Review – Shadows of Lancaster County

They’re shadows of Lancaster County.

Anna Bailey changed her identity and left Lancaster County, PA to start a new life in California. But when her brother goes missing and a home invader demands the Beauharnais Rubies, she’s thrust into a mystery of triple proportions and returns to the shadows of her painful past.

Why would her brother disappear without a trace and where are the mysterious Beauharnais Rubies?

Forced to deal with her past and the tragedy she was a part of, Anna searches for her brother, rekindles an old flame, and discovers the history of the Beauharnais Rubies. Add to the mix a mystery murder involving DNA research and gene therapy and you have Shadows of Lancaster County.

Mindy Starns Clark weaves threads of the modern Amish life, a 19th Century princess with a secret, and cutting edge science nicely. I enjoyed the different aspects of this book, but it fell short on the promise of being a suspenseful page turner.

The opening starts out fast, so I was surprised when the pacing slowed to focus on Anna’s past told with twenty pages of back story. Though it did hold my attention, it would have been more fulfilling if the author weaved that part of the story into the rest of the book then divulging it all at once.

I enjoyed how Clark strung the different plots and mysteries together with some surprise endings, but the middle of the book stalled until the DNA thread appeared. Then it was a race to the end.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and Clark’s Amish characters and setting comes to life amidst tragedy and forgiveness. Some of the elements that slowed me up would probably not phase the typical reader and Mindy Starns Clark fan.