A grave opened in the night. An empty coffin. And a group of elderly Amish sleuths must confront the secrets Sweet Briar tried to bury. Rosie Weaver treasures her simple, steady life — tending her garden, sharing tea with her monthly book club, and keeping danger safely tucked inside her books. Still, widowhood has left her the time to be watchful, even when she pretends otherwise.When a young man’s coffin is discovered empty in the cemetery, Sweet Briar’s calm fractures overnight. The discovery unsettles Rosie and her group with a mystery they cannot ignore, prompting them to wonder what else lies buried beneath their small town.As whispers about Josiah Miller’s rough past and bad crowd grow louder, Rosie, Irma Gingerich, and Lovina Frey realize they can no longer stand aside. Teaming up and cautiously sparring with English Sheriff Johnathan Carr, the three friends begin to untangle a story far more complicated than anyone expected. What kind of man is worth stealing from the grave, and who’s trying to protect his sins?Buried Secrets is the first book in the Amish Book Club Mystery Series, a cozy Amish whodunit featuring three sharp elderly sleuths and a charming small town full of secrets. If you enjoy warm friendships and mysteries that keep you guessing to the end, you’ll love Tracy Fredrychowski’s engaging new series.
I must say right away that the book is written as a cozy mystery. The fact that most of the characters are Amish is coincidental. The cozy formula was used to write the story.
The story opened with Clara Miller tidying up her fabric shop and complaining to herself about her son Josiah. Josiah was hanging out with Englishers, staying out late and, shock of all shocks, purchased fabrics for the shop that had modern designs. As an Amish woman Clara was fuming about the waste of money on these awful fabrics. She was also upset that she couldn't control Josiah. She thought he might leave the Amish community. By the end of the day Josiah had a buggy accident and died.
Owen Kurtz is a gruff Amish man who saw the accident. He is a carpenter who just happened to have a pine coffin on his trailer. Owen kept passersby from seeing the body. He immediately put Josiah's body in the coffin, covered him with a horse blanket and drove the coffin to Bishop Zook's home. No one other than Owen saw the body. He maneuvered to keep folks away from the body and Josiah was buried the next day. Suspicious huh? As the summary above states, someone dug up the coffin and found that it contained bricks. No Josiah though. Later the body was found in Owen's barn.
Rosie Weaver hosts a weekly book club meeting with two other ladies in her cafe where a chapter is discussed each week. The plot of the book they were reading was eerily similar to an ongoing death investigation in their Sweet Briar community. After discussing their book they couldn't help but talk about the mystery surrounding the death of Josiah Miller. These three ladies, Rosie, Irma and Lovina, decided to do a little sleuthing of their own which irritated the Sheriff.
The Sheriff mentioned to Rosie that the death was a homicide. The way Owen described the body was very different from the way it actually appeared. There were witnesses to the buggy crash whose testimony differed from that of Owen. The trio managed to identify the whodunnit and there was a big reveal at the end of the story.
Rosie Weaver is the main character. Her sleuthing abilities are extraordinary and she will make a fantastic amateur sleuth for future installments of the series. The mystery was perfectly plotted with a fast pace. I adored this story and am looking forward to reading more cozy Amish mysteries from the author.
5 out of 5 stars.
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