Book Review: Murder Simply Stitched by Isabella Alan

Angie Braddock is getting used to life in Rolling Brook, Ohio. She’s enjoying running the quilting store her Aunt Eleanor left to her and has made many new friends in the area, including the handsome Sheriff. When Angie participates in the Rolling Brook Amish Auction she expects to sell a quilt or two, but she doesn’t expect to find a dead body. However, dead bodies seem to have the habit of falling in Angie’s path. This time it is a member of the township trustee board, Wanda Hunt. When the police start looking closely at Angie’s good friend, Rachel Miller, who had an argument with Wanda just shortly before her death, Angie knows she has to step in and find the real killer.

My enjoyment of Amish mysteries really came quite as a shock. While I enjoy a good variety of mysteries, it wasn’t until I started reading Amanda Flower’s Appleseed Creek Mysteries, that I found a new cozy mystery sub-genre to throw myself into. With the gentle faith of the Amish, cozy mysteries seem to be a perfect fit for all the little Amish towns across America. The Amish are quiet and go about their business, but that is not to say that murder doesn’t cross their mind.

In the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries, Isabella Alan captures the spirit of the Amish perfectly. From the more strict Amish, like Martha Yoder, who prefer to stick to the old ways, to her friends like Rachel Miller, who is happy to be friends with Englischers, like Angie. Throw in the Englischers living in Rolling Brook and the tourists visiting and you have a great host of colourful characters in Rolling Brook.

I really enjoyed this second adventure with Angie Braddock in Rolling Brook. She delivered a pitch perfect mystery that hit all the right notes with me. I was kept on the edge of my seat trying to solve the mystery surrounding Wanda’s death, and I was still thinking about Rolling Brook long after I turned the last page.

Angie continues to delight me as the amateur sleuth of this series. She’s sweet and good-natured, even at the hands of her pushy mother and the irritating Martha Yoder, who has opened a quilt store next to hers, but she’s also determined. She’s a good friend, who is determined to find the killer and do what she can to save Aaron and Rachel Miller’s business. She’s a pure delight to take an adventure with!

If you’re a fan of Amish mysteries or interested in trying this sub-genre, I highly recommend starting with the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries. You won’t be disappointed!