Another series I'm dropping.

It's well-written and well-plotted and if someone is looking for a "Christian" series, I'm betting this one would fit the bill.

My problem with this series (after the first one) is that I don't like any of the English; the Amish characters are great - they are actual three-dimensional characters, but the MC, Claire, seems to be on a steady diet of Xanax or its like and her aunt Diane just rubs my last nerve raw. She treats the MC like a child, constantly lecturing her or telling her what she should do, and all the while Clair never feels anything but grateful. I'm not even going to get started on Claire's tendency towards martyrdom.

This is my issue with everything I've read with the "Christian" fiction tag - nobody is real. One can strive towards perfection, but in truth perfection is unobtainable and it's possible to be a person of strong and abiding faith and actually have tempestuous moments, or catty thoughts. Or a sense of humour. I want to read about those people: real people who believe in God and swear like a drunken sailor.

I'd also like to find a good Amish mystery series where the characters approach realism. This author does great with the Amish characters, but fails, imo, with the rest of it. ( )

Laura Bradford does such a fantastic job with this Amish mystery series. I am always intrigued by the attention to detail she employs in her creation of the town of Heavenly, where the Amish and English are both able to benefit from a steady tourist business. When a body is discovered after an Amish barn burns to the ground, the remains are identified as Sadie Lehman, a young Amish woman who never returned after her Rumspringa. Claire's easy involvement with both a very open Amish community and the local police make it very easy for her to wear a detective's cap in these stories. I liked the explanations and parallels between the past Rumspringa participants and the generation of today's young Amish in Heavenly. ( )

http://www.girllostinabook.com/2015/03/blog-tour-stop-review-suspendered.html ( )

Laura Bradford has an amazing talent, and is a most gifted storyteller. Her words never fail to draw me in and capture me.

With each book I read in the Amish Mystery series, I think there is no way the next one will be as good. I’m very happy to be wrong. Laura Bradford continues to improve upon an already fantastic series. SUSPENDERED SENTENCE was in a word…Wonderful!

I always feel like I have come home when reading this series. The characters are like family and friends. To say I am emotionally attached to them and what happens to them, well, that would be very true.

The murder in SUSPENDERED SENTENCE was a shocking one to say the least. But when there is another mystery attached to the first, things really became intense and more of a guessing game for me. Once the truth came out about everything, it blew me away just how intricate a story Ms. Bradford had penned.

If you like the first books in this series, you are in for a major treat with this SUSPENDERED SENTENCE. If you haven’t read this series, I really encourage you to do so. ( )