Book Review: Harmless as Doves

Author: P. L. Gaus  

Title: Harmless as Doves

Description: An Amish convert turns up dead, and a young Amish man hurries to confess the murder to his Bishop. Questions remain, however: how did one punch (from a pacifist) kill an adult man? What happened between the time the confessed killer fled the scene and law enforcement’s arrival? And where is the dead man’s best friend?

Review source: netgalley

Plot: The plot grabbed me right away. I have to admit that I’m not a fan of those Amish romances that are all over the place these days, but I am interested in the Amish, so books about them in other genres do attract my interest. The plot keeps twisting: another murder, a disappearance, and a twenty-year old crime are added to the mix.

Characters: After I read the book, I did some quick internet research on the author and discovered that this is the eighth book in a series of Amish mysteries featuring three (!) detectives. The detectives are the English (i.e. non-Amish) sheriff, a college professor, and a pastor. This explains why this college professor was called to the scene about halfway through the book with no introduction. I think three detectives is a bit much. Point of view flipped around pretty crazily.

Writing style: There were some things I really liked and some things that really drove me crazy. On the crazy side: there’s a lot of repetition of some ideas. Amish don’t know much about the law? I got that after the first time; the fifth or sixth time I was told, I just got annoyed. Likewise, the saintly Bishop wonders if other men are as saintly as he is about twelve times more than he needs to. On the positive side, I did like the thoughtful presentation of ideas, especially regarding the Amish lifestyle and the Bible verse this book is titled for.

Audience: Obviously there could be some crossover from fans of other Amish fiction, but mystery readers would be the primary audience. And I’d definitely class this as Christian fiction, although it’s published by Plume.

Wrap-up: I wanted to know how the story ended right from the beginning, so the author did well at pulling me in. I was disappointed by the ending, though. While we have a villain by the end of the book, there are a lot of loose ends that weren’t dealt with to my satisfaction.  I would have also liked more details and insight into secondary characters (i.e. the perpetrators and victims) as opposed to the three (!) detectives. I’d read another book in the series, for sure. 4/5*

Book Review: Growing up Amish

Author: Ira Wagler

Title: Growing up Amish

Description (source): One fateful starless night, 17-year-old Ira Wagler got up at 2 AM, left a scribbled note under his pillow, packed all of his earthly belongings into in a little black duffel bag, and walked away from his home in the Amish settlement of Bloomfield, Iowa. Now, in this heartwarming memoir, Ira paints a vivid portrait of Amish life—from his childhood days on the family farm, his Rumspringa rite of passage at age 16, to his ultimate decision to leave the Amish Church for good at age 26. Growing Up Amish is the true story of one man’s quest to discover who he is and where he belongs. Readers will laugh, cry, and be inspired by this charming yet poignant coming of age story set amidst the backdrop of one of the most enigmatic cultures in America today—the Old Order Amish. (Marketing Copy)

ARC source: Netgalley

Writing style: Wagler does a good job of combining the big picture with single incidents that illustrate his points. The narrative kept my interest throughout, moving along quickly enough that it doesn’t get bogged down.

Audience: The book should appeal to fans of Amish fiction; I think most of them are women, and this book, written as it is from an Amish man’s point of view, gives another side of the picture. It will also appeal to anyone who enjoys reading memoirs. I grew up in Amish country, so I was more interested in this topic than many people would be, but I did not “laugh, cry, and get inspired” as the marketing copy promised.

Major ideas: Wegler keeps to the point throughout, which is his ambivalence about the Amish lifestyle. He describes both the appeal and the downside of being Amish; if there was a drawback here, it would be that he seems at a remove from his younger self—almost as if we are looking down at him rather than inhabiting him. I imagine the young Ira was very confused, so maybe that is a good thing.

Wrap-up: I liked this book. I found myself wondering what choice Ira would ultimately make, and how he would find his place in the world, since he didn’t seem to fit in either the Amish or the “English” culture. 3.5/5*