Amish Fiction

Mattie Fisher's three daughters know that she's been keeping a secret from them. With each item pulled from the beloved family hope chest, they've discovered a new clue about their mother's past. But there's a reason Mattie has been keeping her history hidden, and she's not sure she's ready to reopen old wounds. Will dredging up the past change the way her children view her? Or her marriage to their father? And can she handle the pain of revisiting the memories that preceded the last few happy decades?

It's August in Holmes County, and that means it's time for the Holmes County Fair. It's the county's biggest annual event, and this year, Millie has entered the quilting competition—while her very not Amish best friend, Lois Henry, is distracted by her new dating app and her search for husband number five. When someone attacks the quilt barn by slashing the quilt display, it's unsettling enough. But when a quilting judge is found murdered, Millie knows it's time to for Lois to get off her app and help her hunt for a killer instead—before the competition is wiped out for good.

For the past two years Belinda King, along with her two grown daughters and teenage son, has been struggling to keep the family greenhouse running. Despite disconcerting events that have threatened to put them out of business, they have survived two growing seasons. And now Belinda can focus on the two suitors vying for her attention. Herschel Fisher, a new acquaintance, makes her feel relaxed, and Monroe Esh, an admirer from her past, reminds her of her youth. But just when Belinda thinks she can choose between her suitors, life throws more trials her way.

Phineas King knows better than to expect anything but shock and pity wherever he shows his face. Horribly scarred from the tragic accident that claimed his mother's life, he chooses to keep his distance from everyone, focusing his time and energy on the bees his family raises. So why does he start finding excuses to seek out Deborah Lantz, the beautiful new arrival in town?

Leila Lantz has been in love with Jesse Glick from the day she first saw him at his father's store, but she can't make sense of his intentions. One day he wants to come courting, the next he seems to be putting distance between them. Jesse may be the bishop's son, but his faith has been wavering of late. If he is so unsure, is it fair to give Leila false hope for a future he doubts he can provide?

Sisters Esther and Lizzie have a new employee, Rose Petersheim, to help them tend to The Peony Inn. But their old matchmaking ways have stayed the same. The sisters focus their efforts on the lovely twenty-five-year-old Rose. Though Rose is witty and outspoken, her nervous chattering makes her the best match for someone calm and good at listening. Someone like Benjamin—the handsome handyman who recently moved to town. But when Esther receives an anonymous love letter and flowers, Rose’s love life is no longer the only one capturing the sisters’ attention.

Karl Graber is too busy struggling with his hardware store and two young daughters to indulge local matchmaker Rose Yoder’s schemes. After his wife’s death, the thought of loving and perhaps losing another woman holds no appeal. So while he’s relieved to learn he’s not on Rose’s list of potential husbands for new schoolteacher Sophie Eicher, he’s also surprised. Despite himself, Karl can’t help wondering what Rose thinks he lacks—and why outspoken, attractive Sophie has so little interest in marriage.

Anna Stoltzfus lives a quiet but fulfilling life in Promise Glen. Though she lost her beloved brother in a tragic accident, her family is supportive and close-knit, and her job as a cherished teacher at the Orchard Hill Amish School fills her heart with joy each day. Anna knows one day she'll find someone she can love and marry, but she's perfectly happy with the life she created. Anna's comfort is quickly dashed, however, when the man Anna deemed responsible for James's death returns to the Amish community—Matthew King.

She can't cook, sew, sing, or clean. And no matter how hard young Anna Yoder tries, she'd much rather help people in trouble than be a well-behaved pretty face and properly perfect Amish maiden. So she instantly reaches out to her old schoolmate, Felty Helmuth, when their Amish town ostracizes him for his Korean War army service. He's still the only one who's ever understood Anna - and liked everything from her green Jello carrot salads to her love of books. And this holiday season, she can't help hoping that somehow she and Felty can find a way to be the perfect match....

Bess Weaver, 20 and expecting her first child, is in the kitchen making stew for her beloved mann, Caleb, one minute, and the next, she’s burying him after a tragic accident. Aidan tries to repress his guilt over his best friend Caleb’s death and his long-standing feelings for Bess by working harder than ever. But as he spends time with the young son his friend left behind, he seems to be growing closer to the boy’s beautiful mother as well.

