The Names of Our Tears

Amish-Country Mysteries #8

by P.L. Gaus

Book 8 of the Amish-Country Mysteries

Ruth Zook returns home to Holmes County, Ohio, carrying a heavy suitcase and a heavier heart. Coerced into becoming a drug mule, Ruth retaliates by destroying her illicit burden and pays for it with her life. When Fannie Helmuth confesses that she was similarly coerced, Sheriff Bruce Robertson realizes that the drug dealers’ operation reaches all the way to Florida’s Pinecraft Amish community. He immediately moves the investigation South, where more innocent lives are in jeopardy.

Like the bestselling books in Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire series, The Names of Our Tears is a riveting mystery loaded with the page-turning thrills and suspense that readers love.

Genres: Mystery, Amish, Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2013

About the author

Paul L. Gaus writes The Amish-Country Mysteries, set authentically in the Amish settlements of Holmes County, Ohio. Three life-long friends - Professor Michael Branden, Sheriff Bruce Robertson, and Pastor Caleb Troyer - work sometimes together and other times at crossed purposes to solve mysteries involving the often inscrutable Amish sects of the region. The rich cast of English characters includes the professor's insightful wife Caroline, Holmes County's tenacious Medical Examiner Melissa Taggert, and young Ellie Troyer, the sheriff's resolute dispatcher/secretary. Paul's novels illuminate Amish culture and lifestyle in the context of murder investigations that pull aside the veil on the daily lives of these purposefully plain religious separatists.

There are currently eight novels in the series, published by Plume, a Division of Penguin Group USA. The ninth novel, Whiskers of The Lion, is soon to be published by Plume. The first seven of his novels were originally published as The Ohio Amish Mysteries, by Ohio University Press, before they were all republished as trade paperbacks by Plume.

Paul’s extensive knowledge of the culture and lifestyle of the many Ohio Amish sects comes from over forty years of travel throughout Holmes and the surrounding rural counties in Ohio. His stories are rich with culture, much like the works of Tony Hillerman. It was Paul's friendship with Tony Hillerman that first inspired him to write culture-based mysteries about Amish people.

Reviews

[Ariana]

I just couldn't get into this book. The characters felt flat, the detectives made silly mistakes (2 people in protective custody disappeared while in the same building with their protectors on 2 separate occasions), and none of it felt real.

A female detective was annoyed that she was asked to wear a skirt when she questioned members of the Amish community. This issue came up a few times in the book, and I thought it was ridiculous. I think someone living in Amish Country would go out of their way to make a family who had just lost a daughter feel at ease, and if that means wearing a skirt, wear it. Also, I have spent time in Holmes County, and the Amish there do not seclude themselves and refuse to interact with the English. Wal-Mart even provides covered stalls in the parking lot where the Amish can hitch their horses and leave their buggies while they shop.

The mystery is not solved at the end, and I'm guessing the story will continue in the next book, but I don't think I'll be reading it.

[Della]

What a disappointing slog. I kept pushing through, thinking there might be a point to the plodding pace, but I was left with an unresolved crime and there was really no mystery at all. The back of my large print book had already explained why the victim was dead.

I had expected to learn something about the Amish community but their beliefs and customs were barely touched upon and there was nothing most people don't already know.

It was very odd that the few action scenes happened off stage and were simply mentioned after the fact. It can't be that the writer is trying to avoid anything graphic because the description of the body in the beginning was far more graphic than need be.

Finally, I have to ask why in the world authors name their characters in such purposely confusing ways. There was a point early in the book where a dozen new characters had been introduced in rapid succession and two of them were named Pat Lance and Ricky Neill. For a few confusing pages I thought there were four characters named Pat, Lance, Ricky and Neill. It would be so helpful if last names didn't sound like first names, women's names were clearly women's names, once introduced they were only referred to by either their first or last name, rather than switching up constantly and, really, fewer characters in the first place.

I finally got Pat Lance straight in my head after she put up a fuss on two separate occasions over having to wear a long skirt to visit the bereaved Amish family. What a silly woman. Almost as silly as the officers who lost the girls they were protecting, twice.

Did some publisher tell this writer that he had to write mysteries? When he was writing about Mervin's ordinary life and Emma's anguished soul he was excellent. I just didn't feel compelled by the "mystery," at all.

