Life Following Tragedy!

        "Deadly Echoes"
          By Nancy Mehl

For Nancy's followers, this book will be NO surprise! It is every bit as captivating as her previous novels. "Deadly Echoes" is the second in her newest series, "Finding Sanctuary", following "Gathering Shadows".  It can be read as a stand alone but I would highly recommend you read the first book so that you become more familiar with the characters. Nancy writes some of the best Mennonite mysteries!! They do a super job of making your heart throb with tension and keeping you up late at night! You just can NOT put the book down, once you begin reading. 

Sarah Miller seems to have found some peace in her life, following a horrible past. She is happy in her teaching job in the peaceful Mennonite  town of Sanctuary. Sarah's joy at her recent reunion with her sister, Hannah, and meeting a niece who she had no knowledge of, was unhappily interrupted by Deputy Sheriff Paul Gleason, who has to inform her that her sister has been killed. 

To Sarah's dismay, this death is eerily similar to the murder of her parents. Paul becomes involved, at Sarah's request, to dig deeply into the murders that the police had dismissed as burglaries gone wrong. Paul and Sarah are drawn together and their feelings grow as the investigation uncovers layers of lies, almost twenty years old. As they get closer to uncovering the truth one person will do anything to hide, it becomes dangerous, in fact life threatening!  The last remaining of the Miller family is about to come to a quick end if the mystery is not solved!! 

The characters are well developed and realistic. I easily was able to identify with  Sarah. That just happens to be my qualification of a good book! I must be able to put myself in the character's position and feel her moods. The fears, doubts, challenges  and unhappiness were felt deeply as the story progressed. 
The romance that begins gives you a positive feel when all else seems to be going wrong. 

This book is a cliffhanger, sit on the edge of your seat kind ! There are so many twists and turns in the plot that at times, I just had to sit back and think through the events that were occurring . Even then, I was completely confused and just had to keep reading until I found some answers to the mystery. Just when I would think I had a solved crime, another event would occur that would have me puzzled once again. It is a story of how faith and devotion to God can help heal even the brokenhearted. Not a preachy book, but one which certainly makes us think about the power of God and how he gives us second chances, those which can make the echoes of the past become quieter.

The echoes of the past just kept coming through, even when the reader wished that they would stop. This is truly a mystery that you do not want to miss. 


This book was supplied by the publisher and author in exchange for a fair and honest review.