Dark Harvest - Karen Harper

Policewoman Kat Lindley is running from the big-city job that nearly got her killed, and from memories of the abused boy she failed to save. She agrees to undertake a dangerous masquerade within the peaceful Amish community of Maplecreek, desperate to save its children.

Widower Luke Brand is a leader in the Amish community. But his people are under attack from unknown assailants. The community is reluctant to turn to the outside world—until a particularly vicious assault forces Luke to seek help.

Together Luke and Kat are determined to bring justice to the perpetrators, while struggling to suppress the unspoken and forbidden feelings growing between them. But when the case takes a deadly turn, Kat must race to uncover the menace that threatens the people she has grown to deeply respect—before Luke becomes the next victim.

After rehabilitating from a gunshot wound, policewoman Kat is keen to find a job away from the city, where crime will hopefully be at a minimum. Maplecreek, Ohio appears to be the perfect setting - after all, aren't the Amish pacifists? But soon she finds herself being talked into dressing Amish and posing as widower Luke's betrothed in order to gain evidence on hate crimes against the Plain people. Kat - now called Katie - quickly finds herself falling for Luke's adorable children, all the more convinced that she must stop the perpetrators. But as she finds herself drawing closer to the Sarah and Eli - and their father - the crimes increase, and Kat knows that she has to race to unravel the mystery before a member of her new family is the next victim...

This would be the perfect read for those who are interested in Amish fiction, but prefer books that aren't entirely focused on romance. So if you enjoyed Jodi Picoult's Plain Truth or any of Marta Perry's romantic suspenses, this may be be the book for you. Although I'm a true romantic at heart, I devoured the Famous Five mysteries and any Nancy Drew book I could get my hands on as a child, so naturally romantic suspense has an appeal to me. I wasn't sure what I'd make of Dark Harvest as it sounded rather sinister (my fiancé asked me if it was an "Amish horror book"!) but I ended up falling in love with the community of Maplecreek, Ohio.

If you're worried that this is merely a mystery planted in an Amish settlement to make it more original, fret no more. Not only has Karen Harper clearly done her research, but she also grew up in Ohio, close to Holmes Country. I may not be an expert on the Amish, but the detail Karen gives about the dress, food and farming in Maplecreek definitely has an authentic feel to it. Seeing the area through the eyes of outsider, Kat, certainly has a different impression than the descriptions in Amish novels featuring those who have grown up in the faith. Kat's reaction to the tall corn fields made the farm feel incredibly claustrophobic and emphasised how cut-off from the world the Amish truly are - and how vulnerable they are to outside attacks.

I had absolutely no idea who was behind the hate crimes, and although I was able to write one character off as being a red herring, the other four suspects had me mystified. Despite my many years of reading Nancy Drew novels, even I was surprised with the ending. I always love a book where I can't figure out the mystery before the main character, so I'm definitely impressed with Karen's ability to baffle the reader. At times, it almost felt as if Kat couldn't trust anyone, and I really felt her plight. Although she was an endearing character right from the start, I found that I loved her even more by the end of the novel and was really hoping that she'd find her happy ending. I think my only real problem with Kat is that she was continually getting herself into trouble by running off to investigate something without asking for help or telling anyone what she was doing. She was a bit too stubborn and often ended up unintentionally being a damsel in distress!

The romance between Kat and Luke obviously isn't the main focus of the book, and I'd have to say that it only takes up 10-20% of it. If you're not a fan of romance, you could always skim the particularly soppy sections, of which there are very few. I enjoyed watching Kat and Luke's relationship develop, and witnessing how they cared for each other. While there are a few passionate kisses here and there, the majority of their relationship is based on trust and wanting to look out for the other person. Luke feels a responsibility for Kat because she's living on his property, and this eventually becomes something more. And Kat finds herself discovering how much she wants a husband and family, realising how many admirable qualities Luke has. I was pleased that Karen hadn't gone down the route of creating the stereotypical Amish male - the kind that seems moody and brooding, doesn't show any interest in the female protagonist, and she ultimately has to break down the walls of communication to make him notice her. Luke was friendly and caring from the start of this novel, and eventually this turns into a romantic attraction, despite the differences in cultures. Basically, Karen shows that the Amish have human emotions too, and even they become attracted to people that they may think are "wrong for them".

Despite my slight annoyance with Kat, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As much as I adore love stories, a good romantic suspense can be incredibly satisfying. This book had my adrenaline pumping and was impossible to put down. If you're a fan of mysteries, thrillers or just the Amish, I'd definitely recommend checking out Karen Harper's novels. While this is technically the second book in a series, they can be read in any order. The Maplecreek Amish series is currently being reissued by Mira, and Karen has a new novel, Fall from Pride, due for publication in July 2011. 9/10

Murder in Plain Sight - Marta Perry

There are secrets buried in Amish country...

Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—against the community's bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community… and believes in the boy's guilt.

Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic, stirred up by the biased publicity of the case; the dead girl's boyfriend; even from the person she's learned to trust the most, Trey Morgan. But just when Jessica fears she's placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future—including their own.

While so many of the Amish novels that are currently saturating the market are focused on love and romance, Marta Perry tackles an entirely different subject - can the Amish kill? When a local English woman turns up dead in a barn, along with an unconscious Thomas Esch clutching a hammer, the residents of Lancaster don't doubt for a second that he committed the crime. But his English neighbour, Geneva Morgan, is convinced of his innocence. Trey Morgan doesn't share his mother's opinion but grudgingly decides to shadow the big city lawyer that she hired in order to protect his mother's involvement in the case. Jessica Langdon isn't pleased with Trey's presence, merely wanting to settle the situation in order to keep her job in Philadelphia, but a series of disturbing threats and incidents cause her to look to Trey for help. Was the murder more than a drunken mishap? Are Jessica and Trey getting themselves involved in something sinister and dangerous?

