Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F Gau
Series
Collections
Publication
Ohio University Press (1999), Edition: 1, 235 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Christian Fiction. Thriller. HTML:Read P. L. Gaus's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community. Book 1 of the Amish-Country Mysteries 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.".
Original publication date
1999
User reviews
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
When a 10-year-old Amish boy disappears, his grandfather, the bishop of their Old Order Amish community, doesn't contact the police. Instead, he turns to Pastor Cal Troyer, the only English person who has the community's trust. Troyer has to leave in a few days to attend a conference, so he calls
I often feel like books are longer than they need to be, but I had the opposite reaction to this book. I felt like important details were missing. It's the first book in a series, but it seems like a middle book. I felt like I was missing information about some of the characters that had been revealed in earlier books that I hadn't read. I never understood why the professor, a specialist in Civil War history, was acting as a private investigator. The book mentions that he's conducted about a dozen earlier investigations, but never explains why. Most of the action takes place in June. Does he spend the summer between semesters working as a P.I.? Cal Troyer's character doesn't seem necessary. He is around for the first few chapters, leaves for a conference, and shows up again at the end after the tension has been resolved. Why not have the Bishop go directly to the professor for help instead of using a middle man? It also seems like parts of conversations are missing. One of the characters will have an “aha” moment, and start to tell another character something, but they don't include the reader in their conversation.
This appears to be the author's first mystery novel, so the shortcomings I noted may be less of a problem in later books in the series. To his credit, the author successfully disguised a clue that gave away the culprit. I usually can spot those clues, but not this time!
I'm always on the lookout for mysteries set in unusual locations, so I find a series set in Holmes County, Ohio's, Amish community appealing. I've got the next two books in my TBR stash. I'll be curious to see if the books improve as the series progresses.
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in his long-time friend, college professor Michael Branden. With help from his wife, as well as whatever information he can get from the local sheriff (also a long-time friend) without breaking his promise to the Bishop, Branden sets out to find the boy. First, he must find the boy's father, who had been shunned by the Bishop a decade ago.I often feel like books are longer than they need to be, but I had the opposite reaction to this book. I felt like important details were missing. It's the first book in a series, but it seems like a middle book. I felt like I was missing information about some of the characters that had been revealed in earlier books that I hadn't read. I never understood why the professor, a specialist in Civil War history, was acting as a private investigator. The book mentions that he's conducted about a dozen earlier investigations, but never explains why. Most of the action takes place in June. Does he spend the summer between semesters working as a P.I.? Cal Troyer's character doesn't seem necessary. He is around for the first few chapters, leaves for a conference, and shows up again at the end after the tension has been resolved. Why not have the Bishop go directly to the professor for help instead of using a middle man? It also seems like parts of conversations are missing. One of the characters will have an “aha” moment, and start to tell another character something, but they don't include the reader in their conversation.
This appears to be the author's first mystery novel, so the shortcomings I noted may be less of a problem in later books in the series. To his credit, the author successfully disguised a clue that gave away the culprit. I usually can spot those clues, but not this time!
I'm always on the lookout for mysteries set in unusual locations, so I find a series set in Holmes County, Ohio's, Amish community appealing. I've got the next two books in my TBR stash. I'll be curious to see if the books improve as the series progresses.
Show Less
LibraryThing member thornton37814
This is a fascinating glance at Ohio's Amish country with far less romanticism of the culture than one finds in most books that are sometimes labeled Amish fiction. Bishop Miller's grandson has gone missing, but the Bishop knows his son has taken them. He reluctantly enlists the aid of an "English"
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pastor (Troyer) and a professor (Branden) who has a reputation for solving crimes during his summer breaks. While Branden's wife wants him to call on the sheriff to assist, Branden honors his promise to the Bishop for discretion. It isn't long until the sheriff is involved in cases related to the original matter. I enjoyed this first installment, but I felt that some of the characters were not as developed as they needed to be. We know that Branden has been involved in helping the police solve crimes in the past from conversations in the book, but we are never enlightened as to what these are. Most mystery series start with the first involvement of the amateur sleuth instead of leaving it to the reader's imagination to fill the void. I have Amish ancestry with lines who lived in Holmes and Wayne County in the first half of the 19th century (before moving westward). I was quite familiar with area being portrayed, and like some of the characters in the book, I lament the commercialization that continues to take place in the area. I did enjoy the mystery, and I found the local sheriff, the two deputies with whom we became most acquainted, and the professor and his wife quite likeable. I hope to be able to continue with this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member richardderus
Rating: 3.8* of five
The Publisher Says: Plume's paper edition copy: 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
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."
Ohio University Press's hardcover copy: From the choppy waves off Lake Erie's Middle Bass Island to the too tranquil farmlands of Holmes County's Amish countryside, mystery and foreboding lurk under layers of tradition and repression before boiling up to the surface with tragic consequences.For Jon Mills, the journey begins with his decision to retrieve his ten-year-old son from the hands of the Bishop who bad ten years earlier cast Mills out of the Order, the same Bishop who is Jon Mills's father.
