As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Price: $18.99 - $12.99
(as of Oct 13, 2025 23:43:44 UTC – Details)
B000FC0STQ, From the bestselling author of My Sister’s Keeper comes the riveting story of a murder that shatters the picturesque calm of Amish country—and tests the heart and soul of the lawyer defending the woman at the center of the storm.
The discovery of a dead infant in an Amish barn shakes Lancaster County to its core. But the police investigation leads to a more shocking disclosure: circumstantial evidence suggests that eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher, an unmarried Amish woman believed to be the newborn’s mother, took the child’s life. When Ellie Hathaway, a disillusioned big-city attorney,…, 4.5,
Reviewer: Kari
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Plain truth is simply Amazing!
Review: 10/10! Once again, Jodi Picoult had me in the barn, at the pond and in that courtroom..as if I were living it . Always a twist, a turn, a surprise ending. Beautifully written. Must read!!
Reviewer: William Snyder
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Plain but special
Review: This was a good story that provided a compelling examination of Amish life. The author even described many farm chores with accuracy.
Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Another excellent read
Review: I am a big fan of Jodi Picoult, and this book was another masterpiece. The research required to respectfully define the Amish lifestyle, along with the legal vocabulary necessary to support the storyline must have been huge. The characters were completely engaging (even the prosecutor) and the ending was a shocking surprise.
Reviewer: Candace B.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Nothing Plain about this book!
Review: Very good story, different but also learned a few things aboutthe Amish. Well written and held my interest, couldn’t put it down!
Reviewer: K. Roberts
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Astoundingly good!
Review: This is a trip into what it means to Amish, (fascinating), with a mystery and a thrilling trial. Don’t miss out on this one…I didn’t want it to end!
Reviewer: Betty Culpepper
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Family relationships and a Lesson in Amish beliefs
Review: Very interesting book with realistic characters. You will learn a lot about Amish people, how they live and their beliefs.
Reviewer: Kim Bumb
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great book all the way to the last page
Review: Loved learning more about the Amish way of life while enjoying a murder mystery. Keeps your attention the whole time with some great twists and surprises.
Reviewer: Reader, Writer, Mom
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Interesting and Enjoyable Despite Some Literary Faux Pas
Review: The story had some really original components, including an accurate but simple depiction of Amish life. Piccoult didn’t spend more time than she had to with novelty details, or romanticizing the Amish. She gave us a balanced glimpse of both the pros and cons of the Plain Lifestyle, and how different Amish individuals interpret and respond to their unified beliefs and what’s expected of them. This was really the most important point for me, since I was reading the novel as part of my research for a nonfiction article on the Amish. I believed, correctly, that I would find subtle characteristics in a novel that might be absent from text books, or even short stories by the Amish themselves. Things only an “Englisher” would notice. (And, as it turns out, Piccoult did spend a week on an Amish farm, which I had guessed from the writing, so that’s a definite boon).The storyline kept me guessing as well. Despite being reasonably good at guessing endings, I floundered a few times during the book in terms of what I thought had happened and what would become of the main characters.The title “The Plain Truth” sounds like a superficial play on words about courtroom truth, but is actually a complex, fitting title, because much of the book is, in fact, about what the Amish hold to be true, vs. what the general U.S. population thinks “truth” is. Those distinct differences create a lot of tension, confusion and mystery, inside the courtroom, and out.The ending I only enjoyed because it took me by surprise. I don’t think it was the