Separate from the World

Starred review from June 30, 2008
In Gaus's excellent sixth Ohio Amish mystery (after 2006's A Prayer for the Night
), Enos Erb, an Amish farmer, makes an unusual request of Michael Branden, burned-out history professor and amateur sleuth, given that the Amish practice nonviolence and have no use for the justice system of the outside “English” world. Erb wants the professor's help finding his brother's murderer. People's unwillingness to confront evil hampers Branden's investigation, which gets interrupted by the apparent suicide of a coed, campus unrest and the kidnapping of an Amish child. Between helping Pastor Cal Troyer cope with a personal crisis and keeping Sheriff Bruce Robertson from blundering impulsively, Brandon realizes that a clever, murderous sociopath is exploiting the preconceptions of Amish and English. While Gaus may not be an elegant stylist, a convincing plot and credible, sympathetic characters make another winner in this fine regional series.