The Search by Suzanne Woods Fisher

About the book:


Fifteen years ago, Lainey O'Toole made a split-second decision. She couldn't have known that her choice would impact so many.
Now in her mid-twenties, she is poised to go to culinary school when her car breaks down in Stoney Ridge, the very Amish town in which her long-reaching decision was made, forcing her to face the shadowed past.

Bess Reihl is less than thrilled to be spending the summer at Rose Hill Farm with her large and intimidating grandmother, Bertha. It quickly becomes clear that she is there to work the farm--and work hard. The labor is made slightly more tolerable by the time it affords Bess to spend with the handsome hired hand, Billy Lapp. But he only has eyes for a flirty and curvaceous older girl.

Lainey's and Bess's worlds are about to collide and the secrets that come to light will shock them both.

"Beautifully written, 'The Search' is a skillfully woven story that takes readers through unexpected twists and turns on the long country road toward truth. Fans both old and new will find themselves immersed in this heartwarming--and surprising--tale of young love, forgiveness, and coming to grips with the past."

My take on this book:
Bertha Reihl of Rose Hill Farm, is a bit intimidating, as tough as boots on the outside, but on the inside she is really an old softie.After the death of her husband, Samuel, a few years back, she slowly started converting her pastures into a place to plant her roses. She does a pretty good business selling salves, roses and her rose petal jam, so well in fact that she has hired 18 year old Billy Lapp to help her.

 Its been a few years since her son Jonah and her 15 year old grand daughter Bess has come from Ohio for a visit, so she sends them a letter stating she needs help recovering from her women's surgery. Bess decides to go spend the summer with her grandmother. While picking roses isn't something she really relishes, when she meets Billy she thinks he is the most handsome boy she has ever saw, and things might not be so bad on her grandmothers farm.

Lainey O'Toole was Bertha's neighbor 15 years ago, and while traveling thru on her way to New York as fate would have it, her car breaks down in Stoney Brook in front of a diner, who was looking for a baker, she decides to stay for the summer, wanting to reconnect with Bertha, the lady who was so kind to her in her youth. There is a secret that Lainey has kept for 15 years, something that will affect several people. What will happen when the secret is out in the open?
Another great story from Suzanne Woods Fisher. A story about how the truth can free you from your past, and of course the value of forgiveness. I enjoyed the characters in this story, and think my favorite was Bertha, for an Amish grandmother she had a wacky sense of humor. The story was very well written, the author grabs and  holds your attention, keeping you wondering how things will turn out.
While this is the third book in the Lancaster Co. Secrets series it can easily be read as a stand alone work. A a fan of Amish fiction I have read all three in the series and would say fans of Amish inspiration, or someone just looking for a good clean read would enjoy this series. There are also discussion questions included at the end of the book.

About Suzanne:

In no particular order, Suzanne Woods Fisher is a wife, mother, writer, lifelong student of the Bible, raiser of puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, a gardener and a cook...the latter two with sporadic results.


Suzanne has loved to write since she was a young teen. After college, she started to write for magazines and became a contributing editor for Christian Parenting Today magazine. Her family moved to Hong Kong for four years, just as the internet was developing, and she continued to write articles in a 44-story high-rise apartment, sending manuscripts 7,000 miles away with a click of a key.


After returning from Hong Kong, Suzanne decided to give her first novel a try. For four and a half months, she worked on an antediluvian computer in a cramped laundry room. She didn't even tell her husband what she was up to. When the novel was completed, she told her family at dinner one night that she had written a book. "That's why there's no food in this house!" said her slightly insensitive sons.
Undaunted...Suzanne found a small royalty publisher for that book and wrote three more (all earned multiple awards). With help from an agent, she now has numerous books under contract with Revell. Also look for Suzanne's Amish non-fiction, Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, a non-fiction book of stories and examples about the Old Order Amish, as well as Amish Proverbs, and coming in Spring of 2011, look for Amish Values for Your Family. The Choice and The Waiting are the previous books in the Lancaster County Secrets Collection.
Writing, for Suzanne, is a way to express a love of God and His word. With every book or article, she hopes readers get a sense of what faith really looks like in the daily grind. She hopes they realize that life can be hard, but God is good, and never to confuse the two.
Suzanne can be found on-line at: http://www.suzannewoodsfisher.com/
Link to buy the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Search-Novel-Lancaster-County-Secrets/dp/0800733878/ref=sprightly-20

Blog Tour Schedule:Click here to get a list of the blog tour schedule, and read some other opinions about this great Amish read!


Suzanne Woods Fisher's latest installment of the Lancaster County Secrets, The Search,  is just out and to celebrate Suzanne is hosting The Search iPad Giveaway!

One Grand Prize winner will receive an iPad Prize Package worth over $500 and includes:

• A brand new iPad (16KB with Wi-Fi)
• Signed copies of all three Lancaster Country Secrets books (The Choice, The Waiting, & The Search)

To enter, simply click on the icons below to fill out the entry form/s, then tell 5 or more friends about the contest. Oh, and enter soon! Winner will be announced on February 3rd at Suzanne's Everything is Coming Up Roses Facebook Party. (Did you know The Search takes place on a rose farm?)

 

Facebook Party:

Join Suzanne for the Everything is Coming Up Roses Facebook Party on February 3rd! She’ll be announcing the winner of the The Search iPad Giveaway, hosting a book club discussion of The Search, giving away copies of all three books and HEAPS of other readerly prizes! Including roses delivered to your door for three months for you AND a friend! Be sure to join us on Thursday, February 3rd at 5:00 PM PST (6:00 MST, 7:00 CST & 8 EST) at Suzanne’s Author Page.