The setting for Hearse and Buggy is Heavenly, Pennsylvania, a tradition-bound Amish town that deviates from its name in this fascinating book. Author Laura Bradford has done her research, bringing the Amish culture and mores alive for her readers. Her series debut showcases Claire Weatherly, a recent refugee from a barren marriage to a Wall Street executive who scarcely acknowledged her existence. When her aunt invites her to move to her bed-and-breakfast in Heavenly, she jumps at the opportunity to begin her life anew by embracing simplicity. Of course, even simplicity isn't as simple as it sounds, and her new life as owner of an Amish specialty crafts shop is more complicated than she expects, as murder intrudes upon the previously peaceful town.

Bradford skillfully portrays the cultural dissonance between the Amish and "the English" (the Amish term for outsiders) as suspicion runs rampant. To complicate matters, a handsome new police officer, Detective Jakob Fisher, has just joined the force after spending many years in the NYPD. Fisher is a native of Heavenly but renounced his Amish heritage in order to become a New York cop. As a consequence, even his family shuns him. Fortunately, though, he and Claire form an alliance and manage to find the truth. Hearse and Buggy is a powerful beginning to a promising new series, and I hope that Laura Bradford becomes a prolific writer posthaste.