Fall from Pride

June 6, 2011
Danger and romance find their way into Ohio Amish country in a lively and endearing first installment of the Amish Home Valley series by Harper (Dark Angel). Sarah Kauffman is an artist who paints murals on barns in her Amish community. When one of the barns mysteriously burns down, the local papers are quick to print the story. State arson inspector Nate MacKenzie drives down to Columbus to work on the case. He and Sarah make an unusual duoâNate, the outsider with little knowledge of Amish culture, and Sarah, the Amish woman who often feels like an outsider in her own village. As they discover clues about the crime, they also come to know more and more about one another. Soon, disguising their feelings of attraction proves to be just as difficult as solving the mystery of the barn burnings. Sarah is both tough and sweet and Nate's charisma is hard to deny. Readers will likely enjoy a trip into the heart of Ohio's famed religious community and may be tempted to find out what lies ahead for this unlikely crime-solving couple.

Starred review from September 1, 2011
All Sarah Kauffman wants to do is paint beautiful pictures, but her Amish community doesn't allow the making of graven images. Because of the flagging economy and the need to draw in more tourists, however, the church fathers let Sarah paint Amish quilt patterns on the sides of their barns. Then the fires begin. Someone is burning down the very buildings Sarah has decorated. State arson investigator Nate McKenzie has never been to Amish country, where outsiders are not trusted, and forgiveness is preferred to prosecution. Nate needs someone in Home Valley, Ohio, to act as his intermediary, and Sarah fills the bill. Nate's investigation is a hard sell to the Amish, who have suffered centuries of exile, torture, and persecution. And soon, Sarah finds herself in love with an Englischer. Does she choose Nate, and face the dreaded shunning? More important, will she survive long enough to make a decision? Harper, a master of suspense, keeps readers guessing about crime and love until the very end, while detailed descriptions of the Amish community and the Ohio countryside add to the enjoyment of this thrilling tale, the first in the Home Valley Amish Trilogy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)