Plain Murder

A woman who left the Amish community long ago returns to Pennsylvania—and finds herself negotiating between her people and the police…   In this unique mystery debut, a shallow grave is found on a Pennsylvania farm, and one woman straddling the Amish and outside worlds must uncover a killer—and create a life on her own terms… Fifteen years after leaving her Old Order Amish life, Rachel Mast has returned to Stone Mill, Pennsylvania. Corporate success didn't bring true happiness, but Rachel also knows she can never be Amish again. Instead she runs a B&B and tries to help her community in ways they can't help themselves. But now a gruesome discovery has been made on her Uncle Aaron's cow pasture—the body of prominent Englisher businessman Willy O'Day. Aaron refuses to hire a lawyer, trusting his innocence, and his faith, to see him through. Rachel isn't so sure, especially given the long public feud between the two men. Her relatives won't speak to the police, but they will talk to Rachel—if she puts on a skirt and bonnet. Rachel knows emotions and entanglements run as complicated in the Amish world as outside it. But as she delves deeper to clear Aaron's name, she discovers secrets that put her own life in danger…   “Rachel’s struggle to reconcile her traditional upbringing and ‘Englisher’ lifestyle provides this whodunit with its most intriguing element.”—Publishers Weekly