Still Waters

A quiet town is shaken by buried family secrets and clashes with Englisch culture in the engrossing latest installment in the Amish of Shepherd’s Hill series from Johns (after Green Pastures). Twenty-one-year-old Beth Peachy has returned to the small Pennsylvania Amish community to help prepare her grandmother’s house for sale. While there, Beth hopes to dredge up more information about her recently deceased father, whose childhood has always been a tightly guarded secret. Her grandmother wants to clear her conscience before she dies, but her dementia makes Beth’s pursuit of answers challenging. As Beth discovers clues about her father’s childhood in her research on the town and its mysterious lake, which her grandmother keeps warning her to avoid, she chafes against the restrictions of Amish life. Still, her growing feelings for local shopkeeper Danny Lapp push her to rethink what she’s willing to sacrifice for love. Beth’s quest to uncover her father’s roots propels the narrative forward and provides its emotional core, while threads from the previous books (veterinarian Tabitha Schrock’s efforts to fit in, Danny’s brother’s Zach quibbles with the Amish faith) will keep series fans turning pages. The result is a charming and captivating glimpse at small-town Amish life. (Nov.)