This is only the second novel of Perry's that I've read, but I'd definitely recommend her to any fans of romantic suspense or Amish fiction. Marta certainly understands the Amish and portrays them accurately, and she's also excellent at getting your heart thumping. I was reading this late at night but couldn't bare to put it down in case something exciting happened in the next chapter! While I did suspect the murderer early on in the story, this didn't detract from my interest. I was intrigued by the connections between the threats made against Jessica, and wanted to know how everything somehow linked back to the Morgan family. Geneva Morgan was a wonderful character, as was Leo Frost. I always appreciate having well developed secondary characters in the background to move the story along. Geneva held the story together, much like the grandmother in Perry's Hide in Plain Sight (#1 in the Three Sisters Inn series from Love Inspired Suspense), and I thought it was realistic that Jessica have Leo aid her with her legal work, as she couldn't possibly handle such a complicated case on her own.

The only minor setbacks to the mystery that I'd have to mention would be being able to spot the killer early on (although maybe I just read too much Nancy Drew as a child!) and the semi-monologue that he gave at the end of the novel when he revealed himself. Like I commented in my review of Hide in Plain Sight, it just seemed a bit cheesy and predictable. I can't really put my finger on what I didn't like about what he said or the way he said it, but it irked me in some way. And while I enjoyed the romance between Jessica and Trey, there were a couple of the typical "I touched him and felt a spark shoot up my arm" moments that you always get in romance novels that I wish authors would get rid of; they're just too over-used. Their Happily Ever After ending also seemed a little bit rushed.

But despite the minor issues I had with this book, I did throughly enjoy it. If I don't get a review copy of its sequel, Vanish in Plain Sight (June 2011), then I'll probably end up purchasing it myself as I have a feeling that the loose ends that weren't completely tied up at the end of this novel will be explained in #2 in the series. Although a bit rusty in places, this is an excellent addition to the growing Amish genre and a pleasant (or perhaps not!) break from the typical baking escapades and romantic picnics. 8/10

Many thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

Little Face - Sophie Hannah

The first time she goes out after their daughter is born, Alice leaves the two-week-old infant at home with her husband, David. When she returns two hours later, she insists that the baby in the crib is not her child. Despite her apparent distress, David is adamant that she is wrong.

The police are called to the scene. Detective Constable Simon Waterhouse is sympathetic, but he doubts Alice's story. His superior, Sergeant Charlie Zailer, thinks Alice must be suffering from some sort of delusion brought on by postpartum depression. With an increasingly hostile and menacing David swearing she must either be mad or lying, how can Alice make the police believe her before it's too late?

This is the second book I've read by Sophie Hannah and already I'm beginning to feel that her novels have a formula. Her main characters are insecure, damaged women in dodgy relationships who get themselves into terrible situations where men abuse them. 2D police officers, who also have damaged pasts and are, of course, romantically involved with each other and have anger problems, investigate the case. At the last minute, the woman solves the mystery only to confront the killer in a dangerous situation that almost costs her her life. But it all works out in the end, so that's fine. Seriously, I'm fairly certain that this book and The Point of Rescue have the same formula. I didn't mind the main character in that book but two of the same woman just annoyed me. I didn't sympathise with her because, well, why was she in this situation in the first place? Why had she married this man that she didn't really know and couldn't trust? And I really hated the scenes where Alice was mistreated by her husband - there are similar scenes in the other book and they're incredibly difficult to read. Why do all crime novels have to involve women being abused? To make it worse, David's actions were never explained. The mystery was good, although the ending was a bit strange, how Alice was suddenly an unreliable narrator. I did enjoy reading this, but the cliches annoyed me and it made me uncomfortable in places. I might read another Sophie Hannah novel as they are very compelling, but probably just from the library. 7/10

Island of Lost Girls - Jennifer McMahon

One summer day, at a gas station in a small Vermont town, six-year-old Ernestine Florucci is abducted by a person wearing a rabbit suit while her mother is buying lottery tickets. Twenty-three year old Rhonda Farr is the only witness, and she does nothing as she watches the scene unfold – little Ernie goes with the rabbit so casually, confidently getting into the rabbit’s Volkswagen bug, smiling while the rabbit carefully fastens her seatbelt. 

The police are skeptical of Rhonda’s story and Ernie’s mother blames her outright. The kidnapping forces Rhonda to face another disappearance, that of her best friend from childhood – Lizzy Shale, whose brother, Peter just so happens to be a prime suspect in Ernie’s abduction.

Unraveling the present mystery plunges Rhonda headlong down the rabbit hole of her past. She must struggle to makes sense of the loss of the two girls, and to ask herself if the Peter she grew up with - and has secretly loved all her life - could have a much darker side.

Wow, why haven't I heard of this author before? She has such an unusual voice and way of making her characters and setting believable. I picked up this book to read on the bus to Dundee and had to finish reading it as soon as I got home because it was impossible to put down. This was an incredibly compelling story and had a lot of twists that I didn't see coming, and just a couple that I sort of suspected. Highly recommended to mystery/thriller fans - this is an author to watch. 10/10