Review: Abiding Mercy by Ruth Reid

Title: Abiding Mercy by Ruth Reid
Amish Mercies Book One
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Contemporary, Amish, Christian, Romance
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Faith faces an impossible situation: Should she do the right thing and bring heartache to nearly everyone she knows or deny her true self and always wonder . . . what if?

Sixteen-year-old Faith has worked full-time in her parents’ restaurant since she finished eighth grade. She loves her Amish community—and the romantic attentions of her longtime friend, Gideon.

When her sister seems to be getting too friendly with Englischers, and her parents are in a buggy accident, Faith wants to escape into her dream of joining the church and getting married.

But then a local newspaper runs a story about a child named Adriana who was kidnapped fifteen years earlier, and everything Faith has held true comes into question.

Suddenly the community Faith has known her whole life seems unreal. Can she even trust her own family? And how will she ever find home again if she no longer belongs in the world she knows best?

Review:

In Abiding Mercy, Ruth Reid combines elements of mystery, faith, romance and the tiniest hint of the supernatural into an engrossing novel. This first installment in the Amish Mercies series will leave readers eagerly awaiting future installments.

Unlike other Amish teenagers her age, Faith Pinkham has no interest in Rumspringa and she is already taking classes to prepare for her upcoming baptism. She enjoys working in her family’s restaurant but her already busy life becomes quite hectic due to her sister Olivia’s frequent absences and their parents recent buggy accident. Her good friend Gideon Rohrer quickly steps in to lend a hand both in the restaurant and on their farm. Faith’s feelings for Gideon run deeper than friendship but their relationship is complicated by his history with Olivia. With Olivia’s involvement the Englisch world deepening, dare Faith hope for a future with Gideon?

Faith is wonderful, giving person who is confident of her place in the world. Despite her frustrations with Olivia’s behavior, she never loses her temper or lashes out at her. She instead prays for her sister while at the same time remaining hopeful they will repair their strained relationship.  Faith is also quite conflicted by her growing closeness to Gideon due to her loyalty to Olivia.  But is Faith’s devotion to her sister misplaced?

Unbeknownst to Faith, her world is about to collide with someone from the Englisch world as the fifteen year anniversary of a kidnapped toddler draws near. Roslyn Colepepper has never given up hoping her daughter Adriana will be found and she convinces authorities to re-examine the unsolved case. Will an age enhanced picture and extensive media coverage aid Roslyn in her search for her missing daughter? And what, if any, connection is there between Faith, Roslyn and a mysterious red-haired stranger?

With a gentle undercurrent of faith, Abiding Mercyis a heartwarming story that fans of Amish fiction are sure to love. Ruth Reid deftly weaves the various story arcs into an emotionally compelling novel that is impossible to put down.  The Amish Mercies series is off to a wonderful beginning with this utterly captivating first installment.