Stranger Things Have Happened

Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries #18

by Amy Lillard

Strange things are happening in Sugarcreek, from stampeding pigs to barn explosions. Some residents blame a new family in town--the Patels, originally from the Middle East. Amid whispered accusations of their being Muslim terrorists, a bit of hysteria grows as neighbor is pitted against neighbor.

A few members of the community don't believe the "foreigners" should be there: a man whose brother died in Operation Desert Storm, the car dealership owner whose son wants to date one of the Patels' daughters, and the hamburger joint owner whose business is suffering at the hands of the family's food truck. And what of the reporter who always seems to be in the right place at the right time?

Cheryl and Naomi must work together to stop the spread of xenophobia and discover who is behind all the shenanigans before someone gets seriously hurt.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Mystery, Amish Fiction, Amish

263 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

I'm a wife, mother, and bona fide Southern belle. Published author, expert corn bread maker, and Squirrel Princess.

I live in Tulsa, though I was born in Mississippi. I moved to the Sooner State when I was seventeen and met my soul mate and best friend not long after. I've retained a little of my Mississippi accent though most people think I'm from Texas. (?) Rob and I have been married for over twenty years and have a son--a mom proclaimed prodigy, of course!

I love homemade tacos, nail polish, and romance novels--not necessarily in that order. I'm a big fan of country music, a staunch proponent of saving the Oxford comma, and I'm shamefully obsessed with all things Harry Potter.

I believe that God is love. I guess that's why I adore romances.

I have always been intrigued with the Amish culture, their gentle ways and slower-paced lifestyle. (And I love, love, love the fact that they stay married for their lifetime.) But until recently I never thought to blend this interest with my penchant for romance. Okay, okay, I'm a bit old-fashioned and even enjoy the gender roles that are present in this culture. I love to cook and take care of my family. Yes, that's me June Cleaver with a laptop.

I dislike people trying to convince me to read the Twlight series (I'll get to it or I won't, either way I'm good with it), gratuitous violence, and strawberry ice cream. (I know I'm alone on this last one, and again, I'm good with it.)

Favorite movies--(besides HP) French Kiss, Maid of Honor, A Lot Like Love, Just Married, and Sweet Home Alabama. Oh, and Miss Congeniality, Sabrina (both versions) and a 1940's movie called Dear Ruth. If you haven't seen it, you should! A-dorable. Anything with Doris Day and most all of Marilyn's and Audrey's.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd things are happening in Sugarcreek, a barn explodes on an abandoned farm, a truck has an accident and a load of pigs runs through town, Cheryl’s store alarm goes off 3 times in the middle of the night and power is out to only her store, a buggy is found in the middle of the street, stoplights are all turned to green causing crashes, a 50 dozen order of eggs turns up saying 500 dozen eggs. That does give the reader -a clue how big Sugarcreek and how busy the cafe is when they can use 50 dozen a week. A new foreign family has moved to town with a food truck and is the target of hate crimes, a single mother with a handicapped son is having trouble making ends meet. Cheryl is sure everything is connected. Her relationship with Levi is still on hold and it is getting tiresome after 18 books that they can’t move on or stop the relationship.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sugarcreek, Ohio is a beautiful, peaceful place to live. It used to be anyway. Recently, some very strange things have been causing chaos in town.

Pigs somehow escaped from the truck that was transporting them and went stampeding down main street. That caused a problem for Cheryl who managed her Aunt’s gift shop and for other businesses. A neighbor’s empty barn caught fire and burned down. A new family in town was targeted because people thought they were Muslim terrorists. Their house was vandalized. They ran a food truck and someone was trying to put them out of business.

Cheryl decided to play detective and try to find out what was behind all these strange happenings in her otherwise quiet town. She enlisted the help of her Amish friend Naomi. Or, should I say, she involved Naomi in her antics!

I enjoyed this story very much. Pick up a copy and see if you can solve these mysteries! Although not so funny for the shops along the street, traffic couldn’t get through, I have to admit that a pig stampede had me chuckling

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

To repetitive. Otherwise decent.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rated 4.5 stars on more nuanced platforms

I have preached my feelings on this topic nearly every time I've reviewed a book in this series: I love that these are solid mysteries without a hint of murder. It's so much fun to open up one of these books and not even know what kind of case Cheryl will encounter.

