Her best-known series began with a library job. Right out of graduate school, Amanda Flower worked at a library in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and lived among the Amish for three years. Today she writes the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries, the Amish Matchmaker Mysteries and historical mysteries, with more than fifty mystery novels behind her. Below you will find every series in reading order, her awards, her pen name and the next releases.
Who Is Amanda Flower? A Former Librarian From Ohio
She was born in Akron in 1980. She started drafting a novel in college and then worked as a librarian before she could write full time. The years in Amish country gave her the setting she still returns to. Her agent, Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency, suggested the Amish mysteries.
Her books have reached the USA Today bestselling lists, and she has won three Agatha Awards. She lives in Northeast Ohio, where she and her husband own a farm and recording studio. The couple also rescue cats. Her self-published Cat Rescue Mysteries exist so that the profits go to cat rescue.
She calls herself a “pantser”: she does not know who the killer is until she reaches the end. Her own favourite is Because I Could Not Stop for Death. She has called it the novel that changed the trajectory of her career.
Three Agatha Awards for Her Crime Fiction
The Agathas are given each spring at the Malice Domestic convention. She has won three:
- Andi Unstoppable (2015), Best Children’s/Young Adult;
- Because I Could Not Stop for Death (2022), Best Historical Novel;
- To Slip the Bonds of Earth (2024), Best Historical Novel.
Four more novels were finalists. Her debut, Maid of Murder, was shortlisted for Best First Novel. Andi Unexpected and Andi Under Pressure were shortlisted in the children’s category, and I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died for Best Historical Novel. Because I Could Not Stop for Death was also a Mary Higgins Clark Award finalist. To Slip the Bonds of Earth won the Ohio Book Award.
The Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series in Order: 10 Novels So Far
Bailey King, a New York chocolatier, runs Swissmen Sweets, her grandparents’ candy shop in Harvest, in Holmes County, Ohio. She also stars in her own TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. Jethro the pig, Sheriff Aiden Brody and the community organizer Margot Rawlings are regulars. In Truffle Trouble Bailey finally marries Aiden, and her New York mentor Jean Pierre is part of the story. The Kensington series is her longest:
- Assaulted Caramel (2017)
- Lethal Licorice (2018)
- Premeditated Peppermint (2018)
- Toxic Toffee (2019)
- Marshmallow Malice (2020)
- Lemon Drop Dead (2021)
- Peanut Butter Panic (2022)
- Blueberry Blunder (2023)
- Gingerbread Danger (2024)
- Truffle Trouble (2026)
- Strawberry Scam (announced for 26 January 2027)
Three short e-novellas fit between the novels: Criminally Cocoa (2019), Botched Butterscotch (2020) and Candy Cane Crime (2020). They were later collected as Amish Candy Shop Holidays.
More Amish Mysteries: Matchmaker, Café and Quilt Shop Mysteries
Harvest is home to two more series. A second name and her earliest series in Amish country complete the set.
Amish Matchmaker Mysteries (6 Novels)
Millie Fisher is an Amish widow, a quilter and a matchmaker. The sixth novel is set in Pinecraft, Florida.
- Matchmaking Can Be Murder (2019)
- Courting Can Be Killer (2020)
- Marriage Can Be Mischief (2021)
- Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous (2022)
- Dating Can Be Deadly (2023)
- Newlyweds Can Be Knocked Off (2025)
Amish Country Café Mysteries (New)
The newest Harvest series follows Darcy Woodin, owner of the Sunbeam Café. In Apple Cornered, due on 30 March 2027, Margot Rawlings orders 100 apple pies for Harvest’s first Johnny Appleseed Days. A tabby cat called Michelangelo keeps Darcy company.
Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries, Written as Isabella Alan
Isabella Alan is her pen name. Under it she wrote five novels about Angela Braddock, a Dallas woman who inherits her Aunt Eleanor’s quilt shop in Rolling Brook. The series was a USA Today bestseller.
- Murder, Plain and Simple (2013)
- Murder, Simply Stitched (2014)
- Murder, Served Simply (2014)
- Murder, Plainly Read (2015)
- Murder, Handcrafted (2016)
The e-novella Plainly Murder (2013) is the prequel.
Appleseed Creek Mysteries (4 Novels)
This one stars Chloe Humphrey, a computer specialist in Ohio’s Amish country.
- A Plain Death (2012)
- A Plain Scandal (2013)
- A Plain Disappearance (2013)
- A Plain Malice (2014)
Magical Bookshop and Magic Garden Mysteries
Two of her series add a touch of magic.
Magical Bookshop Mysteries (5 Novels)
Violet Waverly runs Charming Books in Cascade Springs, New York, near Niagara Falls.
- Crime and Poetry (2016)
- Prose and Cons (2016)
- Murders and Metaphors (2019)
- Verse and Vengeance (2019)
- Crimes and Covers (2022)
Magic Garden Mysteries (3 Novels)
Fiona Knox inherits her godfather’s cottage and its magic garden in Duncreigan, Scotland.
