Guest Blog/Review/Giveaway: Murder, Plain and Simple by Isabella Alan

Oliver’s Fear of Birds 

By French bulldog Oliver from Plainly Murder and Murder, Plain and Simple by Isabella Alan 

Angie Braddock is my bestest friend and I don’t know what I would do without her. But even she doesn’t know why I’m afraid of birds. At times, I wish I could tell her, so that she would give up all her ideas to make me like birds. I’ve been to a doggie therapist, acupuncture, and hypnosis. Nothing worked and nothing will because birds are terrifying. 

It all started when I was just a wee thing of a pup before Angie came and gave me my forever home. I didn’t have any litter mates and was alone much of the time as my birth mother napped. Unfortunately, I wasn’t completely alone. My breeder had a cockatiel named Floyd. Shiver! The bird didn’t like me from the word “go” because its owner gave me too much attention. Most of the time the white menace sat in its cage hanging from the ceiling, squawking at me, but sometimes, the owner would let him out to fly around the house while he was at work.  

All day Floyd would torment me. I had to wriggle beneath the covers in my little bed and pray for the owner to return. Sometimes, my birth mother would scare Floyd away, but most of the time she was asleep, and I had to wait for the owner to come home. This went on for weeks until one beautiful day Angie came. The moment I saw her, I knew she was the one for me. She had wild golden hair and the biggest smile I had ever seen. I jumped into her arms and that was that. We were together, and nothing would tear us apart. I knew she would protect me. When Floyd squawked at me, she glared and him, and he shut right up. That was the best day. 

Angie took me back to her apartment in Dallas, and we were happy. Angie was going to marry Ryan and I was going to be the best dog. But then, Ryan broke my sweet Angie’s heart and we moved to Amish Country where there are a lot of birds. Gulp! I know this is what Angie needed to do to recover from her broken heart, so I went along because I love her and that’s what you do for those you love. 

Thankfully, Mr. Gooding, our landlord built a doghouse for me in our backyard. It’s a good place to hide from Floyd’s wild cousins. 

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It’s SUPER SEPTEMBER! Amanda Flower (also writing as Isabella Alan) has three novels releasing in September 2013. To celebrate, she is giving away an authentic Amish Quilt hand-stitched by Amish in Holmes County, Ohio. 

Enter to Win an Authentic Amish Quilt from author Amanda Flower! Click here to Enter! 

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When Angela Braddock inherits her late aunt’s beautiful Amish quilt shop, she leaves behind her career and broken engagement for a fresh start in Holmes County, Ohio.

With her snazzy cowboy boots and her ornithophobic French bulldog, Angie doesn’t exactly fit in with the predominantly Amish community in Rolling Brook, but her aunt’s quilting circle tries to make her feel welcome as she prepares for the reopening of Running Stitch.

On the big day, Angie gets a taste of success as the locals and Englisch tourists browse the store’s wares while the quilters stitch away. But when Angie finds the body of ornery Amish woodworker Joseph in her storeroom the next morning, everything starts falling apart.

With evidence mounting against her, Angie is determined to find the culprit before the local sheriff can arrest her. Rolling Brook always appeared to be a simple place, but the closer Angie gets to the killer, the more she realizes that nothing in the small Amish community is as plain as it seems.

Review: Amish cozies are taking the mystery world by storm, and this first book in Isabella Alan's Amish Quilt Shop Mystery series stands out as one of the best in the bunch. I haven't read a lot of Amish fiction and don't know that much about their culture, but this book made me feel like I was instantly a part of their world.

Angie Braddock inherits her late aunt's Amish quilt shop in Rolling Brook, Ohio, and she's eager to start her new life following a broken engagement in Texas. Unbeknownst to her, Amish lady Martha Yoder, who managed the shop during Aunt Eleanor's illness, believes she should have inherited the shop, which immediately causes friction. Then she discovers the shop's next door neighbor, woodworker Joseph Walker, claims he owns the Running Stitch, and Eleanor's deed is nowhere to be found. So when Angie finds Joseph dead in her storeroom - his throat cut with a fabric rotary cutter, a quilt in shreds beside him - according to the sheriff, she had the biggest motive to kill.

Cowboy boot wearing Angie is a fantastic character, and the friends she makes in town, from bakery owner Rachel to antiques shop owner/foster kitty mom Jessica, make Rolling Brook a place I would love to visit, especially during Watermelon Fest! But the absolute scene stealer here is Angie's French bulldog Oliver, scared to death of birds, prone to overreacting and fainting when he gets upset, yet always faithfully by Angie's side.

This is a pageturner of a debut, and I can't wait for book 2 in the series - hopefully Dodger the kitten will be in his forever home with Angie by then!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher with the request for a review.