When Mills turns up dead, dressed in Amish garb, and with the boy missing, Professor Michael Branden plunges headlong into the closed culture to unravel the mystery and find the boy.
My Review: I don't imagine that I need to go over my hostility, nay hatred, for christian religion and its evils yet again. But given that I am without sympathy for the central organizing principle of the book's characters, why on EARTH would I pick it up?
Because it is never a good idea to shut one's self off from points of view not one's own. Illumination comes only when the curtains are open.
I started reading the book with modest expectations, and the writing delivered on those admirably. Not one paragraph stands out in my mind. No phrases clink against the myriad of quotes stored in my magpie's-paradise of a memory. Not one single crappy turn of phrase, a few slightly ungainly sentences, but overall a solid B+ effort of writing. It's the first in the series, so that's okay by me.
The murder and its motivations made me smile. Seeing a grand high muckity-muck of a christian sect that's looney even by their looney standards get it in the eye? Bliss! Seeing their bizarre separatist way of life illuminated so clearly? Fascination. The sleuthing team's interconnectedness and small-town life-long knowledge of each other, and watching that develop and alter, was a pleasure.
Gaus very clearly understands the world he's writing about, and clearly also makes a strong effort to be fair and informative to and about it. He doesn't go all preachy-teachy and he doesn't gloss over the good or the bad effects of the Plain People's (hubristic) separation from the world of the English and its attendant vanities. (Isn't a focus on eliminating vanity simply vanity in sneakers?)
I liked the book. I'll read the next few, though I doubt there's enough there there to keep me reading for all eight that exist to date. Of course I could be wrong, heaven knows it wouldn't be the first time.
But my wrongness aside, don't turn away from the pleasure of acquainting yourself with this interesting, weird world.
The Publisher Says: Plume's paper edition copy: 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
Show More
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."
Ohio University Press's hardcover copy: From the choppy waves off Lake Erie's Middle Bass Island to the too tranquil farmlands of Holmes County's Amish countryside, mystery and foreboding lurk under layers of tradition and repression before boiling up to the surface with tragic consequences.For Jon Mills, the journey begins with his decision to retrieve his ten-year-old son from the hands of the Bishop who bad ten years earlier cast Mills out of the Order, the same Bishop who is Jon Mills's father.
When Mills turns up dead, dressed in Amish garb, and with the boy missing, Professor Michael Branden plunges headlong into the closed culture to unravel the mystery and find the boy.
My Review: I don't imagine that I need to go over my hostility, nay hatred, for christian religion and its evils yet again. But given that I am without sympathy for the central organizing principle of the book's characters, why on EARTH would I pick it up?
Because it is never a good idea to shut one's self off from points of view not one's own. Illumination comes only when the curtains are open.
I started reading the book with modest expectations, and the writing delivered on those admirably. Not one paragraph stands out in my mind. No phrases clink against the myriad of quotes stored in my magpie's-paradise of a memory. Not one single crappy turn of phrase, a few slightly ungainly sentences, but overall a solid B+ effort of writing. It's the first in the series, so that's okay by me.
The murder and its motivations made me smile. Seeing a grand high muckity-muck of a christian sect that's looney even by their looney standards get it in the eye? Bliss! Seeing their bizarre separatist way of life illuminated so clearly? Fascination. The sleuthing team's interconnectedness and small-town life-long knowledge of each other, and watching that develop and alter, was a pleasure.
Gaus very clearly understands the world he's writing about, and clearly also makes a strong effort to be fair and informative to and about it. He doesn't go all preachy-teachy and he doesn't gloss over the good or the bad effects of the Plain People's (hubristic) separation from the world of the English and its attendant vanities. (Isn't a focus on eliminating vanity simply vanity in sneakers?)
I liked the book. I'll read the next few, though I doubt there's enough there there to keep me reading for all eight that exist to date. Of course I could be wrong, heaven knows it wouldn't be the first time.
But my wrongness aside, don't turn away from the pleasure of acquainting yourself with this interesting, weird world.
Show Less
LibraryThing member coffeeandabookchick
I enjoyed this quite a bit. Although a quick read, it's an exceptionally smart mystery, and it certainly does an effective job in telling a sound story full of absorbing insights into the Amish way of life. There are intelligent layers within this story, of both the personal lives of the Professor
I also must admit that there were times, especially towards the end, when my throat closed up as I read, and I'm pretty sure if someone asked me a question at that exact moment, or tried to talk with me, I'd have to blink back some tears and collect myself before trying to speak.
