HIS GUILT –  Shelley   Shepard   Gray
The Amish of Hart County , Book 2
Avon Inspire
ISBN: 978-0-06-246913-7
July 2017
Amish Romantic Suspense

Horse Cove, Kentucky, the Present

Waneta (Neeta) Cain, the only child of loving parents and still single at twenty-two, enjoys working in the Blooms and Berries nursery. Ordinarily warm and friendly to all, something about the young man just hired by Mr. Lehmann bothers her. He recently returned to town after being away for two years. Perhaps it's Mark Fisher's bad reputation, but Neeta is not one ordinarily swayed by gossip. And he was, after all, declared innocent by the sheriff of the assault on a local girl two years ago. It's something about Mark himself.

After being away two years, Mark Fisher felt it was time to come home. His negligent and emotionally abusive parents are both gone now, and the house is his. He has plans to fix it up to live in. Even though he remains Amish, many in the community are less than welcoming to him, but Henry Lehmann has always been a good friend.

Mark had tried his best to take care of his younger brother, Calvin, but Calvin ran away at fourteen when their father hit him. And now he's back and in trouble and hoping to get a share of the proceeds when the house is sold!

HER SECRET, the first in the  Hart County  series, introduced quite a bit of suspense into Ms.  Gray 's writing, but it remained immersed in the strongly Amish scene. With the unhappy background of the Fisher boys and the attacks on women by an unknown assailant, HIS GUILT takes on a darker tone. The characters are just as deeply portrayed. Mark's evolution is well done, and Neeta and her parents are as likable as can be. Other people of note are the pastor, some of the women, and the local law.

While the story may be darker and the mystery filled with tension, HIS GUILT is still uplifting and ends on a happy note. Don't miss it.

Jane Bowers