Review ~ Her Fear (The Amish of Hart County, #5) by Shelley Shepard Gray

Paperback, 271 pages

Published July 24th 2018 by Avon Inspire

In New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray’s latest novel of suspense in her Amish of Hart County series, an EMT falls for a woman with ties to an Amish community where people are dying similar, suspicious deaths

Sadie Detweiler never imagined she’d move to Kentucky, yet here she is: a pregnant, unmarried Amish girl banished by unforgiving parents to live with kin she barely knows. The men are gruff and her cousins are secretive. Worst of all, elderly matriarch Verba becomes mysteriously ill shortly after Sadie moves in. When EMT Noah Freeman arrives, Sadie immediately notices he’s unlike any other Amish man she’s met. Noah is warm, confident, and has an easy way with practically everyone in the community, both Amish and English. Though Sadie is drawn to him, she has little hope he will reciprocate her feelings once he learns she’s with child.

Noah can’t understand how a girl as sweet and lovely as Sadie ended up sleeping on a cot in Verba Stauffer’s kitchen. He also senses Sadie is terrified of something. Concerned, he checks up on her. Eventually they strike up a friendship and soon their attraction is undeniable. When Verba later dies at the hospital and her death is followed by two others, Noah’s boss wants him to dig around the Amish community for clues. He agrees—for Sadie’s sake—because only the truth will keep her safe and by his side.

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About the Author

Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She now lives in southern Ohio and writes full time. Shelley is married, the mother of two children in college, and is an active member of her church. She serves on committees, volunteers in the church office, and currently leads a Bible study group, and she looks forward to the opportunity to continue to write novels that showcase her Christian ideals.

Read more about Shelley at her website: www.ShelleyShepardGray.com

My Review

4 STARS!!!

Sadie’s back story is sad. Her parents and boyfriend treated her as if she was garbage and they could throw her out when they didn’t want her anymore. I was relieved when she finally, through Noah’s tenderness and love, came to realize that she is worthy because she is a child of God. Hope gave her courage to take a stand against savage treatment from her father, and begin the journey to who she was meant to be.

Noah is quite simply a gut (good) guy. He has always felt called to help others and being an EMT gives him a unique opportunity to use his Pennsylvania Dutch language to translate when they are called out to an Amish home. From the first time he sees Sadie hovering anxiously near the door, he knows something is not right in the Stauffer household. But how is he going to figure out what it is? Why does he even care when he doesn’t know her?

I enjoyed reading Her Fear because it is a different type of Amish story. Sadie is banished to live with kinfolk, the Stauffer’s, in Kentucky, and there is a mystery surrounding the goings-on in that home. I was expecting something creepy, after all it is a SSG novel, but when it was revealed, I was kind of taken aback. In all my years of reading Amish fiction, I don’t think I have come across the subject. I appreciate the author notes in the back of the book discussing Kentucky Amish and their history. I feel like I learned something about a community of people that fascinates me.

The story felt a little rushed, especially near the end, but I still recommend it to fans of Amish fiction and mystery/suspense. It wasn’t nail biting but I was spellbound at times and definitely did not want to put the book down. Gray certainly knows how to fully engage my senses. I’m looking forward to the next book in the Amish of Hart County series. Even though this book 5 in the series, it can be read as a stand-alone.

I was gifted a paperback copy of the book from the publisher. No review was required. No compensation received.

~Happy Reading~