Amish Fiction

Ever since his father died, Levi Kinsinger has felt adrift. Newly returned to Charm, Ohio, Levi is trying to fit in to his old life, only to discover he seems to have outgrown it. But when Julia, his young widowed neighbor, asks for his help with a Christmas project, Levi finds a sense of purpose for the first time in months. She and her daughter are new to Charm and could use a friend, a job Levi takes personally. Soon enough, friendship grows into attraction, but Levi can't help having doubts.

With Christmas around the corner, it’s time for Amish families to include holiday greetings in their circle letters, each writer adding to a growing collection as it travels on to the next. In this delightful trio of stories, three cousins scattered across the country share their blessings - and reveal news of romantic surprises.

Katie Stuckey and Jonas Weaver are both romantics. Seventeen-year-old Katie is starry-eyed, in love with the idea of being in love, and does not want to wait to marry Jonas until she is 18, despite her parents' insistence. So much can happen in a year. Twenty-year-old Jonas is taken in by the romance of soldiering, especially in defense of anti-slavery, even though he knows war is at odds with the teachings of the church. When his married brother's name comes up in the draft list, he volunteers to take his brother's place.

Esther's distant cousin, widower Menno Eicher, needs to be hard-headed and practical. Swamped by family and farm responsibilities, he must find the perfect wife as quickly as possible, so he's shown up in Colorado—with "finding a wife" on his To-Do list! Esther's community has many women who could match his ever-growing requirements. Yet after a chance meeting, Menno keeps coming back to baker Joanna Yoder. Hard-working, honest, and forthright, she's distracting Menno from his search, opening his heart—but refuses to believe he's falling hopelessly in love with her . . .

In this sweeping new historical series by Virginia Wise, a young woman finds a new life in America's first Amish settlement - and discovers that love requires a special sort of courage...Pennsylvania, 1737. Greta Scholtz braved a perilous journey - and the loss of her beloved father - to find religious freedom in America. With two orphan children she's taken under her wing, she's trying hard to survive this rugged new world. So she won't let settlement elders pressure her into marrying reserved widower Jacob Miller.

Simon can't stop thinking about the pretty Amish teacher at the local one-room school. But he's ignored the sparks between them because he's so shy. So Simon's little brother, Isaac, takes matters into his own hands. He's determined to give his brother the best Christmas present ever - a date with his favorite teacher. Amish novelist Byler brings her tender humor and skillful observation of family relationships to this holiday story.

Rumspringa is the time when Amish teens are allowed to experience life without the rules. It's an exciting time of personal discovery and growth before committing to the church. But when a young teen disappears without a trace, the carefree fun comes to an abrupt and sinister end, and fear spreads through the community like a contagion. A missing child is a nightmare to all parents, and never more so than in the Amish community, where family ties run deep. When the search for the presumed runaway turns up a dead body, the case quickly becomes a murder investigation.

When a newspaper ad prompts Darla King to travel to Birch Creek in search of a husband, her identical twin, Amanda, promises their parents she’ll convince Darla to come home. After all, Amanda is the responsible and reliable one. She has always protected Darla, who acts on impulse and trusts people too easily. The sisters’ close relationship is strained as Darla asserts her independence, and Amanda grapples with regrets of her past and the longings of her own heart.

Scandal drove Catrina Wittmer from her life as a wealthy Englischer's pampered daughter - to reluctant membership in Pennsylvania's thriving new Amish settlement. Surprisingly, Catrina finds contentment and peace in this promising new land, though she won't risk telling anyone about her past. But the unexpected sparks between her and bashful warm-hearted farmer Eli Weber suddenly have her dreaming of an impossible chance at happiness - as his wife.

Suvie has three marriage proposals - but none from the man she truly loves. No matter how lonely widower Aaron Beachy is, he seems determined to stay that way. Now, Suvie will do whatever it takes to change that.

After her widowed father remarries, nineteen-year-old Clara Bender is no longer needed to help run his household. Marriage seems like her best hope of moving out, but there are few young men in her tiny Indiana Amish community. When she comes across letters from her mother's aunt Ella Mae Zook, she sets off to visit Lancaster County's Hickory Hollow to decide where her future lies. Ella Mae is not quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband many years, but her children are eager to resettle her, making Clara's visit seem like an answer to prayer.

Working in Caleb Hartz’s shop fits perfectly with Annie Wagler’s plan to match him with her twin sister - until Annie is drawn to him herself. But with his business, his farm, and now his teenage runaway cousin and her baby, Caleb has no time for romance. Can they work together to care for mother and child - without losing their hearts?

The Slabaugh family are model Amish farmers, prosperous and hardworking, with four children and a happy extended family. When the parents and an uncle are found dead in their barn, it appears to be a gruesome accident: methane gas asphyxiation caused by a poorly ventilated cesspit. But in the course of a routine autopsy, the coroner discovers that one of the victims suffered a head wound before death—clearly, foul play was involved. But who would want to make orphans of the Slabaughs' children? And is this murder somehow related to a recent string of shocking hate crimes against the Amish?

While enjoying a sleigh ride with his children, Amish widower Adam Lengacher discovers a car stuck in a snowdrift and an unconscious woman inside. He calls upon Chief of Police Kate Burkholder for help, and she is surprised to recognize the driver: fellow cop and her former friend, Gina Colorosa. Years before, Kate and Gina were best friends at the police academy and patrol officers in Columbus, but time and distance have taken them down two very different paths. Now, Gina reveals a shocking story of betrayal and revenge that has forced her to run for her life.

Lydia is a free spirit, resisting her parents' attempt to have her court the son of her father's friend, David. She feels nothing for him and will only marry for love. Her childhood friend, Jacob, has secretly loved Lydia for a long time, but hasn't confessed his feelings to her as he knows a courtship between her and David is imminent. As Lydia spends more time with Jacob, she finds her feelings for him changing. As Christmas approaches, both Jacob and Lydia look at each other in a new light, with Jacob seeing Lydia as only a friend now.

An extraordinarily beautiful Amish woman, a dangerous femme fatale, is the central figure in Linda Castillo's Her Last Breath, a story that reveals a dark side of Painter's Mill and its seemingly perfect Amish world. A rainy night, an Amish father returning home with his three children, a speeding car hurtling toward them out of nowhere. What at first seems like a tragic, but routine car accident suddenly takes on a more sinister cast as evidence emerges that nothing about the crash is accidental.

Amish-raised Ada Rupp knows it’s time to make a commitment to the faith and join the church, especially if she wants a future with the handsome Amish widower Will Gundy. But when she has the chance to travel to Switzerland as the caregiver of a young child, she leaps at the opportunity.

At twenty-nine, auctioneer Toby Miller is a notorious bachelor. But his job keeps him on the road for months out of the year, and he knows no Plain woman could want a marriage that would force her to live and raise children alone. Thankfully, Toby’s content to dedicate his life to the family business, especially now that his grandfather is retiring. So why does his heart keep longing for something—or more specifically, someone—he can’t have?

As Amish widow Emma Yoder contemplates the task ahead, her thoughts center on one: What if she fails? Longing to remove a burden from her family by becoming self-sufficient, Emma has offered to hold quilting classes in her home. But when she sees the patchwork of faces assembled for the first lesson, her confidence dwindles as doubt threatens to take hold.

Graduate student Beth Winslow was sure she was ready to navigate the challenges of becoming a surrogate. But when early tests indicate possible abnormalities with the baby, Beth is unprepared for the parents' decision to end the pregnancy - and for the fierce love she feels for this unborn child. Desperate, she flees the city and seeks refuge at Hopen Haus, a home for unwed mothers deep in a Tennessee Mennonite community.