- Flowers and Foul Play (2018)
- Death and Daisies (2018)
- Mums and Mayhem (2020)
Farm to Table and Her Other Contemporary Series
Farm to Table Mysteries (5 Novels)
Shiloh Bellamy returns home to save the family farm in Cherry Glen, Michigan. The series is published by Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks.
- Farm to Trouble (2021)
- Put Out to Pasture (2022)
- In Farm’s Way (2023)
- Crime and Cherry Pits (2024)
- Natural Barn Killer (2025)
Living History Museum Mysteries (3 Novels)
Kelsey Cambridge directs Barton Farm, a living history museum.
- The Final Reveille (2015)
- The Final Tap (2016)
- The Final Vow (2017)
India Hayes, Piper & Porter and Cat Rescue Mysteries
Her debut series follows India Hayes, an artist and librarian at Martin College in Stripling. It has two novels, Maid of Murder (2010) and Murder in a Basket (2012). For Hallmark Publishing she wrote two Piper & Porter novels about the Two Girls Detective Agency in Herrington, New York. They are Dead-End Detective (2020) and Frozen Detective (2022). The self-published Cat Rescue Mysteries began with Caturday Crime, starring Kinley Remington and the cats of the late Miss Penelope.
Andi Boggs Novels for Young Readers
Andi Boggs is a twelve-year-old sleuth in Killdeer, Ohio. The three books are for middle-grade readers: Andi Unexpected (2013), Andi Under Pressure (2014) and the Agatha winner Andi Unstoppable (2015).
Historical Murder Mysteries: Emily Dickinson, Katharine Wright and the First Ladies
Emily Dickinson Mysteries (3 Novels)
In Amherst, Massachusetts, from 1855, the poet Emily Dickinson investigates with her maid, Willa Noble. Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, publishes the series.
- Because I Could Not Stop for Death (2022)
- I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died (2023)
- I Died for Beauty (2025)
Katharine Wright Mysteries (2 Novels So Far)
Katharine Wright, sister of Orville and Wilbur, solves crimes in Dayton, Ohio, from 1903. The second book takes her to the 1904 World’s Fair.
- To Slip the Bonds of Earth (2024)
- Not They Who Soar (2025)
- Where Brood the Grieving Skies (announced for 29 June 2027)
The First Ladies’ Murder Club Mysteries (New)
Washington, D.C., in 1894: Nellie Grant and her mother, Julia Dent Grant, team up with First Lady Frances Cleveland. The series opens with The First Ladies’ Guide to Murder.
What Is the Newest Amanda Flower Book?
Her newest published book is Truffle Trouble, the tenth Amish Candy Shop Mystery, released on 31 March 2026. The next one is The First Ladies’ Guide to Murder, a Kensington hardcover due on 24 November 2026. Three more are announced for 2027:
- Strawberry Scam, Amish Candy Shop #11, on 26 January;
- Apple Cornered, Amish Country Café #1, on 30 March;
- Where Brood the Grieving Skies, Katharine Wright #3, on 29 June.
Where to Start With Amanda Flower
For a sweet, small-town cozy, start with Assaulted Caramel, which opens her longest series. For historical crime with a famous heroine, start with Because I Could Not Stop for Death, her first Agatha winner for adults. Read each series in sequence: the characters’ lives move on from one novel to the next.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Amanda Flower written?
We count 54 novels as of November 2026: 51 for adults and the three Andi Boggs books for young readers. Of these, 49 came out under her own name and five under the pen name Isabella Alan. The count covers both of her names. It leaves out four e-novellas, her short pieces in anthologies and the four announced books. Her row in our Cozy Mystery Census lists her series.
What book series has Amanda Flower written?
She has sixteen series, one of them under a second name. Here they are in the order she started them, with the number of published novels in each:
- India Hayes: 2
- Appleseed Creek: 4
- Andi Boggs: 3
- Amish Quilt Shop (as Isabella Alan): 5
- Living History Museum: 3
- Magical Bookshop: 5
- Amish Candy Shop: 10
- Magic Garden: 3
- Amish Matchmaker: 6
- Piper & Porter: 2
- Farm to Table: 5
- Emily Dickinson: 3
- Katharine Wright: 2
- Cat Rescue: 1
- First Ladies’ Murder Club: first novel due in November 2026
- Amish Country Café: first novel due in March 2027
Does she write under a pen name?
Yes, for one series: the five Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries carry the name Isabella Alan. Everything else appears under her real name.
Is there a flower called Amanda?
Not as a species. Flower is the author’s surname, while “Amanda” is the name of a few garden cultivars, such as a yellow floribunda rose.
What is Amanda Prowse’s best book?
Amanda Prowse is a different author: a British writer of contemporary family drama, not cozy mysteries. Her bestsellers include What Have I Done? and The Girl in the Corner, and A Mother’s Story won the Sainsbury’s eBook of the Year award.
Which authors are similar?
For another small-town baker, try Joanne Fluke and her Hannah Swensen Mysteries. For cupcakes and a library, read Jenn McKinlay. For herbs and gardens, try the China Bayles Mysteries. Our guides to culinary cozy mysteries and historical cozy mysteries list more.