Plainly Murder by Isabella Alan

Plainly Murder (Amish Quilt Shop Mystery, #0.5)

by Isabella Alan

Welcome to Rolling Brook, Ohio, a quaint Amish community where life is less tranquil than it seems.   

Angela Braddock has come to Rolling Brook to lend a hand at her Aunt Eleanor’s traditional Amish quilt shop. But when Eleanor’s quilting circle mourns the loss of their oldest member, Evelyn, they make a startling discovery about a tragic event in Evelyn’s past. More than a decade earlier, during a barn raising, Evelyn’s son Eric fell from the roof and died. Evelyn had always insisted that Eric was pushed, and now a clue in an old quilt convinces Angie to dig up the truth…and discover one of Rolling Brook’s darkest secrets.

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

3 of 5 stars

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I pre-ordered the first book in this series, [b:Murder, Plain and Simple|15985366|Murder, Plain and Simple (Amish Shop Quilt Mysteries #1)|Isabella Alan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1368411743s/15985366.jpg|21739811], so when I saw this release I grabbed it, eager for an introduction to the characters and setting.

This felt longer than most of the in-between novellas I've read and definitely a bit more involved. Was Eric pushed or did he fall from the roof during a barn raising 15 years ago? It's a very straight forward mystery, as it needs to be in it's shorter format. As such, the suspects are few and the outcome somewhat predictable. But you don't really to buy a novella for the plot, so much as for more information on the characters. I liked Angie and the dog sounds like a gem. I was disappointed that it seems we can count on a cantankerous old biddy who will be going out of her way to make Angie's life miserable in future books, in the form of Martha. Hopefully she'll be offset by Anna, and possibly Rachel.

Overall, a good introduction if you're interested in reading the first book of the series.

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Reading updates

  • 8 August, 2013: Started reading
  • 8 August, 2013: Finished reading
  • 8 August, 2013: Reviewed
  • Started reading
  • Finished reading
  • 8 August, 2013: Reviewed