Broken English — 2000

An Ohio Amish Mystery

The second in an acclaimed mystery series

"Gaus weaves his extensive knowledge of Amish ways into this fascinating, suspenseful tale. There is a ‘show-in-plain-sight’ clue that will escape all but the most astute readers. The characters are differentiated and believable, from Sands, who feels ‘no imposing moral dilemma’ to Hawkins’ Amish fiancée, who insists on Hawkins’ innocence. This is a deeply felt, insightful book."

Ohioana Quarterly

The peaceful town of Millersburg, Ohio, in the heart of Ohio's Amish country, is rocked by the vicious murder of one of its citizens at the hands of an ex-convict. When a local reporter covering the story ends up dead as well, with the convict already behind bars, suspicion falls on David Hawkins, father of the first victim. But Hawkins is nowhere to be found, not even among the protective Amish colony that had taken him in as one of its own regardless of his shadowy past.

Following on the critical and popular success of his first book, mystery writer P. L. Gaus again brings us a moral and legal conundrum as Professor Michael Branden, Sheriff Bruce Robertson, and Pastor Cal Troyer set out to uncover the truth that seems so elusive in their otherwise quiet corner of the world.

Along the way, Gaus paints a unique portrait of the relationship between the Amish and the "English" cultures as seen from the inside. Against this backdrop, Broken English is a tale of honor, deception, and revenge, where circumstances and the search for justice test the mettle of the closest of friends and reveal the desperate measures of the strongest of foes.

P. L. Gaus is the author of the Ohio Amish Mysteries including, most recently, Separate from the World, and A Prayer for the Night. He teaches chemistry and alternative cultures at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.

Visit his blog at P. L. Gaus’s Ohio Amish Journal.