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and his wife, but also of the Amish community and the politics of the English living side by side with the Plain People. The characters were exceedingly interesting with each scene (my personal favorites: the Professor, his wife, and Sheriff Robertson), and I was caught up in the mystery of it all. I had no idea who did the kidnapping, who committed murder, until the scenes unfolded before me. P.L. Gaus has combined the surrounding Amish countryside and charming characters into a developed and well-researched journey of a mystery. This is book one in the Amish-Country Mystery series, so there's no doubt that I'm interested to pick up the next one.I also must admit that there were times, especially towards the end, when my throat closed up as I read, and I'm pretty sure if someone asked me a question at that exact moment, or tried to talk with me, I'd have to blink back some tears and collect myself before trying to speak.
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LibraryThing member KikiHowell
In “Blood of the Prodigal”, P.L. Gaus spends a lot of time in the details. What stands out first is his eye for the setting. He makes the countryside of Holmes county and the plain people who inhabit it genuine, authentic for the reader.
For me, the perspective of the book was unique from any I
Yet, aside from the elaborate settings and insights into Amish ways this story if definitely a mystery which trickles the details, keeping you turning the pages to know more. I struggled between reading faster to know more and not wanting to miss any of the descriptive writing. The plot was intricate, but not so much that you had trouble keeping up. Gaus did well, created a nice balance between giving me enough new information and withholding enough of the mystery to keep me interested. Great hints were dropped slowly, the pace perfect with the idea created of the fires and frustrations which can be ignited by a simple, but strong faith.
For me, the perspective of the book was unique from any I
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have read before. Written from various points of view from outsiders looking in at the Amish, as the reader I quickly learned these voices were not the main characters…or, at least, I didn’t think so. It was through the eyes or voice of a preacher and a professor, outsiders, that the Amish Bishop, his son and grandson came to life. Myself, I have never known much about the culture of the Amish, but interweaved into the mystery were amazing insights into them. The book was obviously well researched and reading about the author, a lot of his knowledge came from living in the area himself. The writing advice to write what you know seems to have paid off in spades for P.L. Gaus. Again, it is the details that shows through, gives the story its real, honest depth.Yet, aside from the elaborate settings and insights into Amish ways this story if definitely a mystery which trickles the details, keeping you turning the pages to know more. I struggled between reading faster to know more and not wanting to miss any of the descriptive writing. The plot was intricate, but not so much that you had trouble keeping up. Gaus did well, created a nice balance between giving me enough new information and withholding enough of the mystery to keep me interested. Great hints were dropped slowly, the pace perfect with the idea created of the fires and frustrations which can be ignited by a simple, but strong faith.
Show Less
LibraryThing member redheadish
All I can say is I need to do some research into the terminology of the amish! I had never heard of bundling before but now that I have I still didn't get a big enough grasp on the term. and few other german words that I am sure I kinda understood the meaning in the english sentence but would like
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to look up those words too. great book Show Less
LibraryThing member Maydacat
P. L. Gaus has given the mystery reader a gem of a story with The Blood of the Prodigal. Not quite a cozy and with some aspects of a police procedural, it is an unique approach. With characters that come alive on the page and with clues to follow, the reader will be engrossed from the very
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beginning of the tale. Set in Ohio’s Amish community, Gaus creatively combines characters of both the Amish and the “English” communities with a deft hand. With an engaging mystery that is not burdened with an overabundance of red herrings or buried in flowery descriptions, this series promises to entertain as well as enlighten the reader. Show Less
LibraryThing member Robin661
Blood of the Prodigal (An Ohio Amish Mystery)
P.L. Gaus
This is the beginning of the Amish Mysteries set in Ohio. It is about the grandson of one of the leaders in the Amish community and his kidnapping. The pastor, professor and the sheriff are the only three Englishers that the Amish have any kind
P.L. Gaus
This is the beginning of the Amish Mysteries set in Ohio. It is about the grandson of one of the leaders in the Amish community and his kidnapping. The pastor, professor and the sheriff are the only three Englishers that the Amish have any kind
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of relationship with. The professor, who ends up with a bulk of the investigation is trying to find the location of the grandson. From murder to locating the grandson the suspense and the who, what, when and why are constant. The ending has a good twist and most plausible. There are always details kept from the reader that the professor or others know about. This does make for more wild guessing although is a little off putting because a reader likes to feel like part of the team. I also found it difficult to lay aside old story lines when so many of the characters reappear. I kept having to sort apart a later book from this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
This is the first of the Ohio Amish Country mysteries. I read one of the later ones in the series first and I didn't feel I needed back-fill. However, this one, gives an excellent explanation of the Amish philosophy, religion and way of life, and serves as a great introduction to the series. I
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can't say I agree with everything that was done in the name of religion, but the story, of a young man shunned, a younger boy kidnapped, and a dead body (was it a murder?) to be investigated by "English" vice Amish certainly made for a page turning read. I'd definitely recommend the series to anyone who likes a good mystery with well-developed characters, a sense of place, and a knotty mystery. I honestly didn't know the outcome until about 5 paragraphs from the end! Show Less
LibraryThing member tshrope
Little mystery set in Amish Country, a little too slow. It's not bad, just not compelling. May pick it up again at another time.
Pages
235