Pages: 334
Released On: 29/08/2025
Hannah knows that one day she must make a choice: stay in her tight-knit Amish community or leave for a life beyond the fields and fences. When a severed hand lands at her feet one winter morning, this simple choice is shattered forever.
Abandoned on a deserted road with her best friend’s lifeless body and a bag of drugs, Hannah is accused of a crime she did not commit. Facing prison and shame for her family, she has an impossible decision to make – should she remain silent, as Amish tradition demands, or break every sacred rule she was raised with to help the police catch a killer and prove her innocence?
Can Hannah walk the razor-sharp edge between two worlds before freedom and family slip through her fingers, or will she be forced to flee to protect those she loves?
*****
Thanks to Sheelagh for sending me a copy of her book for review.
From the synopsis alone, this wouldn’t be a book I’d normally pick up for myself, but I’m glad Sheelagh sent it to me because it was eye opening.
I’ve read Sheelagh’s bio on her website and there’s nothing about being Amish on there so I’m not sure what her background is in terms of that, but I’m impressed by the detail she’s gone into.
The Amish are not a group of people I tend to think about. Not in an ignoring kind of way, but they’re just people, and so apart from what I’ve seen on telly, I don’t have much knowledge of them so this was really informative.
She’s focussed a lot on the tensions between the Amish communities and everyone else. And sadly that’s still true because they’re a people who are misunderstood to most – including me.
It’s not all twists and turns but there are enough surprises and cliffhangers to keep you on your toes.
It’s a mixture of a contemporary, literary story and a thriller; it’s very thoughtful, it’s got such depth to it and layered, interesting characters.
It’s a thriller, but it’s about faith, commmunity, love, identity, self-worth, gender, relationships, friendships, priorities, choices – what would you do for your freedom?
It is a very heavy book emotionally, so be aware it may not be for the quiet, calming, relaxed reader. You will need to invest your time in it and it is a lot.
Would I have preferred it to either be a thriller or a contemporary story? At times yes. But I think overall she’s got the balance spot on.
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