Blood of the Prodigal

Blood of the Prodigal by P. Gaus mystery novel Paul Gaus paints a picture of Amish life in Ohio and how interactions with "Englishers" can get complicated, especially for young people wanting to see more of the world beyond their ordered, plain existance. An Amish man is murdered and a pastor and a professor that the Amish trust are asked to figure out what happened. This is a fairly clean book for a murder mystery and should appeal to Ohioans in particular. This is the first in a series of Ohio Amish mysteries.

Restless Hearts

Restless Hearts
by Marta Perry

Love Inspired
Steeple Hill
a division of Harlequin Books

Adult Christian/inspirational romance

This is a pleasant book set in contemporary Amish country Pennsylvania. A woman whose mother was ex-Amish comes to Pennsylvania to take a job as a midwife. She encounters a policeman who is ex-Amish. A romance ensues. I found this book to be much better than the average Harlequin paperback.

Going Home: Brides of Webster County Number 1

Going Home: Brides of Webster County Number 1
by
Wanda E. Brunstetter
Adult Christian Fiction

A yodelling, joke-telling young lady runs away from her restrictive Amish home hoping to make it big as an entertainer. Years later her husband dies and she comes home to rural Webster County, Missouri. Can she be sober enough for the community? Will they lighten up?

This is a clean, gentle read appropriate for a conservative audience, especially teen girls and elderly ladies. If patrons have already read Grace Livingston Hill, Beverly Lewis, and Jan Karon you might recommend this author. It was a tad bland and predictable, but safe and pleasant. I thought that a few questions were unresolved in the end, so that was disappointing.

Here is a hint: Why is the series called "Brides of Webster County"? Do you think that she might get married in the end?

I might read another book by this author, but not in this series and not right away.