From the first page, this book had me smiling. Another murder has taken place in Shipshewana during The Fall Festival and this time the murderer knows all about Callie and their little town. The murderer claims that Callie has access to a load of money that she knows nothing about and this person is threatening her loved ones. Its up to Callie, Deborah, Melinda, Esther, their families, and the police department to find out how to stop this murderer without anyone else getting hurt.
Its difficult to have sympathy for a man who murders an old woman then attempts to hurt a dog, children, and a police officer. This person is either desperate or extremely dangerous or both!
The reader does not get to witness Callie dumping iced tea on anyone in this book (read the book Falling to Pieces for that wonderful scene), but in Material Witness we get to read about her falling in love which is also unchartered territory for Callie. However, her feisty behavior is enjoyed throughout the book.
Even though there is sweet romance in this story, the most enjoyable part was watching the Amish community, Callies friends and their families, band together in unexpected ways to find this killer while keeping Callie and Max safe. This community watches out for their own and even though they are a peaceful bunch, they still take risks in doing the right thing. I was eager to see who Callie falls in love with. Even though it wasnt the man I had initially hoped it would be, I was very pleased with Callies choice and Chapman does an excellent job making this man a perfect match for Callie. One of the characters in the story watched a John Wayne movie so there are several references to that.
This book isnt a typical page-turner, but its a wonderful conclusion to the series and its a treat to see how everything gets resolved. I highly recommend it. This book can be considered a stand alone, but my suggestion is to read the other two books before it so the reader will fully understand each relationship and why Callie feels hesitancy about certain things. Chapman does an amazing job describing the friendship Callie experiences with Deborah, Melinda, and Esther but that friendship slowly blossoms from the first book.