[Rosemary]

The book did a cursory job of describing the Amish way of life, it did not go into too much detail as to the whys and wherefores. The mystery plot itself was simplistic, very cut and dried, really not much mystery to it. The worst part of the book for me was the ending; it did not tie up loose ends and left the reader hanging. Cannot recommend this book, I expected better.

[Beverley]

I always enjoy the Gaus mysteries. I like the inclusion of the Amish culture, as well as the way he handles the crime descriptions...not graphic!

[Chandra]

I thought I’d try out this series but unfortunately, I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and felt like nothing really happened. I ended up skimming a lot of it. : (

[Connie]

I've read this entire series and was glad to see that the story is getting to be a bit deeper, have more intricacies to it. Well done.

[Liz Alexander]

Not a big fan of this book. It's the first one that I've read by this author. I'd hoped to learn a lot more about the Amish from reading it, but there was nothing I wasn't already aware of.

The opening confused me and it took me a considerable number of pages to get into the book....all those references to roads-- 166, 39, 165 etc felt unnecessarily specific. I was more interested in finding out what was going on than getting such a detailed a sense of the lay of the land!

There was reference to a "professor" and his wife who sounded to me like they were recurring characters, or had appeared in earlier books. This was pretty much taken for granted (that the reader had read the earlier books) so for those of us coming at this title afresh it was all a bit confusing at first.

Plus, I really didn't like the ending. I'm sure that's more realistic, but left everything up in the air with respect to various characters. As a novel, I had expected a more conclusive close.

Sorry -- won't be reading any more of Mr. Gaus' books based on my experience of this one.

[Sandybear76]

I read this book as it was a mystery and as it was located in Holmes County, Ohio. The characters needed a boost and the book really didn't end the story. It just ended without resolving the murder of an Amish girl, who the police think was forced to be a drug mule after her trip to Florida.

[Joanne]

Couldn't get into it.
Highly detailed with who did what, including directions. Detailed enough that I think if the roads are real, I could navigate around the countryside.

[Leanne Cragun]

I did not like the way this book ended.

[Linda]

Not one of his better efforts.

[Evelyn]

This is a slow moving mystery more notable for the atmosphere than for its pace. Critical story elements are telegraphed to the reader so they come as no grand relegation or “ah hah” moment when they occur. Although Amish and Mennonite culture forms a backdrop, this book is It is not as steeped in them as the previous books in this series where the culture formed an integral part of the story. Characters who played minor roles in the past are at the forefront in this tale, while the key characters in the earlier books are peripheral players now. This changes the dynamics of the series.

The plot appears to be recycled from the previous book in this series, “Harmless As Doves”. Unfortunately the author fails to connect the two stories other than through the appearance of several characters and some allusions to events in the previous book. If he had linked them this book, which ends inconclusively, might have been better.

It rates 3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars for being a serviceable mystery and literate book.

[Lori]

As someone who enjoyed the first seven books in this series, this new installment with a new publisher disappointed me. In previous installments, Professor Michael Brandon was the main character/sleuth. Brandon is nowhere around for the first 2/3 of the book. When he does show up, he's conveniently in Florida with his wife when Ricky Neill needs to come down and will need help. The sheriff's department became central, and I felt the time was split between Sheriff Robertson and Ricky Neill. An Amish girl's brutal murder sparks an investigation which shows she unknowingly carried drugs from Florida back to Holmes County in an extra suitcase she was not to open. Other Amish girls who recently visited Pinecraft as well as other evidence help them identify suspects. Holmes County officials work with Florida officials and the DEA to bring resolution. However, the resolution is perhaps the weakest part of this installment. While I enjoy the characters of Sheriff Robertson and Ricky Neill, I want Professor Brandon back in a central role in future installments.

