Saturday, February 5, 2011

Book Review: Murder In Plain Sight #12

Murder in Plain Sight (Hqn)
Author: Marta Perry
Title: Murder In Plain Sight
Publisher: HQN
Publish Date: Nov 16, 2011
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provide By: NetGalley & The Publisher
Book Blurb: Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—against the community's bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community… and believes in the boy's guilt.


Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic, stirred up by the biased publicity of the case; the dead girl's boyfriend; even from the person she's learned to trust the most, Trey Morgan. But just when Jessica fears she's placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future—including their own.

Review: Marta Perry proves once again that she's one of the best voices in Amish fiction. She captures the feelings of the Amish quite well, as she does with her other books about the culture, but she really works the "Englisch" into this story with credibility.
 
Jessica is a Philly lawyer that is used to big cities, like Boston and Baltimore. She isn't really familiar with Lancaster County and the Amish, even though Philly is only about an hour and a half away. As she seeks to help with the accuseds defense, she finds herself understanding the culture more, and uncovering some interesting secrets involving the case and the family that retained her for the case.
 
This is really a perfect "cozy" mystery. It is just suspenseful enough to keep the pages turning. The characters are all quite lovable. Trey is described as arrogant in the blurb, but after the first few pages, it is easy to tell that he's protective of those he loves. At times it makes him come across as a bit of jerk, but for the most part, it endears you to him. This is a guy that really cares about his family and the people of the community.
 
Jessica comes from an opposite background. You really feel for her. She doesn't fit in with the big law firm she works for and her father is far from loving. It's through the Morgans and her work with the Amish that help her to open up.
 
The case involves a young Amish boy accused of beating a girl to death with a hammer. As the story unfolds Marta leaves clues that help point Jessica on the path to his innocence. I just wish a few more had been cleared up at the end. Like who drugged Thomas? Why him? This was probably my only gripe with the story.
 
The romance between Jessica and Trey develops nicely too, through a series of rather unpleasant events. Jessica is almost killed at least two times in the story and receives more than a few threats to quit the case.
 
Marta Perry was on my "must read" list for her Amish romances, but now she's on my "must read" list for all of her books.
 
Rating: 4 flowers
 

2 comments:

Mrs. Q: Book Addict said...

I'm new to Amish fiction, and I think this one sounds really good. I've read all three of Suzanne Woods Fisher Lancaster series, and I loved them all! I will have to check this one out on Netgalley. Great review!

Lover Of Romance said...

Great review! I haven't heard of this book, but sounds like its a enjoyable read! Glad to hear that you enjoyed it!

 
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