Friday, March 31, 2017

Review: Her Secret by Shelley Shepard Gray

 About the book:


A suspenseful tale of a young Amish woman who is forced to move to a new town to escape a threatening stalker

After a stalker went too far, Hannah Hilty and her family had no choice but to leave the bustling Amish community where she grew up. Now she's getting a fresh start in Hart County, Kentucky...if only she wasn't too scared to take it. Hannah has become afraid to trust anyone-even Isaac, the friendly Amish man who lives next door. She wonders if she'll ever return to the trusting, easy-going woman she once was.

For Isaac Troyer, the beautiful girl he teasingly called "The Recluse" confuses him like no other. When he learns of her past, he knows he's misjudged her. However, he also understands the importance of being grateful for God's gifts, and wonders if they will ever have anything in common. But as Hannah and Isaac slowly grow closer, they realize that there's always more to someone than meets the eye.

Just as Hannah is finally settling into her new life, and perhaps finding a new love, more secrets are revealed and tragedy strikes. Now Hannah must decide if she should run again or dare to fight for the future she has found in Hart County.


My Thoughts:

Her Secret is about an ordinary Amish girl living with her family going about her life until one day she meets a man that will not take no for an answer.  And so begins his manipulations and his fearful control over her well-being including that of her family as well. 

Hannah’s entire family up and moves from Ohio to Kentucky after Hannah’s stalker takes things a little too far with his photographs.  Trying to come out of her shell that fear has locked her into, she begins to timidly make new friends in her new hometown.  As she begins to open up and live again she is faced with problems at home with her brother and sister and their resentment towards her for the move.  Her parents are no help as they drop another bombshell on the family that only increases the distance between each of them till all five seem to be living separate lives. 

That is really what stood out to me in this novel.  That this seemingly close-knit family let secrets keep them apart.  And how once the secrets were no longer kept in hiding, understanding, love, and grace came pouring in.  Forgiveness played a strong role as well.

This was a little bit of a creepy read for me as Hannah was always looking over her shoulder and too many times let fear paralyze her.  I enjoyed watching her and her family come to terms not only with opening up to each other, but becoming part of their new community and learning the lesson that we sometimes need other people to help us carry our burdens.

I received a copy of the book for free through Litfuse.  I was not required to post a positive review and views and opinions expressed are my own.

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.



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