It's autumn in Painter's Mill, and 14-year-old Katie Burkholder has been tasked with picking apples in Zimmerman's Orchard with her brother. It's just another day filled with chores - until her best friend, Mattie, arrives to help. Somehow boredom transforms into fun and games whenever the girls are together. The innocent fun comes to an end when Billy Marquardt and his gang of friends interrupt. Katie is no prude, but she knows better than to associate with the older English boys.

Angie is finding her niche as the new owner of her late aunt's Amish quilt shop, Running Stitch. But as the summer is winding down, so is business. To bolster support for the shop, Angie decides to sell her quilts in the Rolling Brook Amish Auction, including some of her aunt's most prized works.

Judith Graber has always been the obedient daughter. When her older brother Josh struggled with his love life, she offered wise counsel. When her younger brother Caleb flirted with the idea of leaving their order, she firmly told him he was wrong. Over the years, she’s watched her younger siblings, helped around the house, and worked in her family’s store during her spare time. Judith feels overworked, overlooked, and underappreciated this holiday season. But everything changes when her father hires Ben Knox. Ben Knox is the “bad boy” of Sugarcreek.

Under normal circumstances, Anna Byler would have her choice of any of the young men in her Amish community. But because of the strict rules enforced by her grandfather, the bishop, the available suitors are afraid to court her. Then handsome Jacob Hostetler moves to Paradise and decides Anna is worth the challenge. Anna sees that the bishop’s legalism is dividing the community and even risking the lives of its members - but her grandfather doesn’t. When she is forced to deception in order to pursue her dream of marriage and family with Jacob, Anna feels her own faith slipping.

Despite growing pains in her 1846 Amish community in Indiana, Naomi Schrock has settled into a comfortable life in her parents' home with her adopted son, Davey. Surrounded by family and friends, she tries not to think about the fact that she's not at the top of any man's list of potential wives. Yet when Cap Stoltzfus moves into the area and befriends Davey, Naomi finds herself caught between the plans she has made for her future and the tantalizing thought that Cap might be part of a life she never dared to hope for.

After Ettie Smith's friend, Agatha, dies, Ettie is surprised to find that Agatha has left her a house. During building repairs, the body of an Amish man who disappeared 40 years earlier is discovered under the floorboards. When it comes to light that Agatha and the deceased man were once engaged to marry, the police declare Agatha as the murderer. Ettie sets out to prove otherwise. Soon, Ettie hears rumors of stolen diamonds, rival criminal gangs, and a supposed witness to the true murderer's confession.

Amish widow Ruth Mast wants nothing to do with the handsome man from her past who just returned to Cedar Grove. Ruth learned the hard way that Owen Mast’s restlessness always causes trouble. But when a little Amish girl appears on Owen’s porch, lost and afraid, Ruth has no choice but to help the man who only ever causes heartbreak....

As May settles into family life, she has so much to be grateful for. Yes, there are plenty of challenges as she continues to heal from the demons of her past, but her loving husband and sweet children are the greatest earthly gift she could ask for. And having Oba in their home is almost more precious than she could have imagined . . . at least, if it weren't for his ongoing anger and hardness of heart. May's children are steadily growing older, and eventually they begin to face relationship struggles of their own. Can May help them navigate the turbulent waters of young love?

Millie is happy that her childhood friend, Uriah Schrock, has returned to Harvest after decades away. He was sweet on Millie in their school days, but she only had eyes for her future husband. Now, there's a new spark between them, so Millie is concerned when Uriah doesn't show up at the Harvest concert series - or for his job as the Village square's groundskeeper. Perhaps Millie has been involved in too many murder investigations, but she has a sinking feeling. And when she and her best friend, Lois, find Uriah with the police, it seems she's right....

Eliza King already has a broken heart, and thanks to a rickety ladder, she now has a broken leg too. She isn't dealing with either very well. Ever since a brief romance ended when the boy who'd been courting her tried a little too hard to take things further, Eliza has sought refuge in reading books and tending to her beloved horses. Being incapacitated makes the latter impossible. But her Englisch doctor knows an Amish man looking for just such work . . .