Shunned and Dangerous
Laura Bradford

Genre:
Mystery
Rating:

Living in the small town of Heavenly, Pennsylvania, Claire Weatherly has come to admire the Amish for their wholesome, honest way of life. But she also knows that nothing is as simple as it seems— especially when murder disturbs the peace.

Claire has always been game for a good puzzle, so when she hears that Mose Fisher has made one of his famous corn mazes, she can’t wait to walk the paths and test her skill. But she’ll have a much more serious puzzle to solve when, deep inside the maze, she discovers the body of Amish dairy farmer Harley Zook.

It won’t be easy for Detective Jakob Fisher to investigate a murder on his own father’s farm—not after being shunned by the man for leaving the Amish community and becoming a cop. With Mose himself as a suspect, and old family secrets cropping up, it’s up to Claire to help catch the killer before she finds herself at a dead end.

Review

Claire Weatherly can’t wait to test her skills in Mose Fisher’s corn maze. Claire’s Amish friend and employee, Esther, steers her toward the expert section of the maze for an even bigger challenge. Unfortunately, while walking through the rows of cornstalks, Claire discovers a dead body.

The job of investigating the murder falls on Detective Jakob Fisher. Jakob was previously part of the Amish community, but now nobody in the community is allowed to speak to him because he was shunned for leaving the community to become a police officer. Claire willingly steps in and talks to witnesses on Jakob’s behalf. The circumstances are hard on Jakob and things get even worse when evidence leads to one suspect – Jakob’s estranged father Mose.

Shunned and Dangerous is the third book in Laura Bradford’s Amish Mystery Series. The book is a cute cozy for those who enjoy reading Amish fiction, but like a little mystery in their story. I also think the characters have more depth than the typical characters in many Amish romances. Specifically, the Amish characters seem more like real people with flaws and worries just like people outside the Amish community. Since Claire isn’t Amish and is new to the town of Heavenly, Pennsylvania, the reader learns about the Amish right along with Claire. Although Claire admires their simple way of life, she doesn’t understand all of their customs, especially shunning. I like that issues such as shunning are presented from different points of view and that the Amish culture isn’t idealized. I also enjoy reading about Claire’s friendship with her Amish friends Esther and Martha. Through their friendship, she learns a lot about the Amish and I thought the information about some of the Amish wedding traditions was very interesting.

This is a great series. I’ve read all three books and this one is good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the others. It didn’t hold my interest the way the prior books did. The plot starts to drag after a while and the investigation seems a bit repetitive. Through much of the book, Claire seems interested in a relationship with Jakob, but still sends Benjamin mixed signals even though she says she knows they can’t be together since he is Amish. By the end of the book, Claire seems to have a clearer idea of what she is looking for in life, which is a good sign for future books. The book will still please fans of the series. Anyone who hasn’t read any of the books yet, but enjoys books by author Marta Perry will want to give this series a try.

Reviewed by Christine