Christian

A Sister’s Secret by Wanda E. Brunstetter is the first novel in the Sisters of Holmes County series (recently reprinted). I thought the story was well-written with realistic characters. Grace Hostettler is a woman who is keeping secrets from her family, fiancé, and community. When a man from her past shows up in Holmes County, Grace wonders if now is the time to unburden herself. The story is told from Grace’s point-of-view as well as Cleon’s, Grace’s fiancé, and Grace’s two sisters, Ruth and Martha. Each one has a different voice, so it was easy to go from one individual to the next. There is also a mystery in A Sister’s Secret. It started out with overturned outhouses and cows being tipped over. It soon escalated into breaking into the Hostettler home and destroying property. The violence escalates when someone breaks into Roman Hostettler’s carpentry workshop stealing tools and wreaking havoc. It is hard to turn the other check when the violence keeps intensifying. There are several individuals who could have done the malicious deeds. I enjoyed solving the whodunit. There are good life lessons in the story including how we learn with my favorite being that we learn from our errors. One of my favorite quotes is, “That’s how life goes—we learn and grow from our mistakes. And hope we don’t make them again.” The other quote that lingered with me is, “We need to remember that nothing we own is really ours. It’s all on loan from God.” I am glad that I had the other two books from the Sisters of Holmes County series on hand. This is a series that needs to be read from beginning to end. A Sister’s Secret is a story about forgiveness, family, secrets, second chances, love, and faith. ( )

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Grace Hostetler has a secret that she's been hiding since she returned to Holmes County, Ohio four years ago, and it's now about to become known. Will her approaching marriage, and her future happiness, be destroyed? Can Grace convince her fiance Cleon and her family that she thought it was best not to reveal her past?

Wanda E. Brunstetter has written a moving tale of Grace's efforts to atone for her mistakes and to create a new life. A Sister's Secret also shares the viewpoints of Grace's two sisters, Ruth and Martha, and I'm hoping to learn their stories in the other books of the Sisters of Holmes County series. Brunstetter once again shows that the Amish aren't exempt from problems and heartaches, but they do rely on faith to see them through, and they also believe in forgiveness and redemption. Fans of suspense will enjoy the mysterious happenings, as they try to solve just who is behind the vandalism in this Amish community. There are no clear answers, so we'll need to read the other books of this series to find out!

If you're looking for an intriguing Amish story, this is the book for you. I received A Sister's Secret as a gift and there was no obligation for a positive review. ( )

awesome book about over coming secrets. How gods blessings can do so much. a mystery is a foot with all the odd stuff going wrong. ( )