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Can two young people survive the suspicions of their friends and neighbors when tragedy strikes a close-knit Amish community?
Perry Borntrager had been missing for months from the quiet Amish community of Crittenden, Kentucky, when his body is discovered at the bottom of an abandoned well. The first death from mysterious circumstances in more than two decades brings the scrutiny of the outside world: A police detective arrives to help the local sheriff with the investigation. His questioning begins with Lydia Plank, Perry’s former girlfriend, and Perry’s best friend, the Englischer Walker Anderson.
Lydia and Walker know they didn’t have anything to do with Perry’s death, but they both hold secrets about his final days. Do they dare open up about the kind of man Perry had become? In the oppressive shadow of these dark times, they discover strength in a most unlikely companionship: one that offers solace, understanding, and the promise of something more.
sunshineJB
Posted June 28, 2012
This book was a real page turner. It is filled with twists and turns. I think the author does an excellent job of keeping us guessing. There are several possibilities of what happened to Perry Borntrager. It is definitely a mystery. Deputy Sheriff Mose Kramer grew up Amish but left the Amish community to go to school to study criminal justice. Once he graduated he got a job in Clermont County. While working in Clermont County he happens to notice a posting for the sheriff’s department in Crittenden County where he grew up. Was taking this position a mistake on his part? Will the Amish community cooperate with him in his investigation? Mose decides to bring in a good friend Luke Reynolds, who is a detective in the Cincinnati Police Department, to help him with the investigation. Lydia Plank once dated Perry Borntrager. She is holding back secrets from detective Luke Reynolds for fear she might be considered a suspect. She becomes friends with Walker Anderson, an Englishman, who at one time was a friend and co-worker of Perry’s. They both decide to get together occasionally and talk about Perry’s death. Walker is also holding back secrets from detective Luke Reynolds. In the mean time, Lydia’s folks decide to tell her a secret that they have been keeping from her. Lydia is quite shocked and confused. She doesn’t know what she will do with this new found information. Will this secret cause Lydia to leave the community? How will Lydia handle this shocking revelation? Once again Shelley Shepard Gray has written another great book. I can’t wait to read “The Search” book two in The Secrets of Crittenden County.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Another great Amish Mystery that I can't wait to solve!
Whenever I see the name Shelley Shepard Gray on a book, I know before I ever open the first page, it's going to be good if not great. Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County is the first book in the series that Shelley has written after visiting an Amish community nestled in rural western Kentucky and this is the beginning of that series.
The book opens with Abby Anderson who is sneaking off on to the land surrounding the Miller's farm near Crooked Creek to have a smoke with some girlfriends from school. Abby knew she shouldn't be doing this but since she wanted to fit in at school, she went along with them. Sensing her better judgment was beginning to speak to her heart, she decided she should leave, but when the girls had other plans and tossed her backpack into the woods, she wasn't at all prepared for what she would find. The body of a missing Amish teen, Perry Borntrager in the bottom of a dry well.
Now with the investigation beginning into the mysterious death of Perry, some of the residents of this small Amish town in Crittenden County are that interested in sharing what they know. Lydia Plank is the former girlfriend of Perry's and she isn't about to share what she believes could ruin her more than helping to solve Perry's death. She fears that it will forever ruin not only what her family thinks about her but what God does as well.
Walker Anderson is the older brother of Abby, the girl who found Perry's body. When the police detective comes around asking questions of Walker, he doesn't believe the information he knows about Perry will help with the investigation and only get him in trouble with Mr. Aaron Schrock, the owner of the store at which he works. Perry use to work there with him as well until Walker quit. He didn't want to be anywhere near Perry anymore.
In Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County by Shelley Shepard Gray, the reader it taken on the journey of a murder investigation of Perry Borntrager and realizes just how difficult it can be to search for answers in a tight knit community of Amish residents. They feel that nothing that they can tell the detective will help and it's only until they begin to share their secrets that not only will it lead them closer to the murderer but absolve them of the personal guilt that they are carrying in their own lives.
I received Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, the first book in the series compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and can't wait for the next one. I will tell you this since it is a series, the murder will not be solved in this book, but it will get you on board with your own crime solving skills to the test as you begin to join in the search. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend this one to those of you that love a good crime solving mystery with an Amish flair to it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 26, 2012
I love this book so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 6, 2012
"You are so not chritina grimmie!! I loovee her!"
