Advertisement

Gaus' Amish mystery 'Names of Our Tears' set in part in Sarasota

 
P.L. Gaus is author of The Names of Our Tears: An Amish-Country Mystery.
P.L. Gaus is author of The Names of Our Tears: An Amish-Country Mystery.
Published Oct. 15, 2014

Credited with creating the Amish mystery, Ohio author P.L. Gaus has published eight crime fiction novels set in Amish communities. The latest, The Names of Our Tears, is about the murder of a young Amish woman who was apparently a drug mule. It takes place, in part, among the Amish and Mennonite communities in and around Sarasota. Here's an excerpt.

"Nearly inaudibly, Fannie spoke with her gaze fixed on the front edge of Robertson's desk. 'Jodie Tapp,' she said. 'She is a waitress at Miller's Amish Restaurant and Clock Shoppe. I work there as a waitress, too. To help with expenses when I'm in Florida. She's just a little Mennonite girl, and those men know where she lives.'

"Eyes fixed on his pad, Robertson wrote notes and asked, 'Address of the restaurant?'

" 'I don't know the number,' Fannie said, looking up to him. 'It's four blocks north of Bahia Vista, on Beneva, right on the northern edge of Pinecraft.'

" 'How long have you known Jodie?' Robertson asked.

" 'Three years. She's been at Miller's longer than anyone else. She kinda looks after us snowbirds.'

" 'Where does she live?'

" 'She has a little trailer in Cortez. Just over the bridge from Bradenton Beach. I've only been there once. She doesn't have hardly anything at all, except what's in that trailer. And they'll kill her if she talks to anyone about this.'

"Robertson held his gaze on his pad. 'Who, Fannie? Who threatened to kill Jodie?'

"Fannie looked up to Hart, and Hart said, 'You can tell them about the boat, Fannie.' "