His Guilt - The Amish of Hart County 2 - by Shelley Shepard Gray

About the book:

A suspenseful tale of an Amish man who will risk all to protect the woman he loves.

Mark Fisher has returned home to Hart County, determined to put the past behind him. Two years ago, after being wrongly accused of assault, he left the Amish community, though never forgot his home. When the one person who had helped him through his rough times asks for help, Mark returns. But it is pretty Waneta Cain who makes him want to stay...

Neeta is one of the few people in Hart County who doesn't believe Mark is guilty of hurting anyone. However, his worldliness and tough exterior do make her uneasy. As she begins to see the real man behind all the gossip and prejudice, she wonders if he is the man for her.

Just when Mark starts to believe a new life is possible, a close friend of Neeta's is attacked. Once again, everyone in the community seems to believe he is guilty. But what hurts most is Neeta's sudden wariness around him. When another woman is hurt, a woman who is close to both Neeta and himself, Mark fears he knows the real culprit. And time is running out. Will Mark be able to find him before Neeta becomes his next victim?

My review:

I enjoyed this story of second chances and suspense!  It was interesting to see how someone would come back from being thought guilty of a horrific crime to trying to fit in with a community again and show they were innocent.  Gossip is a terrible thing and has a life of its own and that was really shown here as Mark's constantly accused of things and looked at with suspicion because of his past. I found it surprising and frustrating how some people could be so judgmental and sure that he was guilty of everything when they had no proof and even knew he had been cleared of the past crime.  Neeta ended up losing friendships over this attitude because she stood up for him and they didn't want to hear it.  I also found it interesting to see how Mark reacted to the situation and to different relationships in his life because of his childhood and the unpredictability and neglect he suffered.  He had a hard time opening up to people and sometimes reacted in negative ways.  I was somewhat surprised by some advice his preacher gave him.  Most was good, but there was something he said that seemed out of character for a Christian.  I liked the different conversations about forgiving, not judging, second chances and looking beneath the surface.  I was really surprised that Neeta's parents, Mark and her boss weren't more worried about her biking to and from work by herself after 2 attacks and when she herself had been threatened, though I don't think she ever told her parents about that.  I also thought she was very naive about an incident that happened. I was also a little surprised at Mark for something he does at the end of the story.  Other than those instances, I really liked both her and Mark. There's talk of prayer, forgiveness and knowing God was with her.  There's a little bit of romance and some suspense.  I thought it worked well as a stand-alone, though it's book two.  I would recommend this story if you like Amish books or suspense.

I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

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About the author:

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.