His Guilt: an Amish fiction review and GIVEAWAY

His Guilt by Shelley Shepard Gray Did not disappoint. When given the chance to join this book tour with Litfuse Publicity group I jumped at the chance to read an Amish Fiction book by this New York Times best selling author. But I realized quickly it was the second in a series called “The Amish of Hart County” and I’d need to snag the first book Her Secret. I was delighted with that book on audio, I borrowed it through the application called Overdrive and devoured it. That left me weeks out from the arrival of Gray’s newest installment. I was so excited when it arrived and it too was a quick, intense, and engaging read.

What I liked most was that while this is Amish Fiction, which is what initially drew me to the series, it was different. Many Amish Fictions are centered on faith, romance, and are also very upbeat. In fact these descriptors are exactly why I often select them as my light reading in the summer – simply to keep up my reading speed and to transport me out of reality. However, these books also did this and in a whole new way. An unexpected way! Delving into mystery, crime, and a bit more reality, I found myself really enjoying this fresh look at how Amish culture may handle real world issues. I really enjoyed this different approach to exploring Amish culture. It was intriguing to read about how crime may affect the Amish and how it so completely clashes with everything they stand for. It also gives you the dose of reality that even in a removed sub culture like the Amish have created they too face daily, real issues like crime. While Her Secret dealt directly with stalking, His Guilt was a totally different kind of crime and mystery.

This really was the perfect summer read for me. I was surprised that the characters did not overlap between the two books. Usually that’s what I enjoy most about a series like this one is that a minor character in the first book will become a major character in the next. While that was not the case with these two books the links are clear (crime theme) and the topics are what make them flow as a series. I do think you could read one without reading the first and still thoroughly enjoy the story and not miss a beat.

His Guilt was one I really couldn’t put down, and with three kids in tow and one more on the way that says a lot. I took it camping with me, it went everywhere with me, including in my purse. Hence the very damaged cover by the time I was finished. I really am looking forward to hearing what you all think of this one! Even if Amish Fiction just isn’t your thing, the amount of Deutsch language (the Amish speak either Pennsylvania Dutch or Pennsylvania German) is minimal. Often Amish fiction is peppered with words in their dialect and that can make it more challenging for a new to Amish Fiction reader – that is not the case with this novel. Plus the book really is a quick and engaging read that isn’t so complex that you couldn’t pick it up and put it down frequently still following the storyline easily and enjoying the mystery, suspense, and bit of romance in the story. I am really looking forward to the next book (The Gift expected in early November of 2017) in the series and this one just came out!

Thanks to the Litfuse Publicity Group for including me in this blog tour. Enter to win a free copy of the book here! Giveaway closes July 24, 2017. I hope you’ll check Litfuse out along with the other bloggers who have read the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this review of the book posted by Annie on Just Commonly – I loved the secondary themes she talks about in her review of His Guilt. I hope you will check it out!

I received an Advanced Review Copy, but was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

About the book:

A suspenseful tale of an Amish man who will risk all to protect the woman he loves.

Mark Fisher has returned home to Hart County, determined to put the past behind him. Two years ago, after being wrongly accused of assault, he left the Amish community, though never forgot his home. When the one person who had helped him through his rough times asks for help, Mark returns. But it is pretty Waneta Cain who makes him want to stay…
Neeta is one of the few people in Hart County who doesn’t believe Mark is guilty of hurting anyone. However, his worldliness and tough exterior do make her uneasy. As she begins to see the real man behind all the gossip and prejudice, she wonders if he is the man for her.

Just when Mark starts to believe a new life is possible, a close friend of Neeta’s is attacked. Once again, everyone in the community seems to believe he is guilty. But what hurts most is Neeta’s sudden wariness around him. When another woman is hurt, a woman who is close to both Neeta and himself, Mark fears he knows the real culprit. And time is running out. Will Mark be able to find him before Neeta becomes his next victim?

Learn more and purchase a copy.

About the author:

Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.