Book Review: The Missing

Author:Beverly Lewis
Title The Missing
Publisher: Bethany House
Publish Date: Sept 8, 2009
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Twenty-one-year-old Grace Byler longs to find her missing mother and to uncover the secret that drove her to leave them three weeks before. Grace suspects the reason has to do with her father and his reserved, uncommunicative ways. This conviction led Grace to break off her betrothal to her quiet, staid beau, and she is now resigned to remain single. But when the young Amishman she thought was courting her best friend takes a sudden interest in her, Grace is befuddled and wonders if he can be trusted. "Englisher" Heather Lang has come to Amish country to relive fond memories of her mother and to contemplate a grave medical prognosis of her own. While in Bird-in-Hand, Heather meets Grace Byler and the two young women strike up a fast friendship, amazed by how well they click. Following the only clue they have, Grace and Heather travel together in hopes of finding Grace's mother and bringing her home. Will they find what they're looking for...or something much more?

Review: The Missing picks up where The Secret left off, such is the nature of all Beverly Lewis novels. They are like a three part made for tv movie that airs on Lifetime or Oxygen or some other girlie channel.

Certain aspects of this story were wonderful, while others were just too laid out. There are things I know are going to be found out in book three without even having to turn a page, and that makes me wonder why I'm going to read The Telling. I guess it is because, once you start something, it is hard to stop it.

In this book Grace is still trying to find clues as to where her mother had gone. There's also a new guy who wants to court her, Yonnie, who just happens to be the guy her best friend, Becky likes.

Ah the drama of being Amish.

We also see Lettie, Grace's mother and her journey to find the child she gave up for adoption some 20 + years before.

Lastly there is the english girl, Heather, suffering from Stage III non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Guess who she is? She wants to try a natural way to beat cancer. (And even though that won't be dealt with in this book, you know she will)

This story dragged, yet it was an easy read. I liked Lewis' characters, well, not so much Heather, because I really found her abandonment of traditional medicine a bit stupid, especially at Stage III of any cancer.

I'll be picking up The Telling, so I can see the rest of the story through. I have to say, I don't know why Lewis can't just write one longer book, rather than dragging her stories out through 3.

Rating: 3 Flowers