Comment: One more book by this author I've decided to bring from the library. I've resigned myself o think this author's work - which i seem to appreciate in general - will be a task to complete very slowly...
Ellie Hathaway is a great defense lawyer, even though some of her clients are definitely not as innocent as they claim, and after such a trial, she decides to lay low at her aunt's house in Pennsylvania, which is how she get to be involved in a new case. Katie Fischer, the daughter of an Amish couple is accused of killing her newborn baby, although she claims she didn't give birth and she didn't kill any baby. While all evidence points to her being the mother, things are not as clear in regards to her being a murderer and Ellie decides to live with Katie's family as a way to learn the truth and to protect Katie from the sensationalism of how the case might develop. But what is truth in this situation, is all only difficult to process because the family lives in an Amish community?
What I seem to like the most about the author's books, at least the one I have read so far, is how the writing is appealing, even if not as nuanced as some readers might prefer. But I like the fluidity and smoothness of how the story is told. The author really is a storyteller.
This story is very compelling and as often happens in this author's books, offers a lot of food for thought. I liked knowing a bit more about the Amish and how they see the world, although some situations depicted here didn't seem to match what I've seen in novels by other authors. Could it be that geography, family branch, region and many other factors might change how the elements behave? It wasn't clear if all Amish in Pennsylvania would adhere to the rules/laws mentioned, or if it was only pertinent to some in some areas.
Still, the Amish and the others dichotomy was a very interesting dynamic to consider, especially when it comes to certain legal matters, as used in this plot. Some legislation even starts to seem pointless when seen through the eyes of someone who doesn't understand the laws of the laws, meaning that some things are really only there to makes everything difficult and a lot of things are simply hypocrisy. I'm specially thinking about the trial process Katie has to deal with and how she and the other Amish in her family see the proceedings.
I liked both Katie and Ellie, the main characters, and how they got to become friends somehow while this case is happening. A lot of their thoughts and emotions aren't that different which is always quite a detail to bar in mind if we also think they had different backgrounds. I think I've struggled with the time it took for Katie to admit what happened to her and how she didn't remember what happened to the baby. I know this was presented this way so that the plot could exploit the "temporary insanity" idea and so that we could see the process of going from point A to point B, but it was sometimes repetitive.
Katie's story wasn't that challenging to contemplate, because the biggest issue here really is her religion and her communities' beliefs. In this regard, I think everything was probably a bit too softly explained, if I compare with other books I've read with Amish characters. Katie's community did seem a bit more approachable than what i imagined, in fact. Perhaps this misleads me to think Amish behavior cannot really be like that.
Ellie was more intriguing and easier to "read", and I did like that she gets to have a new try at life and romance because of this case. I also would say that sometimes her characters was a little cliche but in general, I liked reading about her and about how her presence would allow for certain situations at the Fischers to be presented through her POV. It's quite telling to see something we don't get to in our lives through the eyes of someone we can relate to do precisely that.
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