Saturday, September 30, 2017

HIS GUILT by Shelley Shepard Gray

Publisher:     Avon
Published:     July 4, 2017
ISBN:        978-0062469137
Genre:      Contemporary Romance, Inspirational
Format:     Print  
Obtained via:  Publisher
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  myreviewbooks@aol.com

 
FIVE HEARTS
 

 
Two years ago Mark Fisher was accused of a most heinous crime.  He didn’t do it.  The Sheriff believes he didn’t do it.  But pretty much everyone else in Horse Cave thinks he did.  His long-time friend and mentor, Henry Lehman, the owner of Blooms and Berries, believes in him too and with his return to Horse Cave, has given Mark a job.

Waneta (Neeta) Cain has worked for Henry for some time.  At first she isn’t too happy to be working with Mark, but then she realizes she’s judging without knowing all the facts.  Determined to see the best in Mark, Neeta does her best to trust him and soon befriend him. When her parents welcome him into their home, Neeta finds herself thinking of Mark as more than a friend. 

But all is not well in Horse Cave.  Along with Mark’s return it appears someone is beating women. As eyes turn toward Mark, Neeta continues to stand by him, but is it enough to prove he is not guilty?

I’m not normally a fan of inspirational, religious based stories.  Shelley Shepard Gray is definitely changing my view of them.  She tells such a good story that once you start you just don’t want to stop till you get to the end…and then you want to read it again because it was just so good.  She writes to a solid cross-section of readers in terms of age and experience.  Men, as well as women, will enjoy this series.  Her latest, HIS GUILT is the second book of her Amish of Hart County series, but it stands on its own. 
 
Neeta and Mark are both complex characters.  Despite them living what some of us might consider the simple Amish way of living, the characters are multi-dimensional and even within the short time span covered in the book both change and develop.  Both separate and together they make the reader stop and think about actions and consequences.  The secondary characters as well are fully developed and have their own interesting stories. 

I figured out pretty early on who was beating up on the different women in Horse Cave, but that didn’t in any way ruin the story for me.  Instead it had me unable to put the book down until I found out if I was right or not—and how Gray was going to resolve the situation.
 
I really enjoy this series and cannot wait for the next instalment along with the hope that it continues for a long, long time.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

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