Murder in Plain Sight is the first book in the Brotherhood of the Raven trilogy that takes place in Amish country. It is different from the usual Amish fiction as this one is a murder mystery. Author Marta Perry has published 118 novels! All of them are Amish fiction. I enjoyed this book so I think I will be very busy reading some of her novels this year.

The publisher's summary:
Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—against the community's bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community… and believes in the boy's guilt. Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic, stirred up by the biased publicity of the case; the dead girl's boyfriend; even from the person she's learned to trust the most, Trey Morgan. But just when Jessica fears she's placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future—including their own.

The mystery concerning who killed Cherry Wilson was expertly plotted. However, our protagonist Jessica Langdon is a lousy attorney. No, this is not stated in the story but it is obvious that she is incompetent because she was sharing confidential information about the case with most of the characters in the story. She let herself be guided by them.

Jessica's character is the only character I didn't like much. She is not plausible as an attorney. Trey is interesting in that he is an Englischer who is fully trusted by his Amish neighbors. His mother Geneva is a sweet, wise woman and I would love to read more stories that include them both. The Amish Bishop was portrayed as a kindly old soul. He was not the usual ornery, stay away from the English, boss that I am accustomed to read about. All of these characters would make awesome series characters. Jessica needs work though. The budding romance between Jessica and Trey was hard for me to accept. While opposites attract, I felt that the author was telling the reader and not showing the reader how their relationship developed.

Despite the negatives I described above, the solving of the crime was suspenseful and kept me reading. ( )

Murder in Plain Sight
3 Stars

When Philadelphia defense attorney Jessica Langdon is assigned the case of a young Amish boy accused of murder, she assumes it will be a simple plea bargain. With little knowledge of the Amish community and threats emerging from all sides, Jessica is forced to rely on the help of local businessman Trey Morgan whose arrogance is eclipsed only by his biased attitudes. Can Jessica overcome the obstacles to uncover the truth and save a boy's life?

As a fan of Linda Castillo's fantastic Kate Burkholder series, I was looking forward to this book due to the similar setting. Unfortunately, it does not live up to expectations as the mystery is predictable, the villain is obvious and the romance lacks zing.

While the information on the Amish is interesting and the descriptions are not as graphic as in Castillo's books, the characterization is one dimensional and the relationship between Jessica and Trey feels forced rather than natural. Not only is their supposed romance very light on the chemistry, but there is an underlying air of mistrust and suspicion that taints almost all of their interactions.

The suspense plot doesn't make much sense and the killer's motivations are not sufficiently explained. There are hints at a wider story arc, but it lacks foundation and it not interesting enough to warrant continuing with the series.
( )

I enjoyed this story of a young Philadelphia lawyer thrown in to the deep waters of Amish country. Jessica Langdon did not ask for the job of defending a young Amish man against a murder charge but she is determined to do the best job she can. But to break through the cultural differences she is going to need local help. Enter the Morgan family who retained her. While Mrs Morgan is anxious to help, her son Trey does not want to get the family involved. But Jessica slowly breaks down his resistance.

As I said I enjoyed this. Any mystery or thriller set in Amish country attracts me. I found the insights into Amish life and custom interesting. The mystery was also pretty good and there was some action. I will be reading the next one in the series. ( )

This book was a lot better than I expected. I really enjoyed the suspense and a little romance. I have the second book in this series and will probably read it next year. ( )

MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT by Marta Perry is a romantic suspense present day Springville, PA. It is a wonderful story of suspense,Amish culture,betrayal,murder,love,
romance,danger and buried secrets. While the community is wielding from one of their own committing murder,other secrets will come to light.Against the Amish community's
wishes and through their outrage,a friend of the young man accused of the violent crime, hires an attorney from Philadelphia to represent him.The attorney Jessica finds difficultoppression and finds a friend and romance with Trey,whose mother is the one to hire Jessica.Together they face danger,violent outrage and will find some answers and love.It also shows views of the Amish culture conflicts with the English's courts and justice system.This is a great read full of mystery,murder and buried secrets.This book was received for the purpose of review from Net Galley and can be found at HQN and My Book Addiction and More. ( )