Sunflower Cafe #2
In Amy Lillard’s second outing of her Sunflower Café series, we follow Sissy Yoder in the town of Yoder, Kansas as she helps her Aunt Bethal at her café. Sissy is finding her own voice, writing a little advice column in the local paper under an alias, and integrating herself into the new community. She and her aunt also have taken to solving murders about town, primarily to clear Sissy of any suspicion from the previous book. Sissy’s sleuthing streak continues as she goes to Walt Summer’s field to check out the possibility of some ‘to die for’ tomatoes for the café menu, only to find a very literal take on that reputation when they find Mr. Summers dead in his growing shed. Because she and her aunt are the ones to find the body, that puts them smack dab at the top of Detective Earl Barry’s suspect list. Again.
However, that’s not what has the café duo looking into this case- it’s the accusation and imprisonment of a friend that has them digging into the dirt on Mr. Summers’ life. Unfortunately, there is a lot of it. Mr. Summers was not a paragon of his community, and many, if not everyone in Yoder, has something bad to say about him. Their suspect pool is narrowed down to the whole town, essentially. But that doesn’t stop them. There is a large Amish community in town as well, and while they are reluctant to talk the local law enforcement, they are much more willing to open up to Aunt Bethal and Sissy. Aunt Bethal’s tough and straightforward demeanor, matched with Sissy’s curiosity and enthusiasm, drive their investigation. They also have a wonderful resource in the café in that gossip is shared there freely and often loudly. Through everything Sissy is also having to navigate her journalist friend Gavin’s attraction to her, and her own attraction to Gavin’s cousin Declan. Ultimately, she has no interest in starting anything romantic, but that doesn’t stop her friends and family from trying to nudge her in that direction.
Readers do not have need to have read the previous book to enjoy A Murder of Aspic Proportions. Amy Lillard sets the scene and characters up so that readers don’t feel lost and confused, even if there are many a Yoder in Yoder, Kansas brought up throughout. The pace of the book is quick and readers will never find themselves bored as they work their way through the story. Sissy is trying to find her place in the world, and has surprised both herself and her parents with finding that it appears that Yoder, Kansas is that place. She is growing to love the community, both the Amish and Englisch. She has the unique ability to be a part of both the worlds, being Englisch herself, and her Aunt Bethal being such a big figure in the Amish community. Sissy and Aunt Bethal don’t give up, and their persistence will rub off on readers as they fly through the pages to get to the bottom of things right along with them. — Carla Schantz
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Carla Schantz is a Courthouse Clerk Supervisor and has a bachelor’s degree in English as well as a master’s in legal studies. Books have been a passion of hers since she was young, and she is a firm believer in the purse book so that she is never without a book at any time.