Review: A Plain Scandal by Amanda Flower

A Plain Scandal is the second Appleseed Creek Mystery, following A Plain Death, in which Chloe Humphrey investigated the death of the local Amish bishop, developed a crush in the handsome Timothy Troyer, and gained a new housemate, Becky, Timothy's sister.

In this sequel, the Amish of Appleseed Creek, Ohio, have appointed a new, stricter, bishop, the two hooligans who caused the trouble that led to the first bishop's death are in the area again, and four Amish girls have been attacked and had their long braids cut off, a potential religious hate crime but one the local police can do nothing about, because the Amish 'want to settle the case within the district'.

Chloe has a new landlord, a professor from the college where she works, who has plans to renovate and sell the period house and who disproves of the free maintenance Timothy has been doing. There is also conflict between the Troyer family and the new Bishop, partly because of their friendship with Becky, which causes her some anguish as she doesn’t want her new friends to be rejected because of her.

A Plain Scandal was very good. It is a solid murder mystery, with intelligent and realistic characters (not something I can say about many Amish novels), a couple of red herrings, a twist, and all the loose ends tied up by the last page, and some nice progress in the romance between Becky and Timothy. I will certainly be looking forward to reading the next Appleseed Creek mystery.

Thanks to B&H Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Amanda Flower at her website.