Synopses & Reviews
"A sensitive account of the impact on this community when outsiders (that is, the cops) descend to deal with an Amish youth who has confessed to the murder of his fiancée's older, richer, and very persistent admirer.” —The New York Times Book Review
The chill of autumn is just settling into Holmes County, Ohio, when Bishop Leon Shetler is startled out of his morning reverie by the words, “I just killed Glenn Spiegle.” No one—least of all Sherriff Bruce Robertson—believes that Crist Burkholder could actually be a murderer. But the young Amish man is adamant that he killed his romantic rival in order to win Vesta Miller. So when Robertson’s investigation reveals two potentially related murders in Florida’s Pinecraft Amish community, Professor Mike Branden and detective Ricky Niell head south to unravel the connection between the dead man and a far-flung Amish outpost on the shores of Sarasota Bay
Praise for P. L. Gaus and his Amish-Country mysteries:
“Gaus spins a fine mystery.” –Booklist
“Tony Hillerman of the Amish.” –The Christian Science Monitor
Review
Review
PRAISE FOR P.L. GAUS AND HIS AMISH-COUNTRY MYSTERIES
"Spellbinding." -Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
"This is definitely a series worth reading." --Booklist
"Gaus is a sensitive storyteller who matches his cadences to the measured pace of Amish life, catching the tensions among the village's religious factions." - The New York Times Book Review
"Precise, detailed descriptions of Amish practices and full-bodied, unhurried, well-measured prose. A pleasure to read." --Library Journal
"Gaus captures the steady cadence of Amish life and offers a vivid depiction of both the world they live in and their particular vision of human experience." --Christian Science Monitor
"Gaus has done successfully what would seem nearly impossible: to meld a mystery novel with a description of Amish life in Holmes County without scanting either one." --Ohioana Quarterly
Synopsis
A compulsively readable new series that explores a fascinating culture set purposely apart. In the wooded Amish hill country, a professor at a small college, a local pastor, and the county sheriff are the only ones among the mainstream, or "English," who possess the instincts and skills to work the cases that impact all county residents, no matter their code of conduct or religious creed.
David Hawkins came to the quiet town of Millersburg to escape his demons and unexpectedly found salvation in Amish life-until his English daughter is brutally murdered.
Synopsis
Read P. L. Gaus's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community.
A compulsively readable new series that explores a fascinating culture set purposely apart.
In the wooded Amish hill country, a professor at a small college, a local pastor, and the county sheriff are the only ones among the mainstream, or "English," who possess the instincts and skills to work the cases that impact all county residents, no matter their code of conduct or religious creed.
When an Amish boy is kidnapped, a bishop, fearful for the safety of his followers, plunges three outsiders into the traditionally closed society of the "Plain Ones."
Synopsis
Three young friends disappear while traveling on their Amish rite of passage, Rumschpringe, or wild days. In a race against the clock, the sheriff must find a murderer and break a ruthless drug ring operating within the heart of Ohio's Amish Country.
Synopsis
Book 4 of the Amish-Country Mysteries
When the widow of a revered Millersburg College alumnus and one of the school's biggest donors is brutally murdered, authorities fear that Martha Lehman, a young Mennonite college girl, holds the key. but Martha-who was found covered in blood the morning after the murder- isn't talking.
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Synopsis
Enos Erb, an Amish man, claims that his brother,-benny,-a dwarf like himself- has been murdered. Upon investigation, links to a controversial genetics study examining the effects of inbreeding within the Amish community are uncovered-a study in which both Enos and benny had participated.
Synopsis
P. L. Gauss widely praised Amish-Country Mysteries continue to probe the tension between the self-reliance of the Amish world and the urgencies of the English world” (
Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
In Whiskers of the Lion, Sheriff Bruce Robertson is charged with finding a young Amish woman on the run from a murderous drug ring so she can testify in federal court. Wrestling with a recurring childhood nightmare of a deadly lion, the Holmes County sheriff finds himself torn between allegiance to the legal system he upholds and the beliefs of the people he is sworn to protect.
About the Author
Paul Louis Gaus lives with his wife, Madonna, in Wooster, Ohio, just a few miles north of Holmes County, home to the world’s largest settlement of Amish and Mennonite people.