Protecting the Amish Child - Dana R. Lynn (LIS #1127 - Sept 2024)

Series: Amish Country Justice (Book 19)
 
A killer in pursuit…
and a little boy's life is at stake.
 
When Francesca Brown discovers a dead body, bullets start flying her way. Soon FBI agent Tanner Hall arrives -- only to find an autistic Amish boy hiding nearby. As a witness to a crime, it's clear someone will stop at nothing to silence the little boy -- permanently. With assailants on their trail, can Fran and Tanner unravel a lethal conspiracy before the murderer strikes again?
 
Terrific addition to the Amish Country Justice series. The books are connected by common characters, themes, and locations, but each can be read as a standalone. As with the author's other books, this one grabbed my attention from the first page and kept me hooked until the end (when I should have been asleep!).
 
Francesca is a forensic artist and the widow of an FBI agent. One stormy night, she discovered a dead body in her yard. While reporting the body to the police, someone started shooting at her. Besides the arrival of the local police, Special Agent Tanner Hall is also on the scene. Tanner worked with her late husband, and she avoids him whenever possible. He brings up painful memories.
 
Tanner is on the case because of the identity of the dead man. Francesca's husband, Sean, had been a colleague and a friend, and Tanner believes Sean would want him to watch out for her. Tanner suspects that Sean's death wasn't an accident, and he needs to talk to her about it. But the current crisis has priority.
 
The dead man was connected to a case that Tanner and Sean worked on and had been in witness protection until he disappeared. Now he's turned up at Sean's house, raising questions about where he's been. Matters become complicated when they find a young Amish boy who is also autistic. What follows is a roller coaster of twists and turns, ups and downs, as they fight off attacks and search for Joey's family. Little clues unknowingly dropped by Joey lead them in an unexpected direction. A discovery at Fran's house provides another surprise and answers a few questions while raising more. The resolution was a nail-biter with a perpetrator I didn't see coming.
 
I enjoyed watching the development of the relationship between Francesca and Tanner. Each has some things from their pasts that make them wary of getting involved. But the more time they spend together, the more they get to know each other. I liked the respect they had for each other's work. Their attraction and feelings grew, but what would happen when the case was over and Tanner returned to his home base? I liked the soul-searching each did as they decided whether to pursue those feelings. I loved the ending and seeing them get the happy-ever-after they wanted. 

 
 
 

Amish Witness To Murder - Dana R. Lynn (LIS #1108 - June 2024)

Series: Amish Country Justice (Book 18)
 
To identify her father's killer…
she must stay alive
 
After finding her family's barn in flames and witnessing her father's murder, Beth Troyer becomes the killer's next target. She narrowly escapes death when the murderer turns on her, but now she's left temporarily blind. She'll have to rely on former family friend Gideon Bender to keep her safe until her eyesight returns. But with a killer who'll stop at nothing to find her, staying alive might just be impossible…
 
A fast-paced story that kept me turning the pages from start to finish. Beth returned home after some errands to find the barn on fire and her father locked in a struggle with an unknown assailant. She watched in horror as the man pulled a gun and shot her father, then turned his attention to her. Only the arrival of the fire department saved her life, but his attack left her temporarily blind. One of the volunteer firefighters found her and her father.......
 
Gideon is a former family friend. He and Beth were good friends until her sister set her sights on him. After Miriam's betrayal, Gideon cut himself off from Beth and her father. Now, he realizes what a mistake that was and regrets that he will never be able to make amends to the man who treated him like a son. He is determined to do everything he can to protect Beth and help bring the killer to justice.
 
I ached for Beth. From watching her father get murdered to being dependent on someone else for everything, it was hard for someone as independent and self-sufficient as she was. Harder still was being dependent on Gideon after the way he abandoned their friendship. Her reluctance to trust him was understandable. Gideon is determined to win back her trust and quickly realizes that Beth has always held his heart. It takes some time for Beth to come around and trust him with her heart again. I liked the ending and how she waited to be sure her feelings weren't affected by the danger they experienced.
 
The suspense of the story was terrific. Beth's fear was intense, but so was her determination to catch the murderer. The twists and turns involved in staying one step ahead of the killer's intention to eliminate the only witness to his crime kept me glued to the pages from start to finish. The intensity increased with every attempt the killer made as he became more desperate to stop Beth from identifying him. Though I knew it would work out in the end, there were times when I wasn't sure how they would survive.
 
I enjoyed seeing characters from previous books in the series. Gideon's police officer brother-in-law, Steve, played an essential role in this book. I also enjoyed seeing Micah, Zeke, and Isaiah again and catching up on their lives. Now that we are done with the Bender family, I can't wait to see what the author has next!