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 6, 2012
HAAAHAHAH!!! BHAHA!!!! IM WATCHING MY VIDEOS!!
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Kelly49
Posted July 7, 2012
I started reading Shelley Shepard Gray only about 3 months ago & love her bookds, she hasn't disapointed me yet
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 1, 2012
Storyline good
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Three Englischer girls were on their way home from school and trespassing on the Miller's farm, but Abby Anderson didn't feel comfortable being there. She knew the Amish owner, Mr Miller, didn't like people cutting across his land, she knew her parents wanted her to come straight home from school and she definitely didn't want to be sneaking around smoking, she was a good person but just couldn't find a place she felt comfortable. She finally got up enough nerve to tell the other two that she was going home so one of them threw her backpack, when Abby went to find it she found that it'd fallen in a hole right on top of a dead body!
Everyone thought Perry Borntrager had jumped the fence when they no longer saw him around town. He hadn't been seen for several months on that fateful day when Abby discovered his body. Perry was a good Amish boy that had gotten messed up with drugs and was soon dealing drugs. That change in his life caused him to lose his Amish sweetheart Lydia Plank and the rest of his friends. He started stealing from the cash register where he worked at Schrock's Variety, Walker Anderson caught him and threatened to tell the owner but he knew it would be his word against Perry's. Thinking people would suspect an Englischer of stealing before any Amish person and Perry would probably accuse him, Perry being Amish would be believed, so Walker didn't say anything, instead, he quit his job. Later after Perry no longer worked at Schrock's Variety, Walker went back to work there.
When Deputy Sheriff Mose Kramer, raised Amish but jumped the fence himself, couldn't solve the murder he called his old friend Luke Reynolds, a Detective in Cincinnati and on sick leave recovering from a gunshot wound. Luke agrees to help but when he gets to town he finds that things won't be as easy as he thought they would be. It seems everyone is pretty closed mouthed, they say Perry was a good person and he could be bad, that's just Perry. Luke feels solving the case is a lost cause until Lydia and Walker finally call him, each had agreed to keep a secret about Perry, but now each one, not knowing the other one has called Luke, gave him a few more tidbits. Maybe the tide is turning on the case.
Lydia and Walker only knew each other in passing, so to speak, until Perry's body was found, then they both felt a great loss and carried quilt by blaming themselves for Perry's death. With Luke being called in to investigate they start talking, they become even closer after Lydia finds out that she's adopted. Her parents decided after 20 years she should know about her adoption, they didn't want to keep it a secret any longer because they felt that keeping secrets contributed to Perry's death. Lydia sought Walker out when she was even more confused with her life after hearing that. He helps her find out who her birth parents are then they have a bad argument and decide they don't want to see each other anymore.
Does Luke solve the murder, will Lydia be able to connect with her birth parents, will she continue to be Amish or jump the fence and what will happen between Lydia and Walker, will they stay mad at each other?
You will get a chuckle at the shenanigans that take place in Schrock's Variety, watch for flying hens, guinea pigs and big black snakes. Shelley did a great job on this book and I'm anxious for the second and third books to come out. She is tricky, she leaves you hanging so you have to continue the series, lol, so now the wait begins. The Search will be out in June of 2012 and Found in September of 2012.
Anonymous
Posted April 24, 2012
As a resident of the REAL Crittenden County, Kentucky, I enjoyed this book tremendously! Shelley captured the small-town feel of Marion, KY, as well as the outlying countryside where there really is a thriving Amish community complete with horses and buggies, greenhouses, and a general store with no electricity, but a little bit of everything for purchase!
The fact that the book is a contemporary romantic mystery just makes it that much better, in my opinion. Her suspense keeps you glued to the pages, and makes you more than glad that all three books will come out this year!
One of my favorite aspects is the generational relationships between a former-Amish man and his family, and his devoted Amish parents. This is very realistic, and she captures it well.
I'm anxiously awaiting the second and third books in the trilogy!
Anonymous
Posted April 23, 2012
Really enjoyed this book. Can't wait for the next one in the series
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Overview
Can two young people survive the suspicions of their friends and neighbors when tragedy strikes a close-knit Amish community?
Perry Borntrager had been missing for months from the quiet Amish community of Crittenden, Kentucky, when his body is discovered at the bottom of an abandoned well. The first death from mysterious circumstances in more than two decades brings the scrutiny of the outside world: A police detective arrives to help the local sheriff with the investigation. ...