About the Book: The Secret in the Sampler
Widowed Nora Bell returns to Briar Creek, Ohio, to settle her late aunt’s estate and temporarily reopen The Bell & Quill, the family’s old letterpress and stationery shop. What she doesn’t expect is an antique sampler hidden inside a cedar trunk, stitched with mismatched initials, reversed borders, and a nearly invisible name.
The sampler may be the only surviving record of a child erased from Briar Creek’s history, and a stolen inheritance someone is desperate to keep buried.
When a local estate appraiser is found dead after asking questions about the sampler and searching for a missing auction ledger, Nora is pulled into a mystery involving altered records, old letters, disputed property, and long‑guarded family secrets.
Her unexpected ally is Eli Yoder, a reserved Amish widower and auction clerk who notices things, fixes things, and knows things, but never gossips. His quiet humor and steady presence make him invaluable to Nora’s investigation… and quietly dangerous to her heart.
As suspicion spreads through Amish farms, antique shops, and auction houses, Nora realizes the sampler threatens someone’s money, reputation, and future. And the person who killed to keep its secret hidden may already know she’s begun to unravel the pattern.
BookHookUp Review: The Secret in the Sampler
This mystery is unique, emotionally grounded, and beautifully paced. From the first chapter, I was drawn into Nora Bell’s journey—her grief, her resilience, and her tentative steps toward a new life in a culture very different from her own. Her knowledge of printing, paper, and design gives her a distinctive sleuthing lens, allowing her to notice details others overlook.
The Amish‑adjacent setting is one of the book’s greatest strengths. It’s atmospheric without being stereotyped, filled with rural roads, quilt work, estate auctions, and small‑town secrets. The cultural contrast between Nora and Eli adds depth to both the mystery and the slow‑burn romance.
Eli Yoder quickly became my favorite character. A widower with quiet humor, sharp perception, and a fixer’s steady hands, he brings intrigue and warmth to every scene. Their understated, forbidden connection is woven gently through the narrative—noticeable, meaningful, and never rushed.
The sampler mystery is both clever and touching, connecting past injustice to present danger. When the murder occurs, the plot springs forward with new urgency, yet the pacing remains smooth and engaging. The ending is fully satisfying while still opening the door to future Plain Truth Mysteries.
A standout cozy mystery with heart, heritage, and a beautifully subtle romantic thread.
BookHookup Content Note
Clean cozy mystery with no explicit language, no adult scenes, and a gentle slow‑burn romance between two widowed characters. Themes include grief, hidden histories, inheritance disputes, and rural community dynamics.
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I received a copy of this book through Great Escape Book Tours. No compensation was received; all thoughts are my own. Some links in this post may be affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.
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Falling to Pieces by Vannetta Chapman – Quilt‑shop mystery with layered clues and gentle pacing.
About the Author
Abigail B. Hartwell writes gentle Amish-adjacent cozy mysteries rooted in the small towns and wooded backroads of east-central Ohio. Though she is not Amish, she lives near Amish communities and draws inspiration from the region’s quiet rhythms, close-knit families, old stories, and rural traditions. She shares a modest home on five wooded acres with her long-haul truck driver husband. They have two grown daughters and three grandchildren. When she is not writing, Abigail enjoys church activities, family time, and the peaceful beauty of the Ohio countryside.
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