Sugar and Spite

After reading two steamy historical fiction novels this month I thought it best to switch to a cozy mystery. Sugar and Spite is the 22nd installment of the Ettie Smith Amish Cozy Mystery series by Samantha Price. This is the first book in the series that I have read.

Amish sisters Ettie Smith and Elsa-Mae Lutz decide to bring a cake as a peace offering to Brunhilde Hoffman whom Elsa-Mae believes is angry with her. Upon entering Brunhilde's candy shop they find her dead body. The cake is accidentally dropped on the floor. Thinking that the cake contaminates the crime scene, they clean it up. Since the Amish people don't like speaking to outsiders, the police ask the sisters to talk to their Amish neighbors about what they know about Brunhilde. Ettie and Elsa-Mae then begin to interview their suspects and gather evidence.

This book is a traditional cozy with no violence or sex described within its pages. The main characters are an amusing set of sisters whose back and forth commentary on everything imaginable will make the reader chuckle. There is no sibling rivalry here. Etta and Elsa-Mae get along well, sweetly nudging each other when their habits annoy the other sister. The plot was more complicated than I expected for a cozy. The sisters find plenty of people who had bad experiences dealing with Brunhilde, both personally and in business, and these issues needed to be fleshed out by them in order to solve the crime.

Sugar and Spite is a relaxing read. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.