Killing Plain


Book Description

In Killing Plain, Ralph Cotton displays the striking combination of gritty authenticity and lyrical beauty that has earned widespread critical acclaim. Ranger Sam Burrack has never had a partner before, but Hadley Jones has more than proven his mettle, and Burrack can tell they’re cut from the same cloth. But two lawmen might not be enough to stop Lonzo Greer and his Black Moon gang as they blaze a bloody trail of murder and destruction across Arizona Territory. Even worse, the cutthroats have a personal vendetta against the rangers for killing one of their own. If the straight-shooting peace officers aren’t careful, they might end up as vulture bait under the hot desert sun.




Plain Killing


Book Description

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?




A Plain Death


Book Description

Chloe Humphrey, 24, is a fish out of water as the computer whiz living in Ohio's Amish Country. She's stretched even further when a local accident turns to murder, and she's in a position to solve the case.




Murder in Plain Sight


Book Description

Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—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. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future—including their own.




Plain Dead


Book Description

When a newspaperman is murdered in the Amish community of Stone Mill, Pennsylvania, Rachel Mast digs up the dirt to find out who wanted to bury the lead... Although she left her Old Order Amish ways in her youth, Rachel discovered corporate life in the English world to be complicated and unfulfilling. Having returned to Stone Mill, she's happy to be running her own B&B. But she's also learning--in more ways than one--that the past is not always so easily left behind. After local newspaperman Bill Billingsly is found gagged and tied to his front porch, left to freeze overnight in a snowstorm, Detective Evan Parks--Rachel's beau--uncovers a file of scandalous information Billingsly intended to publish, including a record of Rachel pleading no contest to charges of corporate misconduct. Though Evan is certain of her innocence, it's up to Rachel to find the real killer. A closer examination of the victim's unpublished report leads Rachel to believe the Amish community is far from sinless. But if she's not careful her obituary might be the next to appear in print...




Murder in Plain English


Book Description

"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"--




Plain Murder


Book Description

London in the 1920s is a grim place for the unemployed, so three men decide to off their boss when they are caught taking bribes. All expect the fuss will end with one well-planned crime, until their leader acquires a taste for murder.




Plain Confession


Book Description

“Miller does an excellent job of portraying Amish life and its often conflicted relationship with mainstream culture.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) When Rachel Mast returned to Stone Mill, Pennsylvania, she unwittingly became a bridge between the closed Amish community and the Englisher police. Now, as she prepares for her wedding, she’s drawn into an investigation that could end in a different ceremony—her funeral . . . Rachel didn’t know Daniel Fisher well, but it still comes as a shock when her fiancé, a state trooper, tells her that the young Amish man’s death may not have been a hunting accident. The police believe he was murdered and they need Rachel’s help telling the family. But when she does, they don’t seem upset or even surprised. Even more unsettling, Daniel’s brother-in-law confesses—while his mother begs Rachel to prove his innocence. But why would he give a false confession? Who is he trying to protect? As Rachel’s search for answers overshadows her wedding plans, rumors swirl that she might not show up at the altar—and that Daniel wasn’t as upstanding as he seemed. While the list of people who wanted him dead grows, Rachel is caught in the killer’s crosshairs, and if she’s not careful, it may be more than her feet that turn cold . . . “[Miller] continues her streak of successfully combining local color and detection.”—Kirkus Reviews Praise for the Amish Mystery series “An excellent addition to the Amish mystery subgenre.”—Library Journal “An exciting tale of mystery, love, and danger.”—Booklist




Killing Plain


Book Description

Ranger Sam Burrack takes on Hadley Jones as a partner to put an end to Lonzo Greer and his Black Moon gang's reign of terror over the Arizona Territory, which ignites the wrath of Lonzo.




Plain Missing


Book Description

When sweethearts disappear, is it an elopement—or a crime? An Amish mystery by an author who “sympathetically portrays the members of this religious sect” (Publishers Weekly). Inn owner Rachel Mast is no longer a devout member of the Amish community of Stone Mill, Pennsylvania, but she still cares deeply for them. So she’s staying at her family’s farm to help her mother through an illness—and at the same time, trying to track down two missing people… When the young gather to sing, it’s usually an evening of wholesome fun—but this time, the event has stirred whispers of scandal. Elsie Hostetler and her sweetheart, Dathan Bender, never came home afterward. There’s not even a trace of their horse and wagon, leading some to suspect that they’ve run off to marry and join the Englisch world. But Rachel fears there’s more to the story than a rebellious elopement. Her fiancé, a state trooper, is out of town, so she starts investigating herself, using her Amish background to pry information from the tight-lipped community. It turns out things were not so peaceful between Elsie and Dathan—and there was also a confrontation at the singing with a short-tempered ex-Marine. Among the simple houses and quiet country roads of Stone Mill, Rachel must find out just what kind of sins have been committed—and who is need of forgiveness . . . Praise for the Amish Mystery series “An excellent addition to the Amish mystery subgenre.”—Library Journal “An exciting tale of mystery, love, and danger.”—Booklist “A well-informed look into the tranquil world of the Amish with a fairly edgy puzzler.”—Kirkus Reviews