any information, even to clear himself of a crime Deborah is certain he didn't commit. So, with her English friend Callie—fellow sleuth and owner of Daisy's Quilt Shop—Deborah sets out to uncover the truth. But the mystery deepens when an elderly man seeks Callie's help in finding his long-lost daughter, missing since the days of the 1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes.

    An old man who has lost his past. A young man who may lose his future. Once again Deborah and Callie find themselves trying to piece together a crazy quilt of lives and events—one that can bring unexpected touches of God's grace and resolve the tragedy that has shaken this quiet Amish community.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateMar 24, 2012
    ISBN9780310415893
    Author

    Vannetta Chapman

    Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational 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 novel Falling to Pieces was a 2012 ACFW Carol Award finalist. A Promise for Miriam earned a spot on the June 2012 Christian Retailing Top Ten Fiction list. Chapman was a teacher for 15 years and currently writes full time. She lives in the Texas Hill Country with her husband. For more information, visit her at www.VannettaChapman.com

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    Reviews for A Perfect Square

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      A young Amish woman is found dead in a pond with the back of her head bloodied. Although it appears that she was a stranger to Shipshewana, there are indications that Reuben, the owner of the land where she died, knew her. Unfortunately, Reuben refuses to speak to the police, and Tobias (his cousin) and Esther (Tobias's fiancee) are worried that he'll be blamed for a murder they're sure he didn't commit.Deborah (an Amish woman) and Callie (an Englischer - a non-Amish person) do what they can to help their friends, but with Reuben refusing to say anything in his own defense, their options are limited. Meanwhile, a young Amish man is hiding in the woods - he knew the dead girl, and he may be the key to this mystery.I feel like my description makes more of Deborah and Callie's amateur sleuthiness than is really warranted - for the bulk of the book, they do very little investigating. Granted, Reuben gives them almost nothing to go on, but it made for an odd mystery. This actually worked better for me if I approached it as general Amish fiction rather than as a mystery.I got an ARC of this book at a conference (and may have met the author, based on the autograph on the title page). Although I like cozy mysteries, I rarely read inspirational fiction and have never read Amish fiction before. The glossary at the beginning of the book was helpful, and Callie's "outsider" status (Deborah considered her to be as close as family, but she definitely wasn't Amish) gave Chapman plenty of opportunities to work explanations about Amish life and traditions into the text.This is the second book in a series and I hadn't read the first, so that was a bit of a problem. There were lots of characters with very intertwined relationships, and it was hard for me to keep track of all of them. It didn't help that Chapman spent so little time focused on any one character that it was hard for me to get to know the cast. I learned basic information about several of them (and almost resorted to taking notes in order to keep it all straight - a character list would probably have been as useful as the glossary) but that was pretty much it. As a result, I didn't finish this with a desire to see more of any of the characters - I just wasn't that connected to any of them.It's a shame, because several of these characters could have been very interesting. Deborah, a married Amish woman with several small children, seemed to be more inclined to amateur sleuthing than Callie, although she had to work it in around taking care of her family. Callie, meanwhile, was a widow (whose husband may have been a murder victim in the previous book? it was tough to tell) who was originally from Houston and somewhat surprised and pleased to find that Shipshewana was beginning to feel like a real home to her. She had not one, not two, but three potential love interests - unfortunately, it was handled in such a lukewarm way that I kept forgetting about the existence of one of the love interest possibilities, and it's probably a good thing that Chapman opted to pair one of those options up with Callie by the end of the book rather than keep the uncertainty going.All in all, this was an okay read, but a fairly disappointing mystery. The revelation about what really happened to that girl made the bulk of the book feel like a waste of time - the side story about Ira Bontrager's missing daughter turned out to be much more interesting and satisfying, with more amateur sleuthing. I don't intend to read more of this series.(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
    • 5/5
       A perfect Square is about a group of friends. That group of friends seems to bring Mysteries to an English friend that become an owner of Daisy Quilt Shop. When a dead girl is found and an Amish young man is the center of it. Callie and her friend Deborah need to find out who killed her or what happened to her. Who is Ruben Fisher covering for? Why will he not clear his name? There seem to be more going on than anything when and Old elderly man shows up at Daisy Quilt Shop, claiming to find his long-lost daughter? Will, it seems that this long lost daughter is really a clue to the dead young girl they find in a pond? Vannetta Chapman does a wonderful job of giving the readers something to hang on to. Will God grace help and mend. There seems to be a family that thinks that their daughter is running and living in the English world? What happens when the parents find out the truth about their daughter? What about the young man that on the run? What happens on Palm Sunday in 1965 with the Tornadoes?
