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    Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book One
    Unavailable
    Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book One
    Unavailable
    Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book One
    Ebook287 pages4 hours

    Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book One

    By Shelley Shepard Gray

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Shelley Shepard Gray, New York Times bestselling author of the Families of Honor, Seasons of Sugarcreek, and Sisters of the Heart series, returns with another page-turning romance set in Amish country. Gray’s eagerly anticipated fourth series, The Secrets of Crittenden County, begins with Missing, a poignant and compelling tale of an unlikely romance born of tragedy. When the shocking death of a young man rocks a quiet Amish community, the dead man’s former girlfriend and his “Englisher” best friend find themselves murder suspects. But they are strengthened by their faith, and by an unanticipated love that awakens. Readers of Christian romance and inspirational fiction are captivated by stories of love among the Amish, as proven by the phenomenal success of Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, Cindy Woodsmall, and the previous novels of Shelly Shepard Gray. With The Secrets of Crittenden County this accomplished and much beloved storyteller reaches a new level.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 20, 2012
    ISBN9780062089717
    Author

    Shelley Shepard Gray

    Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town's bike trail.  Find Shelley on her website: ShelleyShepardGray.com; on Facebook: ShelleyShepardGray; Twitter: @ShelleySGray.

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    Reviews for Missing

    4.5/5

    6 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Whenever I see the name Shelley Shepard Gray on a book, I know before I ever open the first page, it's going to be good if not great. Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County is the first book in the series that Shelley has written after visiting an Amish community nestled in rural western Kentucky and this is the beginning of that series.The book opens with Abby Anderson who is sneaking off on to the land surrounding the Miller's farm near Crooked Creek to have a smoke with some girlfriends from school. Abby knew she shouldn't be doing this but since she wanted to fit in at school, she went along with them. Sensing her better judgment was beginning to speak to her heart, she decided she should leave, but when the girls had other plans and tossed her backpack into the woods, she wasn't at all prepared for what she would find. The body of a missing Amish teen, Perry Borntrager in the bottom of a dry well.Now with the investigation beginning into the mysterious death of Perry, some of the residents of this small Amish town in Crittenden County are that interested in sharing what they know. Lydia Plank is the former girlfriend of Perry's and she isn't about to share what she believes could ruin her more than helping to solve Perry's death. She fears that it will forever ruin not only what her family thinks about her but what God does as well.Walker Anderson is the older brother of Abby, the girl who found Perry's body. When the police detective comes around asking questions of Walker, he doesn't believe the information he knows about Perry will help with the investigation and only get him in trouble with Mr. Aaron Schrock, the owner of the store at which he works. Perry use to work there with him as well until Walker quit. He didn't want to be anywhere near Perry anymore.In Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County by Shelley Shepard Gray, the reader it taken on the journey of a murder investigation of Perry Borntrager and realizes just how difficult it can be to search for answers in a tight knit community of Amish residents. They feel that nothing that they can tell the detective will help and it's only until they begin to share their secrets that not only will it lead them closer to the murderer but absolve them of the personal guilt that they are carrying in their own lives.I received Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, the first book in the series compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and can't wait for the next one. I will tell you this since it is a series, the murder will not be solved in this book, but it will get you on board with your own crime solving skills to the test as you begin to join in the search. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend this one to those of you that love a good crime solving mystery with an Amish flair to it.
    • 4/5
      "Missing" by Shelley Shepard Gray was a very good book. It was interesting in that the contrast between Englischers and Amish was noted throughout. This story held me with moments of intrigue, glimpses of romantic interest and heartwarming family scenes. I use these terms as though I can actually "see pictures" as I read, but these are all pictures in my mind which the prose suggests. The murdered Amish man has secrets which I read to discover. There were two stories going on here. One was the hint of a romance between Walker and Lydia. The other the story of Abby and her search for where she fit in, Amish or Englisch. The background story was of the murder of Lydia's former boyfriend and Walker's friend, Perry. Murder was virtually unheard of in this small community. The local sheriff called in an old friend to help sove the mystery. Since this is the first book in a series, "The Secrets of Crittenden County" the ending left me hanging in order to get me to read the next book in the series. I didn't learn who killed Perry or what secrets to which the community holds on tight. I will have to wait until the next book comes out to find my answers to the questions left unanswered.

      I also liked this book because I live very close to Crittenden County Kentucky. It's always interesting to read a story set in your own locale.
    • 4/5
      Shelley did a great job on this book of how a murder can effect a small town.

      Abby and some 'friends' are out smoking in the woods and find Perry's body. Everyone thought Perry had left town.

      The sheriff invites his friend,who is on medical leave to come help investigate the murder, as you would expect no one has much to say.

      Then is love in the air for Abby's brother Walker? You will need to read and find out.

      A few other twists that I didn't see coming but make you wish the next book was already out.

      Great Job Shelley.
    • 5/5
      MissingShelley Shepard GraySummary of Book: In the first book in her new Secrets of Crittenden County series, the beloved author delivers another page-turning romance set in Amish country. When the body of Perry Borntrager is discovered in an abandoned well, the quiet Amish community of Crittenden, Kentucky, is thrown into turmoil. Perry had been missing for six months, and everyone in the town believed he'd left the order, seduced by the wider world he discovered during his rumspringa. Overwhelmed by grief, Perry's family and friends and the rest of the stunned community struggle to understand how such a terrible tragedy-the first death by mysterious circumstance to strike their placid small town in more than twenty years-could have happened. But the death has not only shaken the town, it has invited the scrutiny of the outside world when a homicide detective arrives to investigate the crime. Lydia Plank, Perry's former girlfriend, and Walter Anderson, an Englisher who was Perry's best friend, are the first suspects in the crime. Drawn together by the suspicions of both the authorities and the community, they discover an unlikely companionship that offers solace, understanding, and the promise of something more during the hardest of days.I enjoyed the characters, story and setting. The entire mystery was suspenseful and the characters are believable. I am not sure how the author is going to keep the suspense and draw it out so long before it becomes less fulfilling when solved. It was enjoyable to know these characters and to read the second and the third will be easy just to see how the mystery progresses. There is no sense of danger and that is what makes it more of a mystery. I believe that this will satisfy most readers. If any clues are given they too are a mystery. It will be a disappointment if the ‘bad people’ Perry was involved with were to have committed this crime.I would like to thank Edelweiss and Avon Inspire for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone.
    • 4/5
      Times are unsettled and people are uneasy in this Amish community. A body has been discovered in an an abandoned well, and the question of where Perry went is answered, but how he came to be murdered is now the question in everybody’s mind. His parents and sister remember how he was before he turned away from them to drugs. The girls he dated and who left him because of his drug dealings are equally mystified at his untimely end. Secrets abound in this quiet community, and they all aren’t about Perry. A detective has come to help out his friend, the sheriff, investigate the case. But the people who were closest to Perry are a closed-mouth group, and Luke has gotten little cooperation. Author Shelly Shepard Gray has laid the foundation for a promising series, complete with a intriguing mystery and complex characters. This tale is well written and combines a bit of romance with some thought-provoking themes.