[Dave Weller]

The Names of Our Tears was number seven in the Amish Country Mystery series, and I read the previous six with the exception of book four. I rate this installment my least favorite. The main characters return in this version, although Mike Branden and his wife, Caroline, are vacationing in Florida. Branden was the central character in previous books, but the sheriff, Bruce Robertson, and his staff take center stage in this one. A young Amish girl is found dead after being shot in the head, and we learn that she recently spent a stint working at a Mennonite restaurant in Bradenton, FL. In addition, her family discovered that she dumped four large packages of cocaine in the family farm pond. The Millersburg police suspect that the murdered woman was somehow involved in drug trafficking, and the plot evolves from there. As usual Gaus does a nice job of describing the Amish culture, lifestyle and religious beliefs. Unlike the previous books, however, I felt that this thriller novel lacked punch. There were unanswered questions, so perhaps it will become clear in the next book.

[Alycia]

Maybe I am biased but I don't think I am interested in reading about Amish who don't live in PA and Wisconsin. And I really don't want to read about them from the perspective of small town disgruntled law enforcement. I made the mistake of picking up this book from the library, not realizing it was #8 in the series. The author really expects you to know all the characters right away, even though so many of them have very similar names (Newell and Niell, Branden and Bruder, Bobby and Robertson, Ricky and Ray Lee) that sometimes it feels like you are swimming in R's and N's.
The ending was satisfying but not surprising but I don't think I will read anymore in the series.

[Art]

Three for three and still on pace to read 365. But we all know that's not going to happen.

P.L. Gaus's Amish-Country mystery series (this is number eight) is entertaining. But I still prefer the Katie Burkholder series as my go-to regional Amish mystery fave.

This one has an interesting premise: young Amish girls are being coerced into being drug mules, carrying product on buses from Florida to Ohio. But the solution and conclusion are a bit disjointed as we skip between subplots in Ohio and Florida.

It's not the best of the line. But it makes for a good read.

[Debbie Roby]

Interesting setting for a mystery---among the Amish of Holmes County, Ohio, but very little character development among all the action, and the story never fully holds together as a plot.
Threads are left hanging. This is part of a series, but I didn't care for the characters or the author's style enough to read any of the rest of these books. The author lives locally and knows the county and the Amish, but his writing style needs work, in my opinion. Linda Castillo's Amish series, set in the same area, is much better developed and plotted.

[Mary Baker]

Although this is my lest favorite of the books in this series, I did enjoy reading it. It didn't end cleanly so I had to find the next book in the series to find out how the conflict from this book was resolved. I still think it is a good book which provided me with several hours of escape. I do like the author's writing style too.

[Gail Richmond]

3.5…interesting premise but very plausible: using Amish young people to ferry drugs to little communities in the Mid-West. I could see it happening! Who would suspect anything?
But a sad story, too, although the emotions were again completely believable.
I think what bothered me was the lack if a clean ending…except that is what happens in life, too!!

[Patty]

A bit confusing...left unsolved at end. Quick read but not one of my favs for sure.

[Pat]

A mystery that includes a dead Amish girl, the EPA and contaminated land, sunken boats and cocaine in old suitcases.

[Abby]

Called it quits on this one after 20 pages. Meh.

[Dena Ward-Knapp]

I like to read amish mystery and especially when it happens in Ohio. It was well written, a little repetitive in spots but liked it overall.

[Charlene]

perhaps more a 3.5 than a 4-star rating this time...

I read this book in one sitting, and the 240 pages sometimes sped by, while othertimes they plodded.

As in most series with continuity of main characters, and even more so with this set of mysteries in Ohio Amish country, I think readers should work their way to the end from the beginning book in the series.

In this latest episode, a young Amish woman is found murdered and the basic search is for not only her murderer but also for how she came to have brought back a suitcase full of cocaine on a return bus trip from Florida. After her defiant act of conscience when she arrives at home, many threats to her community ensue.

Gaus brings his usual compassionate understanding of one of our sub-cultures and in this story, the Church of Christ Pastor, Cal, is featured as a chaplain figure to a young Amish girl who adored her older stepsister, the one who was murdered. There was much grace in these encounters.

The bulk of the story concentrates on the sheriff of Holmes County, who is hindered in his investigation by the lack of evidence, almost no trace of the perpetrators, and less by the hesitance of the Amish to deal with "English" law enforcement. His dedicated staff members are conscientious and working around the clock and their frustrations are
palpable at times.

Professor Branden and his wife, Caroline, appear in Florida on vacation, and mostly in cameo when the focus of the search for the drug runners becomes the dropping off place, where many Amish take the bus to spend some Winter months.

