Claire Weatherly and her beau, police detective Jakob Fisher, learn that when it comes to murder, evil can hide in plain sight in this all-new addition to the national bestselling Amish Mysteries. Jakob and Claire have been enjoying more time together in lovely Heavenly, PA. With Claire's help, the detective is making slow progress reconnecting with the members of his Amish family who shunned him when he left to pursue a career in law enforcement. Jakob's mentor, Russ Granger, the long-retired police chief who inspired him to become a cop, is back in town. Claire has always wanted to meet the man who changed the course of Jakob's life. But not long after he arrives in Heavenly, Russ is murdered. Jakob can only imagine that his old friend must have been killed by someone outside of the Amish community. He and Claire soon find that things are not as they seem--and that Russ may have stumbled into something sinister before he was killed. The answers they uncover are closer to home and more shocking than they ever expected.

First in a new series! When Angela Braddock inherits her late aunt’s beautiful Amish quilt shop, she leaves behind her career and broken engagement for a fresh start in Holmes County, Ohio. With her snazzy cowboy boots and her ornithophobic French bulldog, Angie doesn’t exactly fit in with the predominantly Amish community in Rolling Brook, but her aunt’s quilting circle tries to make her feel welcome as she prepares for the reopening of Running Stitch. On the big day, Angie gets a taste of success as the locals and Englisch tourists browse the store’s wares while the quilters stitch away. But when Angie finds the body of ornery Amish woodworker Joseph in her storeroom the next morning, everything starts falling apart. With evidence mounting against her, Angie is determined to find the culprit before the local sheriff can arrest her. Rolling Brook always appeared to be a simple place, but the closer Angie gets to the killer, the more she realizes that nothing in the small Amish community is as plain as it seems....

Did a sweet–faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big–city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend the boy against the community's bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community...and believes in the boy's guilt. Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic stirred up by the biased publicity of the case, the dead girl's boyfriend, even from the person she's learned to trust the most; Trey Morgan. But just when Jessica fears she's placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. Now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future – including their own.

Rachel Mast 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?

Two women from different walks of life must join together to solve a mystery in Middlebury’s Amish Artisan Village. Spring has arrived in Middlebury, Indiana, and Amber Wright is optimistic about the growing profit from her collection of Amish shops—until she receives a call that Ethan Gray is dead. Hurrying over to A Simple Blend, she finds a solitary hole in the front window and the store manager lying next to the espresso machine, dead from an apparent heart attack. All the money is still in his register. When Amber hires a young Amish woman, Hannah Troyer, to take over the shop’s duties, the two women become fast friends—as well as amateur sleuths. The police believe Gray’s death is a by-product of vandalism, but Amber and Hannah aren't convinced. Clues that don't add up, a neighbor who is pulled into the midst of the investigation, a town with secrets to hide, and a blossoming romance—all will combine to push Amber and Hannah into unfamiliar roles in order to reveal answers to the mysteries around them. “Vannetta Chapman has crafted a tightly woven tale in the best tradition of cozy mystery . . . Chapman’s light touch and thoughtful representation of the Amish culture make Murder Simply Brewed a delightful read for an evening by a warm fire, a cup of tea in hand.” —Kelly Irvin, bestselling author of The Amish of Bee County series “Murder Simply Brewed combines all the coziness of an Amish home with the twists and turns of great suspense. With a little romance thrown in, you can’t go wrong! Vannetta Chapman has crafted a charming story that shows things are always as they first appear.” —Beth Shriver, bestselling author of the Touch of Grace trilogy “Vannetta Chapman’s Murder Simply Brewed is a heartwarming whudunit that is sure to satisfy fans of both Amish romance and cozy mystery.” —Amanda Flower, author of A Plain Disappearance “A wonderful story of first love, second love, and a murder that pulls them all together in a page turning way. Murder Simply Brewed is a must read for all Amish fans!” —Ruth Reid, bestselling author of the Heaven on Earth and the Amish Wonders series Sweet and cozy Amish mystery Part of the Amish Village Mystery Series. Book 1: Murder Simply Brewed; Book 2: Murder Tightly Knit; Book 3: Murder Freshly Baked Book length: 85,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs

"The first book to examine murder through written words. A criminologist and an anthropologist explore the motives for murder by analyzing the writings of convicted killers as well as depictions of murder in literature and the media"--

From Susan Wittig Albert, the New York Times best-selling author of Queen Anne’s Lace, comes an intriguing new addition to her widely-acclaimed China Bayles Mysteries. ​China and Ruby Wilcox are presenting their annual “Not Just Plain Vanilla Workshop,” always a huge hit with customers at Thyme & Seasons Herb Shop. But someone involved with the workshop is driven by a deadly motive, and China soon finds herself teaming up with the very pregnant Pecan Springs police chief Sheila Dawson to solve a vanilla-flavored murder. Sheila, happy to get out from behind the chief’s desk, is investigating the death of a botany professor, a prominent researcher specializing in vanilla orchids. China is trying to help a longtime friend: the dead professor’s ex-wife and a prime suspect in his murder. However, there’s no shortage of other suspects: a betrayed lover, a disgruntled graduate student, jealous colleagues, and a gang of orchid smugglers. But the lethal roots of this mystery reach back into the dark tropical jungles of Mexico, where the vanilla vine was first cultivated. At stake: a lucrative plant patent, an orchid that is extinct in the wild, and the life of an innocent little girl. A Plain Vanilla Murder is a flavorful blend of mystery and herb lore, present sins and past secrets, and characters who are as real as your next-door neighbors—stirred together in an absorbing novel that only Susan Wittig Albert could create.