Plain Killing

November 3, 2014
At the outset of Miller’s delightful second Amish mystery (after 2013’s Plain Murder), Rachel Mast, who grew up Amish and now owns a bed-and-breakfast in her hometown of Stone Mill, Pa., finds the body of Beth Glick, who also left the church, floating in a flooded quarry. During the subsequent investigation, Rachel serves as a liaison between local police and the Old Order Amish, who want no part of Englisher justice. After her involvement draws media attention, she receives a call from an Amish exile claiming to be held against her will in New Orleans. Rachel and an Amish cousin, Mary Aaron Hostetler, head south to rescue the girl. Miller portrays the Amish with respect and understanding, noting both the restrictions of their lifestyle and their powerful community bonds. The New Orleans twist may be far-fetched, but readers will be entertained as the spirited Mary Aaron negotiates the French Quarter. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency.

November 15, 2014
Rachel Mast (Plain Murder, 2013, etc.) finds the Amish are no more immune from crime than the people they call the English.It's been years since restless Rachel fled her family's farm as a teen. Starting with only the eighth-grade education afforded most Amish kids, she earned an MBA from Wharton and became successful in business. But Rachel never felt at home in the English world. So she came back to run a bed-and-breakfast in Stone Mill, near central Pennsylvania's thriving Amish community. Now she lives between the two worlds. Her boyfriend, Evan Parks, is a state trooper, but her best friend remains her cousin Mary Aaron Hostetler. Her uncle Aaron and aunt Hannah, tolerant of Rachel's English ways, allow her to drive Mary Aaron and a group of Amish teens to swim at the local quarry, where they're horrified to find the body of Beth Glick. Like Rachel, Beth left Amish life, but unlike Rachel, she left after her baptism and therefore was shunned by the community. What caused her to come back, dressed in Amish garb, to a place she knew she would be unwelcome? Rachel is determined to find out. Ignoring Evan's pleas for caution, she investigates the paths of teens leaving Stone Mill. A panicked call from Hannah Verkler, who disappeared years ago, convinces Rachel she's on the right track. But Hannah's call is from New Orleans. Can Rachel and Mary Aaron find Hannah in a city that represents everything the Amish reject? Miller's second book about Rachel pushes the mystery aside to give vibrancy to the world of Stone Mill and urgency to Rachel's dilemma.

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