First Paragraph:
'It's...sensitive,' Grady had said on the phone, his voice tight.
Now I understood why. My car crawled down a rural road thick with new snow. It was still dark and way too damn early on a Wednesday morning. The address he'd given me was on Grimlace Lane. Turned out the place was an Amish farm in the middle of a whole lot of other Amish farms in the borough of Paradise, Pennsylvania.
My Thoughts:
I liked this first book in a new series set in Lancaster, PA, by Jane Jensen. It reminded me a bit of Linda Castillo's series, also featuring a woman policeman, dealing with crimes in Amish country. This was a read/listen combo for me and I thought that Rachel Fulginiti was a good narrator. Detective Elizabeth Harris is directed to a crime scene by her boss at the Lancaster Police. A young woman has been found dead in an Amish family's barn. Her supervisor tells her that it's 'sensitive' and so it proves to be. Elizabeth has returned to Pennsylvania from New York City after the death of her husband. A seasoned homicide detective, she finds out all kinds of things that many people, both Amish and 'English' would prefer to hide. There's already a second book in the series and I look forward to reading it soon.
Blurb:
After her husband is murdered, Detective Elizabeth Harris turns in her NYPD badge and moves back home, hoping that a quiet life in remote Pennsylvania Dutch country will help her overcome the dark memories of her ten years in New York. But when a beautiful, scantily clad “English” girl is found dead in the barn of a prominent Amish family, Elizabeth knows that she’s uncovered an evil that could shake the community to its core.
Elizabeth’s boss is convinced this was the work of an “English,” as outsiders are called in Lancaster County. But Elizabeth isn’t so sure. All she’s missing is an actual lead—until another body is found: this time, a missing Amish girl. Now Elizabeth must track down a killer with deep ties to a community that always protects its own—no matter how deadly the cost…
I've read both and really enjoyed them! Maybe because I'm a big fan of Linda Castillo, and visited Lancaster, PA several times when younger so am already a bit familiar with their lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI definitely had the feel of Castillo's series, though there was a bit more talk about the 'romance'. LOL
DeleteFrom the cover I would have pinned this more as literary than crime fiction. I noticed this author uses Biblical quotes for titles. I'm now curious about this author's work.
ReplyDeleteI think these are the only two mysteries she has written. She seems to be a game designer and writes fantasy maybe?
DeleteThis sounds like a promising start to a new series. I don't think I'd heard of this one so thank you for featuring this. Will have to add it to my TBR!
ReplyDeleteAlways glad to bring new series to the attention of others!
DeleteThis does sound good, I will keep an eye out for it.
ReplyDeleteI liked it a lot.
DeleteNot a series I am familiar with, but it sounds like it is off to a good start. I will have to keep my eye out for these.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to me. The Amish connection was familiar because of Linda Castillo's books. I think this one is developing well.
DeleteIs this series as gruesome as Castillo's? I like the Amish angle, but Castillo's novels were just too much for my delicate stomach. Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteNo, maybe not as gruesome. There was also some romance. Eh, I'm a bit jaded as to the 'ick' factor. You might just need to try it. LOL
DeleteDang, I've gotten behind on reading reviews. I really liked the Castillo novel I read recently, so I'm going to look for this one.
ReplyDelete