Her Secret Amish Past (Amish Country Justice, 14)

Terrific book that kept me so engrossed that I read it in one sitting. I ached for Josslyn, who had her entire life upended because of one anonymous note left on her mother's car. I felt her confusion at her mother's panic, her fear when they were shot at, and her desperate need to know the truth. When an armed assailant rammed their car over a guard rail, they were rescued by police sergeant Steve Beck. While her mother was in the hospital, Steve was determined to keep Joss safe and discover why she was in danger. Matters become more complicated when her mother is murdered, and Joss finds that her mother is not really her mother. The discovery of an Amish child's dress and a faceless doll are their only clues. I liked Joss. Because of her rootless childhood, she has great inner strength. Though unnerved by the attacks on her, she is determined to find out the truth. Steve's support means the world to her, and she finds herself leaning on him more than expected. I liked Steve, too. He's a good man with a calling to help people, driven by the ghosts of his past, and something about Joss makes that need even stronger. I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Joss and Steve. His protectiveness was undeniable, though he tried to fight the feelings underlying it. When they were apart, he couldn't stop thinking about her or worrying about her safety. I loved how he always understood how she felt and knew what to say to help her. But as his feelings for her grew stronger, he believed he was too broken to be the right man for her. Joss also felt her feelings for Steve growing, but her pride wouldn't allow her to seem "needy" by showing how much he meant to her. I wanted to shake him at the end when he let his fears keep him away. Thank goodness he saw the light and knew what he had to do. I loved the sweetly awkward yet emotional scene when he picked her up at the hospital and took her home. It was topped only by the epilogue, which was fantastic. The suspense was terrific and kept me turning the pages from start to finish. The frequent and escalating attacks on Joss showed how determined the bad guy was to keep his secret. As each thread unraveled, they came closer to finding out the truth of Joss's identity, and the danger came ever closer. Just when I thought it was all over, an unexpected twist again put Joss in the crosshairs. The resolution was a nail-biter with a very satisfying ending. I'm looking forward to learning more about the Bender family, especially Micah and Isaiah.

HER SECRET AMISH PAST by Dana R. Lynn is the 14th book in the Amish Country Justice series. It’s the well-crafted, suspenseful story of Jossyln “Joss” Graham, as all she knows seems to unravel right before her eyes, and Sergeant Steve Beck, who tries help her figure out the answers while keeping her safe. Joss’s life had always been different than most growing up what with picking up and moving every year or two with no time to put down roots or make lifelong friends. Their ten year stay in Sutter Springs, Ohio had by far been the longest stay anywhere. But she had always knows her mother, Linda, had loved her. She thought they had a close relationship up until she found that note on the car windshield. That note sent her Mom in an absolute panic and they were on the move again leaving most everything they had behind them. As they rushed to get away, from what she didn’t know, they were ambushed by a huge SUV that ended up pushing their car over a guardrail causing it to roll upside down before crashing to a halt. Coming to, she realized her mother was hurt and bleeding before she lost consciousness again. That’s the way Steve happened upon the scene shortly after an SUV sped past him. After he found them, he called for help. He managed to get the injured young woman out, but was fearful of doing more damage to the other one deciding to wait on emergency personnel. At the hospital, her mother needed a quick blood transfusion and that’s when she found out that Linda, the only woman she’d known as Mom, actually wasn’t her biological mother making her doubt everything she knew. After finding out that the man with the steely eyes in the car that had rammed them had shot her mother, they knew for a fact that the crash was no accident. Why and by whom they didn’t have a clue. Knowing they were in danger, Steve made up his mind to keep Joss from harm in any way he could. When more attempts were made on Joss’s life along with the successful murder of Linda, their need to find answers grew and Steve’s desire to keep Joss safe began to take on a life other than his duty at work. Meanwhile Joss was taking comfort in knowing Steve had her back. It was only when he wasn’t around that she became fearful. Plus he was there for support when the truth of her beginning in life started to come out along with all the many falsehoods she found in the things she thought she knew about her and her mother’s lives. Can they find the pieces to the puzzle of Joss’s shattered life? What part does a little girls Amish dress and a faceless doll play in Linda and Joss constant moving? Could she possible have a whole family of relatives out there that had been looking for her? Will they find the one behind all the attacks before it’s too late? How many people will lose their lives at the hand of this madman before he’s caught? When it all ends, then wh...