Cover Reveal
Release Date: December 16th, 2014
Description:
Some Amish communities aren't so cozy.
Whispers From The Dead is the powerful and thrilling sequel to Lamb to the Slaughter, in the Amish mystery series, Serenity’s Plain Secrets. Sheriff Serenity Adams and Daniel Bachman are once again partnered up in a criminal investigation, when they travel to a northern Amish settlement that has been riddled by arsons for the past two decades. Serenity quickly discovers that there is much more going on in the touristy community than just barns being set on fire and that the new group of Amish has their own secrets to hide. She begins to unravel an extensive criminal underworld that threatens to destroy everything that the simple people of Poplar Springs hold dear and even puts her own life in jeopardy. And although Serenity tries desperately to avoid it, things begin heating up between her and Daniel, making her wonder if true love and happiness are really within her grasp.
EXCERPT
Rowan’s
voice suddenly trailed off and I turned in the direction of his stare.
A
newer model, solid black Dodge Charger pulled into the driveway and parked
beside us. The spattering of dusty white
film over the car didn’t fool me. It was
a very nice sports car and not the type of ride you would see out in the
country. It was much more similar to a
vehicle that drug dealers in Indy drove.
But
it wasn’t the car that caught the breath in my throat. It was the inhabitants. They were the same two men that I had seen
with the group of Amish boys in the lot behind the store. Once again, something needled me to attention
and I waited for an explanation from Rowan.
“Hey,
bro, haven’t seen you in a while,” The chameleon said.
I
shot a look at Rowan wondering at the newcomer’s use of the word bro when he
quickly said, “Serenity, this is my brother, Asher.”
Things
were getting stickier by the minute.
Asher
dipped his head in greeting, but he didn’t bother to remove his shades. I never liked talking to people with
sunglasses on. It put me at a
disadvantage when I couldn’t read their eyes.
That’s why I rarely had mine off when I was outdoors in the daytime. But all the same, I still got the definite
feeling that Asher was gaging my reaction to news of his relationship with
Rowan. Now that I was up close to him, I
could see the family resemblance, physically.
Both men had the same striking high cheek bones, but where Rowan was
more reserved, Asher appeared to be extremely outgoing.
Asher
continued to stare at me while he asked Rowan, “Have you been holding out on
me? Are you dating this pretty English
woman?”
Interestingly,
the fact that Asher didn’t know about me the way everyone else in the community
did, signaled that there might be a rift of some kind between the brothers.
Rowan
didn’t beat around the bush when he said, “This is Serenity Adams. She’s the sheriff in Blood Rock.”
“What
would the sheriff from Blood Rock be doing in our neck of the woods?” Asher
asked. His tone was amicable, almost
teasing, but I wasn’t fooled. When Asher
and the man seated beside him heard the word sheriff they had both straightened in in their seats. It was if I had just turned into a grizzly
bear before their very eyes. They were
suddenly extremely alert, poised for action.
I’d seen this kind of reaction from plenty of people before, and it
always meant they were guilty of something.
Not
giving Rowan a chance to answer, I said, “I’m doing a private investigation of
the recent barn burnings and the death of the woman in this particular
barn.” I lifted my chin toward the
wreckage, but I didn’t take my eyes off the men as I gaged their reactions to
what I’d said.
Asher’s
companion’s eyes widened considerably before he quickly looked away. Asher remained staring back at me, seemingly
weighing my words before carefully saying, “Do you have any ideas who might be
our pyromaniac?”
It
was a reasonable question, but something in Asher’s tone and the tilt of his head
put me on edge. I also made a mental
note that he had referred to the problem as our,
which struck me as odd since he obviously had left the Amish community to
become English.
With
a quick glance, I saw that Rowan was waiting for my answer as well. “I just got here today, but hopefully some
leads will pop up soon,” I said.
Asher
seemed to breathe a little easier with my answer and I decided to see how much
about himself he was willing to share.
“When did you leave the Amish, Asher?”
Asher
leaned back and smiled broadly with the look of a man who got asked that
particular question a lot. “I was about eighteen when I cut out. The Amish lifestyle didn’t suit me very
well,” he turned to Rowan and quickly added, “If you need anything, bro, give
me a call. Don’t be such a stranger.”
Rowan
nodded his head stiffly and then Asher said to me, “Have a nice day,
Sheriff.”
Asher’s
words were like rotten potatoes dripping with honey. I squinted at the sports car in annoyance as
it backed out onto the roadway and drove away.
Rowan
wasted no time clucking to his horse and snapping the reins. As we began building speed, he glanced over
and said, “What did you think about my brother?”
“You want my honest opinion?”
“Of course,” he said firmly.
“You want my honest opinion?”
“Of course,” he said firmly.
“He’s
a jerk, but a charismatic one.” As an
afterthought, I added, “I can see why he didn’t fit in with your people.”
The
farms were once again whizzing by and the breeze was getting colder by the
minute. The late afternoon sun had
dipped low in the sky, and all the snow that had melted earlier in the day was
beginning to refreeze, causing the landscape to glisten delightfully. I zipped up my jacket against the chill, and
had the fleeting thought of how strange it was that here I was riding around in
a buggy in northern Indiana with an Amish man who I barely knew. God definitely had a wicked sense of humor
when it came to me, I thought.
“You
are a very astute person. Asher was
always rebellious, but he hid it well from our parents when we were
teenagers. He was always breaking the
rules…but he never did get caught.”
“So what
finally forced him out?”
Rowan took a deep breath and his
mouth quivered slightly. I suddenly
became hyper aware, recognizing the imminent signs of a person about to betray
a secret. I had discovered through my
relationship with Daniel that both the Amish, and ex-Amish people, didn’t like
discussing their pasts. Then it
suddenly occurred to me as if a blinding flash of lightening had stuck the
ground beside me, that the fire of nineteen ninety-seven would have happened
about the same time that Rowan and Asher were teenagers themselves.
Was
it just a coincidence that Asher showed up at the crime scene today, or was
there a more sinister reason for his visit to the community? I really didn’t believe in coincidences and I
already knew that it was very common for perpetrators to return to the scenes
of their crimes. Maybe I was getting way
too far ahead of myself, but I had the instant impression that Asher and his
friend were not law abiding citizens.
And I trusted my instincts. They
had served me well thus far.
The
surrendering look on Rowan’s face was fleeting.
It was replaced by the expression of stubbornness that I had
unfortunately discovered was all too common among the Amish people. “Our ways just didn’t suit him, just like he
said.”
I
leaned back and mentally slapped myself for thinking this case would be that
easy. “You guys aren’t that
friendly anymore, I take it?”
“No. He chose to walk on a very different path than me and I couldn’t have him influencing my children.”
“No. He chose to walk on a very different path than me and I couldn’t have him influencing my children.”
I
got it. I had a sensible sister who was
similar to me in everything from politics to basic values, but not everyone was
that lucky. Shunning aside, it would be
impossible for Rowan to keep up a relationship with a badass brother like
Asher.
The
horse slowed to a walk just before we turned up Rowan’s
driveway. I experienced a bubble of
happiness for a moment at the prospect of a hot shower before I remembered that
the simple luxury probably wasn’t an option.
“Uh,
does your family ever take showers?”
Goodreads
Cover Reveal organized by Kismet Book Touring
About the author:
A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.
Cover Reveal organized by Kismet Book Touring
About the author:
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