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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
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.
susanjanette's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
booklvr10's review against another edition
4.0
Wanda's does such a wonderful job with her books. This one did not disappoint. Though this wasn't quite the mystery I had in mind, I'm still left wondering what happened after reading this and hope to get some more answers in the second book.
bhunsberger's review against another edition
4.0
Amy and her family experience a great tragedy and need to find ways to move forward in live and overcome their losses. While running their greenhouse, a few strange things occur and there is a mystery around who is doing these things. Amy is also tuned in to the crow who calls loudly from the trees - is this a sign of something bad to come, or just a coincidence? This book introduces Amy's family, some other families within their Amish community, and 2 new neighbors who are English and new to the Amish neighborhood. It will be interesting to see how these different characters evolve in upcoming books in this series.
55_sallymander's review against another edition
5.0
THE CROW'S CALL (Amish Greenhouse Mystery #1)
By: Wanda E. Brunstetter
Form: Paperback
Pages: 320
Published: 3/1/2020
Isbn: 9781643520216
Publisher: Shiloh Run Press an imprint of Barbour Publishing
Reviewed by: mrsboone4, Green Forest, AR USA
Date: 3/3/2020
Rating: 5 Stars
Is the call of a crow a foretelling of foreboding? Amy King thinks it could be. Any time she has heard a crow's call, in her family's yard, something bad has happened.
Amy's father, brother, and brother in law are in a terrible accident, with her father's horse and buggy, one evening. Amy, her mother, her sister Sylvia and her brother Henry are all heartbroken. No one seems to be able to cope with the tragedy. Amy takes it upon herself, to make sure that her family's greenhouse is properly run, so they will have money to live on. Amy feels she has no right to keep her sweetheart Jared, so she breaks off their relationship-causing her even more heartbreak.
Amy's mother is having a hard time coping with the loss of her beloved husband and two sons.
Sylvia has two small children, she can barely take care of their needs and has literally nothing left to give to the rest of the family or the greenhouse business.
Henry is at a difficult age for a boy and he has to assume the duties that his older brother and his father used to do, on top of his own chores. He rebels, not knowing how to deal with the losses and added workload.
Jared is heartbroken, not only for Amy's family and their loss, but also for Amy and his love for her which does not diminish, even after Amy refuses to see him any longer.
Someone is causing trouble for the greenhouse owners. Small things at first, then larger and larger targets. Amy doesn't know what to do about them. She and her mother think that Henry is possibly responsible for the troubles, but Henry denies any knowledge of the trouble and says whomever is targeting him is just making more work for him and he wouldn't do that to himself or his family.
The book flows nicely and is an interesting story. There are several mysteries that are not concluded in the book. They will keep you in suspense until future books are published. I would have liked each book to have it's own mystery, with a solid conclusion at the end of each one.
All in all, very good Amish Fiction. Suspense.
Many thanks to Shiloh Run Press an imprint of Barbour Publishing for the complimentary copy of this book and I was under no obligation to post a review.
By: Wanda E. Brunstetter
Form: Paperback
Pages: 320
Published: 3/1/2020
Isbn: 9781643520216
Publisher: Shiloh Run Press an imprint of Barbour Publishing
Reviewed by: mrsboone4, Green Forest, AR USA
Date: 3/3/2020
Rating: 5 Stars
Is the call of a crow a foretelling of foreboding? Amy King thinks it could be. Any time she has heard a crow's call, in her family's yard, something bad has happened.
Amy's father, brother, and brother in law are in a terrible accident, with her father's horse and buggy, one evening. Amy, her mother, her sister Sylvia and her brother Henry are all heartbroken. No one seems to be able to cope with the tragedy. Amy takes it upon herself, to make sure that her family's greenhouse is properly run, so they will have money to live on. Amy feels she has no right to keep her sweetheart Jared, so she breaks off their relationship-causing her even more heartbreak.
Amy's mother is having a hard time coping with the loss of her beloved husband and two sons.
Sylvia has two small children, she can barely take care of their needs and has literally nothing left to give to the rest of the family or the greenhouse business.
Henry is at a difficult age for a boy and he has to assume the duties that his older brother and his father used to do, on top of his own chores. He rebels, not knowing how to deal with the losses and added workload.
