A PLAIN SCANDAL by Amanda Flower is the second book in the Appleseed Creek Mystery series, but it can be read as a stand alone. Appleseed Creek is in the heart of Amish Country in Ohio. The Amish Community is under attack. Someone is going around attacking them from behind and cutting the girl's long hair or the men's beards. This is considered a hate crime as it is against the Amish religion. Chloe Humphrey, an Englisher, is friends with Timothy and Becky, who used to be Amish but left the church and that way of life. Chloe is worried about her friends and the community they used to be a part of. Their family is still Amish and Chloe is afraid for them and tries to help the police chief solve this mystery.

While all of this is going on, Chloe finds out that a professor from the college she works at is now her landlord of the house she lives in with Becky. He keeps showing up unannounced and Timothy, who has deep feelings for Chloe, doesn't trust him. Read A PLAIN SCANDAL to see if he is right. With all this going on, Chloe, Timothy, and Becky are warned more than once to stay away from the Amish. The Deacon and the Bishop both tell them to stop trying to turn the Amish away from their community which couldn't be further than the truth. They are warned to stay away or the community will shun Becky and Timothy's family. No one wants that to happen.

I loved A PLAIN SCANDAL and it was a very quick read for me. It was very hard for me to put it down! I had to know who was doing this to the peaceful community of Appleseed Creek. I did not know who it was until the end of the book! Just the right mixture of drama, mystery, and action. I was immediately wrapped up in the story of this charming town and the people who live there. I can't wait to continue with this series. While I learned a few things about the Amish while reading A PLAIN SCANDAL, I did not feel as if I was being preached to.

Book Summary

The people of Appleseed Creek in the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country are under attack. Soon after the dust has settled on a buggy accident that turned out to be murder, an unknown assailant begins cutting off the long hair of Amish women and the beards of Amish men.

New to the area, computer specialist Chloe Humphrey may not share their customs, but she is certainly alarmed over these crimes against the Amish and worries how such events will impact her growing number of friends who are more connected to that way of life.

In this small community, when Chloe discovers the body of an Amish businessman who was stabbed in the back and whose beard was cut off, she knows that finding the murderer and restoring peace to Appleseed Creek is as much her responsibility as anyone else’s.