Book Review: The Rise and Fall of Miss Fannie’s Biscuits

Reviewed by Jaylynn Korrell

A mouth-watering mystery set in pleasant Amish country 

Fannie Miller, an Amish woman from Ohio, has been a contestant for the local baking contest for the past 9 years, but this is the year she is finally going to win. She knows it because this is the year she will enter her old family recipe for buttermilk biscuits. The prize money will be hers.

This year’s contest could be the biggest yet. Fannie goes around handing out homemade posters to get the buzz going along, but she’s not the only one around planning to win. A few bakery-owning sisters have entered the contest and so has a local couple on the brink of divorce. 

With the stakes higher than ever, Fannie thinks it’s strange that people are not only dropping out of the competition, but they are disappearing altogether. In The Rise and Fall of Miss Fannie’s Biscuits, we follow Fannie Miller as she works tirelessly to solve this mystery.

What a cozy experience this book is! When there isn’t a suspicious event taking place, the pages are filled with warm moments and delectable desserts. If you aren’t a baker already, you’re going to want to start right after finishing this. So many of the women in this story are excellent bakers and use their skills as a means to comfort themselves, their families, and their community. Brunstetter’s descriptions of all the delicious baked goods— the warm cinnamon rolls, flaky biscuits, scrumptious cookies—are going to make you hungry. She weaves this love of making food into the story effortlessly. The end result is a book so good you’ll want to go back for seconds.

Brunstetter characterizes the Amish community with zest and care. Her characters are thoughtful, God-centered, and put an emphasis on community. Still, they are not without their faults—another thing I appreciate about this book. The Beiler sisters in particular are a group of three Amish sisters who are all in their forties and unmarried. They are known to be town gossips and take their jobs quite seriously in that regard. As in any community, there is a a wide array of people with different personalities. Every kind of person is thrown in the mix.

Fannie gets the help of her good friend Foster Bates to solve the mystery of the whereabouts of the previous baking contestants. Bates is a retired cop and current detective, though his business isn’t exactly booming in this quiet town. In fact, that’s the way he likes it to be, but he agrees to help Fannie out of a fondness for her that he isn’t able to shake. The chemistry between these two is one of the most exciting parts of the book. Their personalities play well off of each other, and I never knew how far their attraction would go. Brunstetter keeps that suspense going just as well as the mystery itself. I was rooting for them from the moment they crossed paths.

Romance is tossed into the recipe of this story, but it isn’t all sweet. While Fred and Fannie’s back and forth is a sweet spot in the book, there is another love story that we follow. One of the contestants, Melissa, enters with her husband in an attempt to save their volatile marriage. Their bickering knows no bounds, and I couldn’t help but wonder if their relationship would stand the test of time.

God is the anchor in this story. Most characters rely on Him to center themselves when danger is afoot, relationships are struggling, or when a recipe just isn’t going to plan. Religious readers will find comfort in Brunstetter’s focus on what matters most.

Simultaneously soothing and full of suspense, The Rise and Fall of Miss Fannie’s Biscuits thrives with its lovable characters, stiff competition, and life or death mystery.

Thank you for reading Jaylynn Korrell’s book review of The Rise and Fall of Miss Fannie’s Biscuits by Wanda E. Brunstetter! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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