Mystery Fiction

Life has never been fuller for Cheryl Miller. Since baby Rebecca joined the family, it seems there are fewer hours in a day and more things to do than ever before. But when Cheryl’s youngest sister-in-law, Esther, is caught with drugs, Cheryl knows she must make the time to help. Esther insists the drugs aren’t hers, but refuses to provide further information. Esther’s friend Henry thinks Englisher Zachary Waller is to blame.

Could Henry simply be wrestling with a bad case of jealousy, since he has always had strong feelings for Esther, and Esther’s attraction to Zachary is plain to see? With strange incidents mounting, Cheryl races to get to the bottom of the sudden influx of drugs in their small community before Esther finds herself in real trouble. But can she do it in time?

Anton Birken has returned to Sugarcreek to attend his mother’s funeral. He was shunned a decade ago after the suspicious disappearance of a teenage Amish girl he liked. While the girl’s parents, and the community, suspected Anton of foul play, the police lacked evidence to arrest him. When Levi allows Anton to stay in their dawdy haus, Cheryl is more than a little worried— especially when another teen girl vanishes after Anton’s arrival. Has the girl simply run away, or has something more sinister transpired? 

Meanwhile, Cheryl entertains Sharon Vogel, a gifted quilter from Lancaster County whose quilts Cheryl wants to sell at the Swiss Miss. However, when local stores experience a wave of peculiar thefts—including one of Sharon’s valuable quilts—Cheryl finds herself embroiled in two mysteries instead of one. Or are they somehow related?

“Make an effort.” These three seemingly innocuous words send Cheryl Miller on her most challenging assignment yet. When Aunt Mitzi handpicks a new tenant for her cottage, she asks Cheryl to “make an effort” to befriend her. But Jayla Nuttall makes it plain she doesn’t welcome any overtures of friendship. Jayla is obviously determined to alienate Cheryl—and everyone else in Sugarcreek. But Cheryl, spurred on by Mitzi’s encouraging letters, sets out to find the culprit behind the series of events that seem intended to terrorize Aunt Mitzi’s tenant. Who is targeting Jayla with these vicious pranks? Or is she herself causing the damage?

Meanwhile, when the Sugarcreek Nursing Home opens a brand new assisted living wing, the activities coordinator invites Naomi to give classes in Amish cooking. Will the accolades cause Naomi to be vain, and pull her away from serving her family on their own farm just when they need her most?