right one, if I take it literally, as most readers have. I chose to interpret this revelation with Amish ethics in mind, assuming that it was not the drastic situation it’s made out to be, but more of an acceptance and aid to what was already transpiring. (I’d like to be more clear on that, but don’t want to toss out any spoilers here!)While a lot of this novel is subtle and original, there are some cliches that could have been played down a little, and not announced so blatantly, as if by a narrator who thinks the audience is a tad slow. Ellie’s relationship fears, for instance. That courtroom scene where they are really talking to each other personally, and not about the case, or the scene where Coop explains how some people leave before they can be left. These were short snipets compared to the whole book, but the manuscript could have been all the better if those issues had been presented through actions and dialogue that wasn’t so glaring.The final of my few complaints is a big one. I may be a lot more sensitive to this than other readers are. It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine. But… how many times in the same book can the entire cast of characters narrow their eyes and snort? It literally seemed that every few pages, “he narrowed his eyes,” or “Katie narrowed her eyes,” or “The judge narrowed her eyes slightly,” or “she narrowed her eyes.” It was so prevalent that I pictured all these bad actors in a film version of Plain Truth, all working very hard to narrow their eyes. There are so many different ways a face can look when its owner is wondering whether or not something sounds odd or suspicious. And such a variety of ways to describe that facial expression. The same goes for “snorting.” Most every time in the book that anyone laughs, they “snort.” The shy Amish girl snorts. The savvy tough-as-nail lawyer snorts, the prosecutor snorts, the good Amish wife snorts, the hopeless romantic psychologist snorts. All this snorting isn’t terribly appealing and seems inconsistent with most of their personalities. Sure, once in a while, we all laugh a little too loudly and end up sounding like a hungry hog, but would this not distract you terribly if, in a two-hour movie, someone snorted every five minutes? I wish they could just simply “laugh.” If the words used excessively were simpler, more common words, I wouldn’t have noticed their high frequency as much, if at all. Sometimes a writer has written and rewritten and read and reread her own material so often, that the pages all blend together. That’s why there are editors. These really minor fixes are things that an editor should have caught. Doing so would have made a good book great.
Reviewer: J.
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Boek ziet er netjes uit, wel een andere cover dan de afbeelding die ik besteld heb.
Reviewer: はなちゃん
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 自動車に乗らず、電気も電話も最低限しか使わない。まるで村全体が『修道院』かと思うような、タイムスリップした世界に生きるアーミッシュの人々。彼らは自分を「簡素な人」と呼ぶ。ところが、このアーミッシュの村で、新生児殺しの事件が起きる。容疑者は未成年の少女。弁護を依頼されたのが、先ごろ、教え子に性的虐待を繰り返した聖アンブローズ学園の小学校長に無罪判決を勝ち取った、売り出し中の凄腕若手弁護士。彼女がこの本の主人公だ。金銭的世俗的な成功の戸口に立った主人公は「でも私はこんな弁護士になるはずではなかった」という思いに駆られ、同時に私生活でも疑問を持ち、恋人の家を出て休暇を過ごすはずだった。有罪の人間にも無罪を勝ち取ってきた敏腕女弁護士も、「子殺し」だけは許せない。それなのに意に反して、ほとんどボランティアで弁護を引き受ける羽目に。アーミッシュの村という現代から隔絶した世界を舞台にすることで、かえって現代社会の苦悩や問題が浮き彫りにされていくという手法は、際もの的舞台設定のようだが、やはり楽しめる。また、主人公の弁護士の心の成長物語でもある（といっても、今時の中年ギリギリの成長物語）というのが現代的。ミステリーとか殺人事件としてよりは、人間の物語として、小説を気楽に楽しめると思う。あまり生々しい犯罪現場の描写もないので、スプラッターは嫌いな方にもおすすめ。推理自体を楽しむ本ではないが。プレーン：簡素な：人の真相は、普通の社会なら、実はプレーン：わかりやす過ぎるくらいのもの。どこか牧歌的な味わいの中に隠された真相は・・・最後の結末がどうこうよりも、これから主人公がどういう弁護士、どういう女性として生きていくのかということに興味がある。だから続編が読みたいようでもあり、絶対に読みたくないようでもあり。でも、この作者の小説を遡って読みたいという気持ちになった。英語は、比較的読みやすいと思う。
Reviewer: KST
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Good book
Reviewer: Jean
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: La autora sin duda hace una buena investigación para el libro. Generará diferentes emociones y permite buenos temas para analizar y discutir. La última página será eje de controversias sin duda!
Reviewer: Punita B.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Me ha gustado mucho
, Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime, #Plain #Truth,
Instantly Access Your FREE Children’s Books Here!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases; I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases as an affiliate.
