In the Land of Milk and Honey - Jane Jensen

In the Land of Milk and Honey by Jane Jensen


First Paragraph:

'Mama!  Mama!'
     The strained cry pulled Leah from a fevered dream in which she'd been sewing and sewing.  The stitches fell apart, disintegrating as she frantically worked.  It was something important and she had to finish it...a bridal dress.
     No. A shroud.


My Thoughts:

This second book in Jane Jensen's series starring Detective Elizabeth Harris was quite enjoyable. Set in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the story starts with a very sick Amish family. Elizabeth is assigned to the case when the illness becomes fatal and it's suspected that more people will die soon. The CDC is brought in and the press and protesters descend upon the area. Tainted raw milk is the source of the sickness, but how are the cows acquiring the toxin? Detective Harris was successful in solving the crimes in the first book and she has made good friends among the Amish. Now, she and the other investigators are working against time and a clever opponent to save lives. I was glad to visit Lancaster County again and learn what new crimes Elizabeth Harris would be called upon to solve. Though the mystery was not terribly hard to figure out, the characters are interesting and the changes in Elizabeth's life since the first book were fun to read about. I look forward to #3!


Blurb:

By solving the murders of two local girls, Elizabeth has gained some trust in the Amish community. So, she’s the first person its members turn to when a fast and fatal illness takes hold, though many believe that the sickness stems from a hexerei—a curse placed by a practitioner of old-world folk magic. Elizabeth doesn’t believe in curses, and when an entire Amish family is found dead, she begins to suspect something far more sinister...

As the CDC is called in to investigate, customers of a Philadelphia farmers market selling Amish raw milk start dying. Amid rapidly escalating panic, Elizabeth must peel away layers of superstition and fear to save the livelihood—and lives—of an entire community. Because what has happened isn’t an accident of nature or an act of God, it’s the handiwork of someone who has only just begun to kill...