Jared is heartbroken, not only for Amy's family and their loss, but also for Amy and his love for her which does not diminish, even after Amy refuses to see him any longer.
Someone is causing trouble for the greenhouse owners. Small things at first, then larger and larger targets. Amy doesn't know what to do about them. She and her mother think that Henry is possibly responsible for the troubles, but Henry denies any knowledge of the trouble and says whomever is targeting him is just making more work for him and he wouldn't do that to himself or his family.
The book flows nicely and is an interesting story. There are several mysteries that are not concluded in the book. They will keep you in suspense until future books are published. I would have liked each book to have it's own mystery, with a solid conclusion at the end of each one.
All in all, very good Amish Fiction. Suspense.
Many thanks to Shiloh Run Press an imprint of Barbour Publishing for the complimentary copy of this book and I was under no obligation to post a review.
melmo2610's review against another edition
2.0
Not my favorite read. I have been looking forward to this series for awhile because the mystery angle was appealing. Unfortunately the mystery is more minor and given the events in the opening pages of the book, overall the book is more than a little depressing. I have the next book in this series for review and I hope to see a more hopeful thread and that the depressiveness of this book isn't a main thread in the next.
michellef's review against another edition
5.0
The Crow’s Call is an Amish suspense novel by author Wanda E Brunstetter. It is book one in the Amish Greenhouse Mystery series.
It may have been superstitious but ever since Amy King was a child she did not like call of a crow. It seemed to always mean something terrible was going to happen. One day she lost a brother, brother-in-law, and father.
My favorite character was Henry King because I could relate to him and understand his actions. My least favorite was Virginia Martin because she was unfriendly and judgmental.
I highly recommend this book to fans of the Amish and I look forward to book two in the series with great expectations. There are discussion questions at the end of the book which would be great for a book club. Plus, there is a recipe for Amy’s Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
It may have been superstitious but ever since Amy King was a child she did not like call of a crow. It seemed to always mean something terrible was going to happen. One day she lost a brother, brother-in-law, and father.
My favorite character was Henry King because I could relate to him and understand his actions. My least favorite was Virginia Martin because she was unfriendly and judgmental.
I highly recommend this book to fans of the Amish and I look forward to book two in the series with great expectations. There are discussion questions at the end of the book which would be great for a book club. Plus, there is a recipe for Amy’s Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
emlickliter's review against another edition
4.0
The Crow's Call: Amish Greenhouse Mystery by Wanda E. Brunstetter – So I won an advanced copy of this thinking that I might like it more because it was a mystery. I’ve come to the conclusion that my grandmother’s love of all things Amish did not make it to me. Well written, nice pacing, and if you like the Amish lifestyle troupe it was great! I’ll save this for grandma though! Happy Reading!
audiobooks_sweettea's review against another edition
4.0
When I think Wanda Brunstetter, I think clean, Amish romances. I think carefree, happy characters with inspirational messages woven within. So, imagine my surprise when I see that she is writing a mystery series! Yes, it's still Amish, but it's a mystery series! I love suspenseful mysteries so I was super excited to check this one out!
The characters that Brunstetter chiseled for this novel quickly stole my heart! My heart went out to them as a devestating tragedy envelopes them. I felt all their emotions as if they were my own. Following them as they try to piece the puzzle together on the vandalizing and the who's and why's of it all, was truely interesting and not something I would expect from Brunstetter. But she did it perfectly, just like she always does!
If you want an engrossing, inspirational, roller coaster ride of a story, then grab this first book up in her new Amish Greenhouse Mysteries. You'll fall in love with her writing all over again and you won't want the story to end! I am highly anticipating what will happen in book 2! I can't wait. Well done, Brunstetter! Well done!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Author/Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
The characters that Brunstetter chiseled for this novel quickly stole my heart! My heart went out to them as a devestating tragedy envelopes them. I felt all their emotions as if they were my own. Following them as they try to piece the puzzle together on the vandalizing and the who's and why's of it all, was truely interesting and not something I would expect from Brunstetter. But she did it perfectly, just like she always does!
If you want an engrossing, inspirational, roller coaster ride of a story, then grab this first book up in her new Amish Greenhouse Mysteries. You'll fall in love with her writing all over again and you won't want the story to end! I am highly anticipating what will happen in book 2! I can't wait. Well done, Brunstetter! Well done!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Author/Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*