Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Plain Scandal | 2013 | Amanda Flower | Buy |
| 2 | A Plain Death | 2012 | Amanda Flower | Buy |
| 3 | A Plain Disappearance | 2013 | Amanda Flower | Buy |
| 4 | A Plain Malice | 2014 | Amanda Flower | Buy |
| 5 | Because I Could Not Stop for Death | 2022 | Amanda Flower | Buy |
| 6 | I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died | 2023 | Amanda Flower | Buy |
Amanda Flower’s Appleseed Creek series features mysteries set in an Amish community in Ohio. A Plain Death (2012) introduces the setting, followed by A Plain Scandal (2013), A Plain Disappearance (2013), and A Plain Malice (2014).
The first four books follow a computer science professor who moves to a small Ohio town and keeps getting pulled into murder investigations within the local Amish community. The clash between modern technology and traditional Amish life gives the series a distinctive hook. Each mystery is self-contained, though characters develop across the books.
The series later expanded with Because I Could Not Stop for Death (2022) and I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died (2023), both with Emily Dickinson-inspired titles. Flower is a prolific cozy mystery author with several Amish-set series to her name, but Appleseed Creek was one of her earliest. Readers who like small-town settings with an Amish backdrop will find this a good starting point.