This book was engaging from the moment I picked it up. The story had twists and turns along the way. It was cleverly written and evoked all kinds of emotions. Kept me glued to the pages!

A burned out defense attorney watching her biological clock ticking too fast, takes some time off to visit an aunt in the midst of Amish country. The aunt, having been excommunicated from her Amish family because of marrying someone outside their religion, still has close ties to her family. A dead baby is found in an Amish barn, wrapped in a shirt and covered with horse blankets. Soon an 18-year old girl, who no one even suspected was pregnant, is accused of murdering the baby that she denies she even birthed. Obviously the burned out attorney volunteers to defend her and there you have the outline of Plain Truth. But the simple truth, no pun intended, is that is merely the shell of this story. The meat of the story is the simple lifestyle of the Amish, their ability to forgive, to be disciplined in their beliefs and always putting themselves last. The story of attorney and client was a beautiful story of friendship, respect, and admiration. A long story that was a quick read for me, because I could not put it down. I was reeled in after the first chapter and the pace of the story never slowed down. I love stories that open your eyes. I love stories that move the spotlight ever so slightly that it cast a different shadow on your perspective of a people or a place. This book did just that and was an amazing story. This was my first book to read by Jodi Picoult and will not be my last. If her character development, attention to detail and ability to place a reader inside the story is as strong in all of her other books as it was in Plain Truth, she will soon be among my favorite authors.

A mystery set in Amish country. Great discussions.

Picoult has truly mastered the art of bringing a story and characters to life. Her descriptions of scenery allows the reader to fully submerge into the story. I found it is quite easy to become emotionally involved with each of the characters. The novel started on a strong note, but became a little slow somewhere in the middle before it picked up again.

It is hard to pick one genre where the novel would fall. It has drama, mystery, romance, etc. Really a good choice for fans of any of those genres. If you're a Picoult fan, you won't be disappointed either.

You can tell Picoult has done a lot of research based on her description of the Amish community. Allows the reader much insight into the Amish way of life.

This book left me trying to figure out what happened until the end. Even left some room for interpretation after that!

Our club had a very lively discussion about this book. I used the questions found on the Lit Lovers website, but a couple of other possible discussion questions were brought up (see below).