Murder, Simply Stitched

June 1, 2014

Quilt-shop owner Angie Braddock is shocked when she learns that local business leader and councilwoman Wanda Hunt died after eating a poisoned homemade fry pie. Circumstantial evidence points to Angie's Amish friends bakers Rachel and Aaron Miller but she knows the couple wouldn't commit such a crime. Meddling on the behalf of the Amish is not always welcome, but Angie garners enough support from her quilting circle to figure out who was angry enough to want Wanda silenced. It doesn't hurt that handsome Sheriff James Mitchell finds her amateur sleuthing helpful. Mix in a couple of playful dogs, a determined goat, and an earnest kitten--who could resist? VERDICT Alan's second outing (after Murder, Plain and Simple) is at turns playful and engaging as the well-intentioned Englisher strives to rescue her Ohioan Amish friends from a bad fate. Using a familiar framework --handsome cop, wise older woman, eager helper--the author writes a satisfyingly complex cozy. Alan is a pseudonym for librarian-author Amanda Flower.

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