The Crow's Call: Amish Greehouse Mystery - book 1

The Crow’s Call by Wanda E. Brunstetter is the first novel in the Amish Greenhouse Mystery series. Michelle and Ezekiel from The Prayer Jar trilogy are in this series. I thought The Crow’s Call was well-written with steady pacing and developed, realistic characters. You could feel the character’s emotions pouring from the pages. I felt so bad for this family who suffered such a devastating loss. To lose three family members in one day is unthinkable. Each one of them is grieving and each one handles it differently. They struggle to get through each day. Their workload has increased, but they must soldier on. Unfortunately, Sylvia, the eldest daughter, is too grief stricken to do more than mind her children. Henry, the youngest child, is full of anger and bitterness which he takes out on the family. Amy is our main protagonist. Before the deaths, she was looking forward to her beau proposing. With all the added responsibilities, Amy has little time to see Jared Riehl. Ezekiel and Michelle are settled in Clymer, New York where their bee business is doing well, and Ezekiel just drew the lot for a minister. He feels he should move back home, but his mother does not want him to disrupt his new life. I enjoyed getting to know the various characters and their stories. It makes for an interesting book. As if the King family does not have enough to handle, someone starts sabotaging the greenhouse. They do not know if it is Henry acting out, the new English neighbors, the homeless woman, the owners of the new greenhouse in town or an unknown entity. The crow was an interesting addition. Amy has feared crows since a child and believes its caw foretells doom. Is the crow warning them of danger or just a coincidence? Faith plays an important part of the King family’s lives. A terrible tragedy can either draw you closer to God or pull you away. We see a combination of both in The Crow’s Call. The Crow’s Call allows us to follow the King family as they struggle with their grief and attempt to move forward with their lives. It is not an easy process. You move forward a step and then go two steps backward. This realistic novel will tug at your heartstrings. The Crow’s Call has family, friendship, community, faith and mystery. I am eager to read The Mockingbird’s Song when it is released.

What a great introduction to the new Amish Greenhouse series by Wanda Brunstetter! There is an ongoing series of mysterious occurrences that the family is too busy to investigate. I found the characters very likable and well-defined. Two of the characters demonstrate faith, prayer, and other spiritual principles in the very worst of circumstances while two others struggle. I enjoyed visiting our favorite characters from the Prayer Jars series. Amy King has an unusual fear of crows. While not superstitious, she dreads hearing a crow fussing on the fencepost as it could mean something terrible is about to happen. The King family is celebrating the birthday of Mom (Belinda). Ezekiel, his wife, and daughter hired a driver to come for a few days from New York. Sylvia and her husband, with their toddler and infant, arrived, and their three siblings still live at home. Amy, who helps her parents in their greenhouse, forgot to get ice cream when at the store, and Dad wanted to get some for the cake. Twenty-one-year-old Abraham and Toby, the husband of Sylvia, joined him. Amy saw them leave from where she was washing dishes, then to her horror, saw a semi come down the road and crash into the back of their buggy, killing all three. In an instant, their lives changed forever. The three siblings think Ezekiel and his family should return to Strasburg and help with the family greenhouse, but Belinda knows he loves running his business and was recently selected by lot as a minister in his local Amish district. Henry will begin helping at the greenhouse and take on the chores his father and older brother used to do. Sylvia has an almost immobilizing grief and can barely take care of her children. The grief consuming Henry is seen through his anger, including anger at having to be man of the house at 15. Amy and Belinda do their best to live by their faith, prayers, and reading and meditating on scriptures. Amy makes a huge sacrifice to help her family. She and Jared have been courting for almost a year. Despite hoping he would soon propose to her, she is exhausted with the additional work, but does not begrudge her mother. The future will be consumed with keeping the greenhouse profitable. Amy tells the devastated Jared that it is not fair to keep him waiting. He should feel free to pursue courting another woman. It breaks her heart, and she regrets the breakup, especially when rumors circulate that he is courting her best friend. Vandalism is occurring at the greenhouse, including plants being damaged or destroyed. Monroe, a man Belinda dated before she met and married her late husband, is starting to hang around and give her unwanted attention. An English couple move in across the street. Virginia, a bitter woman, does not like the Amish or their horses clopping past. A new greenhouse has opened nearby. And Henry is making a pet out of that awful crow! This novel is different from the usual novels of the author, regarding both grief and the mysterious vandalism. The author presents it in her unique gifted style, served with a huge portion of faith amidst high-stress circumstances. While only one situation has been resolved so far, it does not have a huge cliffhanger. It is one series that will be better if read in order. I highly recommend The Crow’s Call to those who enjoy Amish fiction in the best and the most challenging circumstances. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

Excellent as usual! Loved every minute.