There is no real resolution to this mystery at the end of the book, and I was left wondering whether Gaus writes this as a statement about real conditions of Amish people being tricked/forced into being drug mules, or whether he expects to continue this story in the next book. There are characters who matter, some seemingly innocent and some seemingly guilty, in addition to the "bad guys." I do plan to read future titles by P. L. Gaus, whose writing up to this point I have largely enjoyed, but I must say I miss the academic entanglements that were absent while the professor was on sabbatical. I also need to review the previous book because my memory is slipping with the months between books!

If you would like to learn more about Amish beliefs and culture, and you like mysteries that are intelligent, I do recommend that you begin by reading BLOOD OF THE PRODIGAL and continue through the series in order. You will probably not like all of them equally, but I think you will be glad that you have read these "Amish country" mysteries.

[Karen]

I really wanted to like this book better as I was intrigued by the premise of the story being set against Amish and Memmonite culture. The story begins slowly and picks up pace as local sheriff and detectives try to figure out why Ruth Zook, a young Amish girl, is killed in the middle of a wooded clearing in rural Ohio. Soon, after fish are found dead in at a local farm's stream, do they figure that cocaine was dumped and that is the reason for the girl's murder. When Fannie, another young young Amish girl, comes forward to confess that she herself had been coerced to bring drugs up from Florida, the investigation becomes more than just a local matter. It is now an interstate drug ring that they are persuing. The chase begins in both Ohio and Florida.
The story does give you a good sense of Amish culture and there are some memorable characters but the story becomes lame when there is so much fumbling by the detectives and there is no clear conclusion to the story.

This was a Goodreads firstreads giveaway.

[Paul Lunger]

Scheduled for release in May, P.L. Gaus's "The Names of Our Tears" is actually a very good installment in his Amish Country Mystery series with one major problem. The story revolves around the discovery of the murdered body of Ruth Zook who is found off the side of the road after returning home from a trip to Sarasota, Florida with 2 suitcases. Her death leads the sheriff's officials in Holmes county across a 2 state drug ring that has the Amish in hiding & has caused a dam to be broken after the water supply is contaminated with cocaine causing the fish to all die. The story itself is actually well done & the characterizations are real as the action keeps you riveted to the pages. However, it's the resolution to this mystery that is literally inexcusable & left me as a first time reader extremely disappointed. Buy the book for the interest in the series & exploration of Amish life in Holmes County, Ohio. Skip it for the ending.

[Karen Hufman]

This one was not my favorite. It just felt very dry and procedural. The story starts out with an older Amish man making the journey to further engage a widow who has caught his eye. He takes the backroads and finds the body of a young Amish girl. Turns out there are drugs involved and the journey takes them to Florida where there is another Amish community. The entire book was written to take place over a 1 week period and I just felt like it lists everything that was done instead of weaving a story out of the facts. I was also frustrated at the interaction with a young girl as well as the red herring in the story that seemed obvious to me- and I'm not super clever at figuring out the mystery before anyone else. Normally, I love reading about cultures/religions (??) I'm not as familiar with but this one missed the boat!

[Mayda]

It’s hard to reconcile the fact that Amish girls can be drug mules, but that is what occurs in this novel. Ruth Zook and Fannie Helmuth are so intimidated and fearful for the safety of others that they will do almost anything. And that includes being coerced into delivering illegal drugs. When one reneges, she pays the ultimate price. It then becomes the problem of local law enforcement agents who soon realize that the problem goes far beyond their state lines. Author P. L. Gaus wields a masterful hand in creating an intricate plot that builds with tension and suspense. He brings to life both his characters and their lifestyles. A highly entertaining and gripping read.

[Allison Kohn]

This really was the best of his book - and they are all best.
The minute by minute, step by step work of law enforcement in Amish country working an Amish murder, reveals the conflict of two worlds colliding and learning to work together in spite of the different belief systems. It is a good character study and the reader gets involved personally with each player as he or she does his or her part.

[Wanda]

Spoiler Alert. It was interesting that this did not have a resolved happy ending. Showed how innocent people can be used. Hard to understand sometimes why the Amish live the way they do and won't help "the English". Also gives the very real suggestion that some problems don't really end they just move somewhere else.