    • 3/5
      Callie and Deborah are becoming fast friends despite their different cultures. Callie is learning more about the Amish, and Deborah is glad to be her helping friend. They are anticipating with great joy a mutual friend’s wedding when the upcoming nuptials are marred by the discovery of a young Amish woman’s body floating in a pond on the groom’s land. When a cousin is arrested for her murder, Deborah and Callie get involved, trying to find real guilty party. Much of this novel concerns the relationships between the characters and the beliefs of the Amish community. The story is really character driven as there isn’t much of a mystery. Still, it is well written and much of the interest in the story comes the side stories of the characters, with the story being told in flashbacks alternating with the present day.
    • 5/5
      The Amish living in the town of Shipshewana are shocked when the body of a young woman is found floating in a local pond. They are devastated when Reuben Fisher is arrested as a suspect in her death. Deborah Yoder is convinced he did nothing wrong and she, with the help of her English friend Callie Harper, sets out to try to prove his innocence. Their task won't be easy as Reuben refuses to speak about the case. When not trying to help Deborah, Callie is trying to help an elderly Amish man find the daughter he insists went missing years ago - a daughter no one else seems to know ever existed. Both Deborah and Callie have their hands full and the truth behind the Amish girl's death may be devastating for all involved.After having read several Amish romances, I was curious to see what an Amish mystery was like and "A Perfect Square" did not disappoint. Author Vanetta Chapman has done an excellent job of blending the Amish life, their English friends, and the mystery. This isn't the type of mystery where you try to figure out who the killer is; instead you find out how the girl died, why Reuben won't talk, and why Samuel is hiding. Chapman takes her time unveiling the story and when the truth comes out it is truly heartbreaking. I think this book would be a good choice for a book club because there could be a prolonged discussion of the actions and decisions of some of the characters, especially Samuel and Reuben. At the end of the book, I'm still not sure whether or not I liked Samuel. After reading the book, my heart ached for so many of the characters. The one thing I didn't like is Callie's tangled love life - three love interests were two too many for my liking."A Perfect Square" is a perfect mystery set in the Amish Community.
    • 5/5
      This was another fantastic book by Vannetta Chapman that I found hard to put down. The characters were so real I felt as if I knew them personally.Deborah and Callie are investigating the death of a young Amish irk from another community. Reuben has been arrested for her murder and, though he knows the truth, he remains silent.
    • 5/5
      A Perfect SquareVannetta ChapmanBook Summary: There's more to the quaint northern Indiana town of Shipshewana than handcrafted quilts, Amish-made furniture, immaculate farms, and close-knit families. When a dead girl is found floating in a local pond, murder is also afoot. And Reuben Fisher is in jail as the suspect! Reuben refuses to divulge any information, even to clear himself of a crime Deborah is certain he didn't commit. So, with her English friend Callie-fellow sleuth and owner of Daisy's Quilt Shop-Deborah sets out to uncover the truth. But the mystery deepens when an elderly man seeks Callie's help in finding his long-lost daughter, missing since the days of the 1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes. An old man who has lost his past. A young man who may lose his future. Once again Deborah and Callie find themselves trying to piece together a crazy quilt of lives and events-one that can bring unexpected touches of God's grace and resolve to the tragedy that has shaken this quiet Amish community.Review: This was a great book. I enjoyed this story tremendously and thought that the characters were great every last one and the story line was engrossing all the way around. I never wanted it to end. I have not read the first story and was thankful that there were no spoilers as to who did it. I am looking forward to the next book. I found the story to be seamless and the characters to be so well written that I felt like this was the 5th or 6th story in this series. They words flowed and pages flew by. I can honestly say that it has been a while since I read a book this good. I enjoyed the 2 main characters and found that they were friends and yet still getting to know each other. The one character is new to the area and this made learning this town and the people fun like through the eyes of the other newcomer. The peripheral characters were enjoyable. I had a tear in my eye at the end, I was sad for the outcome and yet the ending was so realistic. I would like to thank Net Galley and Zondervan Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone.
    • 2/5
      This is a sweet book that is sometimes a little too precious, too idealizing of the Amish way of life, too romanticizing of married life. The mystery is fairly complicated while everything else is too pat, success too sure.
    • 5/5
