Found by Shelley Shepard Gray
Series: The Secrets of Crittenden County #3
Published by Avon Inspire on September 4, 2012
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Fiction, General, Romance
Pages: 272
A murder is solved and a quiet Amish community must deal with the repercussions. Amid the surprising revelations, can a newfound love survive? As the search for Perry Borntrager’s killer continues, Jacob Schrock feels like his world is about to crumble. Right before Perry went missing, he and Jacob got into a fistfight. Jacob never told anyone what happened that terrible night. He’s good at keeping secrets—including his love for Deborah, Perry’s sister. But when Deborah takes a job at his family’s store and their friendship blossoms, Jacob senses everything is about to be revealed. Deborah has been searching for a slice of happiness ever since her brother’s body was discovered. When the police start questioning Jacob, Deborah can’t believe that the one person she’s finally allowed in could be the one responsible for her brother’s death. Will she believe what everyone seems to think is the truth . . . or listen to her heart, and hope there is still one more person who is keeping secrets in Crittenden County?
Note: Kristin reads and reviews both Christian and secular fiction on A Simply Enchanted Life. Out of respect for my readers, I am including a content review. This content review will help you decide whether this book is suitable for you.
Christian or Secular: Christian
ASEL Rating: mild violence (though no detailed description)
Themes: Murder, Drug use, unforgiveness, peace, suspense, healing
Suggested Age: 15+
Found is book #3 in The Secrets of Crittenden County series by Shelley Shepard Gray. Other books in the series include Missing (#1), The Search (#2), and Peace (#3.5).
Holy.WOW! I did not know who killed Perry until this last book! It’s not often that an author manages to keep the killer a secret for three whole books. I finally began to suspect who the killer was about halfway through this book but I wasn’t 100% sure.
This series reads really fast, each book is just over 200 pages and they read quickly. This would be a perfect series to read during a summer vacation or anytime you need a fairly quick read. If you’re anything like me, you occasionally need those quick-reads between your long, emotionally draining books. Yes, this entire paragraph is rambling and redundant. Deal with it. The fast-readability of these books were a huge bonus point for me. Fast-readability is totally a word, by the way. I looked it up in my dictionary I’m writing and my bestie approved. It gets the fizzified seal of approval (it’s totally a thing, keep watching her website for details).
The romance in these books isn’t overly sappy—something that I appreciate. The suspense wasn’t heart-stopping but I truly couldn’t figure out whodunnit until the third book.
It appears as if the main storyline ties up in this book but there is an add-on Christmas story (Peace #3.5) that reintroduces us to Beth and Chris and is (what I assume to be) an exploration of their mutual attraction and potential romance.
Overall, I would suggest this series to those who love Amish suspense. The themes are similar to her newer series, “The Amish of Hart County” but I think I like this series and the characters a little more for some reason.
I look forward to reading and reviewing Peace for 25thmas/Mystery Monday in June as the 25th lands on a Monday. Perfect, right?! So, be sure to check back in for my thoughts on the concluding addition to this series!
About Shelley Shepard Gray
Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Times bestseller, a two-time USA Today bestseller, 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.
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