...from the publisher...

Two years since Rosa Petersheim mysteriously disappeared from her Amish home, there has been no word from her. Her family and friends have suffered in the silence, though they have tried to move on with life.

Then one day Rosa just as suddenly reappears at her parent’s home. . .with a husband in tow.

Rosa is ashamed of the choices she made that caused her to leave home. And now that she is back, her father is not welcoming and her siblings and friends want explanations that she can’t give.

Will Rosa’s family accept her and Anthony? Can the Big Valley ever be home again?

...my thoughts...

The Pretender is the third and final book in the Miflin County Mystery series. I have not read the first two books in this series so I can say without reservation that this book can be read as a standalone novel.  

I enjoyed this story by Wanda E Brunstetter for several reasons. The characters are believable and not without the foibles of life that can make or break your day.  Rosa, the young Amish woman who is the main focus of this story convinces Anthony to drive her to the family home she left two years before.  There begins the ruse of this story as the two of them begin more than a journey from New York City to an Amish farmhouse to Anthony's greatest surprise.  It is the first of mny times that he wonders if she is the same woman he believed her to be.

What follows is a serious, yet comical story of life change, forgiveness and new beginnings.  I recommend this book for the reader looking for inspirational entertainment.  You'll find it all inside, including a strong dose of sibling rivalry, a strict Amish bishop and a young man who is open to supporting his friend as she mends the hole in the heart of her family once she had left their community.  There is much more to this story than meets the eye.