      After devouring the first book in this series I was anxious to find out where the author would take us with the next book, and I must say this Amish mystery series is second to none!This book easily pulled me right back to Shipshewana Indiana. Deborah Yoder and her friend Esther are headed to Daisy's Quilt Shop which is run by their friend Callie Harper, and contemplating the wedding that is going to take place between Esther and Tobias in a few weeks when the find a body floating in a local pond. Thing is the body is found in a pond that Tobias and his cousin Reubin have been farming. When Reubin is arrested as a suspect, can Callie and her friends figure out who committed the crime and exonerate Reubin?I love a good cozy mystery and when several of the primary characters are Amish it's even better. The author not only provides realistic characters, but also provides the reader with a fast moving plot that kept me riveted until the final page. While the main focus was figuring out who-dun-it there were a few secondary stories that the author tied together perfectly to the main storyline. I enjoyed visiting all the old characters from the first book, and couldn't help but wonder if Callie might find romance in this story. I love that Max Callie's dog plays such a great role in this mystery series. The pretty covers and the promise of an Amish mystery drew me to this series but a fast moving plot and interesting characters is what keeps me coming back. I can't wait to take another trip to Daisy's Quilt Shop!While this book is the second in the Shipshewana Amish Mystery series the author provides enough background information that this book can easily be read as a stand alone work, but anyone who loves a great mystery will certainly want to read the first book "Falling To Pieces" as well. Highly recommended!A complimentary copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      A Perfect Square – Vannetta ChapmanPublisher: ZondervanPages: 352Source: Won a copy from authorGenre: Amish, Romance, Mystery, ChristianFrom Goodreads:There's more to the quaint northern Indiana town of Shipshewana than Amish-made furniture, immaculate farms, and close-knit families. When a dead girl is found floating in a local pond, murder is also afoot. And Reuben Fisher is in jail as the suspect. Reuben refuses to divulge any information, even to clear himself of a crime Deborah is certain he didn't commit.My Thoughts:I love a murder mystery, especially if it has been taken up a notch by placing it in an Amish setting. Callie and her friends are once again trying to solve a mystery. Reuben has been locked up in jail as a suspect in the death of an Amish girl. No one in the community believes Reuben could or would have done such a thing. While Callie has her hands full with one mystery, an old Amish gentleman comes to her seeking her help. His daughter had disappeared during the 1965 Palm Sunday tornadoes. I remember those tornadoes and the feel of our house being lifted off of its foundation. Now Callie must try to make the connection between the two mysteries to solve them.I love reading books by Vannetta Chapman. It is a great blend of Amish and English, Romance and Mystery. The Christian aspects are not preachy. I can’t wait until the third book in this series, Material Witness, comes out this fall. If you want to see what Vannetta is up to go to her Facebook page.
    • 5/5
      I really loved "A Perfect Square" by Vannetta Chapman. It is a perfect Amish mystery! There are two mysteries and once the second mystery is solved, it led to the answer for the first one. The two mysteries together form a perfect square. You will understand that better after reading the book. I was immediately drawn to this story. The setting is Shipshewana, Indiana and I am from Indiana. Also, I love both Amish fiction and mysteries. The writing by Vanessa Chapman captured me immediately and wouldn't let me go until the last page. I want more. This is the second book in a series but there was no problem reading it as a standalone. Problem is that if you are like me, you will want to read the first book too, "Falling to Pieces" and everything else that she has written! The characters are well developed and besides solving the mysteries, you will be interested in their personal lives. Callie is an Englischer (non-Amish) who inherited her aunt Daisy's quilt shop. She is a widow and lives with Matt, her Labrador retriever. Her closest friends are Widow Esther Zook who will be getting married to Tobias soon, and Deborah Yoder who is married to Jonas and has five children. At the beginning of the book, the two are going in a buggy to deliver a casserole for Tobias and his cousin Reuben who are working at Reuben's place. As they are riding, Esther notices some black eyed susans and goldenrods swaying in the wind. They stop the buggy so that Esther, her twins, Jacob and Joshua and Esther's daughter, Leah can go over and see them. But Deborah glances up and sees a dead girl floating in the water. Who is she? What happened? Later in the book, Callie finds an elderly Amish man with dementia outside her shop and he says that he knew of her reputation for solving mysteries and he wants help in finding his daughter. She has been missing since April 11, 1965 in the Palm Sunday Tornadoes. That was a real event that devastated several Midwest states, leaving 250 dead and 1,500 injured. He knows that she has to be alive! These two mysteries dovetail beautifully. There are several religious messages in this story but they are not presented in a preachy way but fit in very naturally. This story also has so much heart and feeling of community in it, a good sign of great Amish Literature. I thoroughly loved the story and recommend it to everyone who loves a good mystery and fans of Amish fiction. I received this book from the Amazon Vine Program but that in no influenced my review.