5-Star Review of "The Imposter"

Review of The Imposter

(The Bishop's Family #1)

by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Katrina Stoltzfus thought she had life and love all figured out: she was going to marry John and live happily ever after. Those plans started to crumble when her father moved the family to Stoney Ridge, then completely collapsed when John decided to marry someone else. Katrina is devastated. How could she have felt so loved, yet been so deceived?

As she struggles to face a future without him, a widow asks for her help to start a new business and Katrina quickly agrees. She needs time to heal her broken heart, to untangle her messy life, to find a purpose. What she doesn't need is attention from Andy Miller, a farm hand who arrives at the widow's farm just when help is most needed--and who always seems to say the right thing, and be in the right place, at the right time. Is Andy for real, or too good to be true? Deceived once before, Katrina is determined to keep her feelings in check.

When a cascade of events is set in motion by some surprising information, the little Amish church is turned upside down. Soon, everyone has a stake in the outcome, and the community struggles to find the best response to an imposter in their midst. Can they forgive even the most deceitful deeds? 

MY REVIEW:   

Finally, Hank looked at David with tears rimming his eyes.

He bobbed his head in almost schoolboyish fashion, 

evidently not trusting his voice. 

Clearing his throat, he said,

"I'll teach your boy everything I know."

Katrina fell in love with John and was sure he was planning to marry her, but that is not the case at all. He has someone else he will wed.  Andy Miller comes along to help on Thelma's farm at the same time that Katrina moves in with Thelma to help her and Andy is far too goodlooking for his own good.  Katrina's father, David, has apparently stepped into a hornet's nest, in moving to Stoney Ridge to serve as a leader in the Amish church there.  But he constantly butts heads with Freeman.  What will happen to soothe Katrina's broken heart?  What will David have to deal with?  

I read a lot of Amish fiction and Suzanne Woods Fisher has written an Amish romance story with a huge twist to the story.   I loved that the story was so different from other works of Amish fiction.  The story explores the notion of pride, for one, which is considered a sin by Amish.  Forgiveness is offered and some unlikely relationships are explored.   From the title, I was obviously expecting someone who was hiding their true identity, but the title is revealed in some surprising ways.  David was a refreshing character as so many Amish bishops are close minded and only care about the rules of the Ordnung.   I appreciate the fact that David offers grace to the others in the community.  I hated having to put the book down for even one moment to complete the tasks of life, but I did have to stop a few times, and I was quite happy to be able to return to the highly engaging characters.  The idea of quieting a bishop was presented in the story.   This is basically a way that the Amish can remove a bishop from his calling.  
I rated this book 5 stars and highly recommend it to readers.  I read the preview of book 2 in the series and can hardly wait for it to be published.  

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Giveaway:  https://promosimple.com/ps/941f

About the Author:

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling, award winning author of fiction and non-fiction books about the Old Order Amish for Revell Books, host of the radio-show-turned-blog Amish Wisdom, a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazine. 

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, who was raised Plain. A theme in her books (her life!) is that you don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate the principles of simple living. 

Suzanne lives in California with her family and raises puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To her way of thinking, you just can't life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone's underwear in its mouth. 

Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com