What I liked about Stranger Things Have Happened:
This was such a clever premise for a mystery - As I alluded to in my opening, this mystery was unexpected and intriguing. Without giving away anything, I was on high alert for twists and red herrings. I ultimately figured out a part of it before the reveal, but the entire thing was just pure mystery fun.
The relationship between Cheryl and Naomi - I thoroughly enjoy their friendship. They balance one another so well, not just in having complementary personalities, which is pretty static obviously, but their approaches and reactions from one case to the next -- like maybe one of them is skeptical that something is afoot, or they see the clues from different perspectives -- lends a very natural and believable give and take to the relationship.
The layers to the story - We have a variety of plots taking place, which isn't as confusing as it may sound. For instance, you have the mystery, of course. Then you have a life lesson that is being explored. There is also a faith element that is a plot theme, usually interwoven through the mystery and the lesson, which may or may not be related to one another. And finally there is the overarching plot of Cheryl's life in Sugarcreek and all this entails.

What left me conflicted:
It's time to move in a direction - While I have no major complaints or criticisms of this installment, in regard to the overarching plot, I feel a little stalled out once again. There was a lot of failure to progress early on, which suddenly shot forward in some developments or at least direct addressing of a particular "conflict needing resolution," but now we're just idling again. Let's be honest: we're eighteen books in. It's time to go somewhere or not with this plot point. I appreciate the thoughtfulness to the matter but it will eventually turn into something in which I lose interest or will begin to annoy me (see: pretty much any review I've ever done on a Hannah Swensen mystery). At this point, I don't even care which direction, it just needs to begin moving toward one.

Worth noting:
This is not overt Christian fiction but... - Well, we're immersed in an Amish community, so that should indicate that religion will be present, right? Cheryl is also open about her faith and how it directs her decisions and she isn't afraid to model witnessing to others when appropriate. But this book isn't seeking to convert anyone either. Just be aware that there will be religious themes or discussions taking place.

This little series (perhaps 'little' is a poor choice of modifier, given that this book is a bit over halfway through a thirty book series but regardless) is such a pleasure to read. Already looking forward to the next!

[Pamela Pavkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stranger Things Have Happened is crazy mystery written by Amy Lillard in the Sugarcreek Amish Mystery series. This book will have you chucklingand scratching your head at the same time. With pigs running wild thru downtown Sugarcreek, cows running thru the countryside, an abandoned barn blowing up, and traffic lights going crazy this story is filled with strange happenings. Cheryl Cooper is convinced they must be related but can't find the reason for it. When unraveling these mysterious events more than one person is found responsible and it may shock you as to the individual no one suspects. As Cheryl crosses off suspects on her list the same person keeps remaining and as she confronts her lead suspect it ends with a fitting conclusion. The author has done an amazing job telling this story with the aid of the townspeople. There is also a side plot growing in this story involving a new family in town of a different nationality and how they are treated by some locals.

I was not given a complimentary copy of this book to read and review. I was not approached to post a favorable response and all opinions are my own. I have rated this story with five stars for meeting my expectations of a wonderful story that I can highly recommend to others.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This like all the others in this series, is an easy, quick read. You are introduced to some new residents of Sugarcreek.
When numerous strange incidents start happening, pigs running down the street, alarms going off, an abandoned buggy, minus the horse, to name a few, Cheryl and Naomi start their own investigation.
Of course, there is humor along with the mystery of what is going on and a touch of first love.
The only problem with this story is, you will be left craving a bacon cheeseburger!

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this 18th book in the series, It's January in Sugarcreek and some strange things have been happening . First there's a pig stampede down main st. Then Cheryl's shop alarm goes off 3 times in one night and there is no sign of a break in. The Honey Bee Cafe has a huge error in their egg delivery, and theirs a fire and explosion at an abandoned barn. More things keep happening and Cheryl is getting suspicious that someone is doing all these things but why? There are 2 new people in town. The Patel family from India and a news reporter for the paper. Is any of this related?

[Carrie Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good, but this one had quite a few errors with grammar and editing things that were a little more noticeable than all the others in the series. I'm also starting to feel like the authors can't figure out where the thing with Cheryl and Levi is going, so they keep going back and forth and it's getting a little circular.

[melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love a good cozy mystery! Amy book's are always so good! I read this series out of order and oldly enough I was able to get in to the story and Relationships in the story! I can't wait to read more out of the series!

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells us that not everything that seems strange is. Somethings that happened were someone who was much brighter than anyone thought and others were someone who was greedy and self absorbed.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good story from this series. The book focuses on strange things happening in the town of Sugar Creek. It is pretty easy to figure out who is behind some of the events, but you are surprised who the other culprit is. There is less focus on Levi and Cheryl in this book and that is a needed break in the tension. Keeps us guessing at how it will all turn out. The introduction of a new family in town also adds to the list of characters. A great way to spend a rainy day.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hit

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has wonderful information and great recipes from the Amish.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good page turner!

[Lyn Soulia-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a mystery but it also covered the topic of a forigen family moving to town. Good story

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange disasters are happening in Sugarcreek disrupting businesses & families. Cheryl sets out to get to the bottom of it.