Amy Lillard’s latest Amish whodunit is Kappy King and the Pie Kaper (Zebra). Her amateur sleuth is Kathryn “Kappy” King, whose skill at making kapps for the Amish women of Blue Sky, Penn., is unparalleled. But she’s also dangerously good at discovering dark truths beneath this peaceful valley! In this interview, the author talks about her amateur sleuth, dishes about her latest mystery, and reveals her own favorite detectives…
Amy, please tell us about your amateur sleuth Kathryn “Kappy” King.
I would love to! Kappy is the kapp maker for her community. It’s a tedious job which is why most Amish women buy them instead of sewing them at home.
But Kappy is also little quirky, kind of an outsider in her community. She teams up with Edie Peachey, her neighbor who was once Amish but left the community. Edie moves back to the valley and lives as English as she can in an Amish house with her Amish brother, Jimmy.
Jimmy has Down syndrome and often is the voice of wisdom for the three of them. The three unlikely friends make for a fun time even when solving a murder.
No spoilers, but what can you tell us about the mystery in Kappy King and the Pie Kaper?
Alma Miller, the bishop’s wife and best pie baker in the community, is found unconscious in a mess of spilled flour. She was hit on the head and left for dead but managed to scrawl a cryptic message in the flour around her. Kappy tries to help Jack (local law enforcement) decipher the message hoping to uncover Alma’s attacker.
But things get really serious when Alma suspiciously dies in the hospital. With the upcoming pie baking competition looming ahead and champion baker Alma out of the running, Kappy has to uncover the killer. And help the judges decide if the pie is tasty enough to commit murder.
These are cozy mysteries set among the Amish. Do you have a background with the Amish or do you have to do research?
I don’t have a background with the Amish but love doing research. I try to get to Lancaster once a year, and I’ve been to Kish Valley, Penn., twice now. That’s where the series is set.
I have a website dedicated to all my Amish books and travels—AmysAmishAdventures. It’s a great place to see all the pictures I take during my research trips and the recipes I’ve collected along the way.
As a fan of the genre, who are your favorite amateur sleuths?
I love Sherlock Holmes, who doesn’t? I really enjoy the Father Brown series by G. K. Chesterton and of course anything by Agatha Christie. I suppose you could say I love the classics!
What are the best ways that readers can support their favorite authors?
There are many ways to support your favorite author online—sharing Facebook posts and reading blogs are just a couple—but the best way has always been to buy the book. Get it from the library. Tell others about it. Share it with a friend. Leave a review. The readers are what makes a book successful even in the digital age!
Visit Amy Lillard’s author profile here:
https://www.familyfiction.com/authors/amy-lillard
Kappy King and the Pie Kaper
Amish Mystery #3
Amy Lillard
Zebra
Discover more about Amy Lillard’s books here:
https://www.familyfiction.com/authors/amy-lillard/books