Today's book spotlight isn't on a cozy mystery. It's on a new Amish fiction story by cozy mystery author

Laura Bradford

PORTRAIT OF A SISTER

Katie Beiler was always the follower to her twin sister Hannah’s lead. That is until Hannah left their Amish upbringing for an English life—leaving Katie to find her own footing in a world that no longer looks as it once did . . .
 
Katie has always imagined her life being just like Mamm’s. It’s why she chose baptism and why she’ll soon marry Abram Zook. But ever since Hannah left, the only thing that truly makes Katie smile is the sketchpad in which she indulges her talent for drawing faces—a sin that, if discovered, could get her shunned by her family, her friends, and even Abram. Yet Katie sees her secret pastime as the only way to quiet a growing restlessness she’d just as soon ignore. That is until their Mamm’s untimely death brings Hannah back home to Pennsylvania, with a new outlook on life, a man she adores, and, soon, an invitation for Katie to visit her in New York City.
 
Suddenly, Katie is experiencing a freedom she’s never had, in a world she never imagined. She’s also spending time in the company of a fellow dreamer, someone who sees her as strong and brave and makes her laugh. But it’s when Hannah shows Katie’s drawings to a gallery owner that she truly finds herself at a crossroads between the only life she’s ever known and the powerful lure of an unfamiliar future.

MY REVIEW

For the last five years, it’s very rare for me to read outside of the cozy mystery genre. It’s my favorite, and always my go to. However, when one of my favorite authors, Laura Bradford, stepped out of the cozy mystery footprint to write a novel, I had to read it. I am immensely happy that I did.

PORTRAIT OF A SISTER is a story about choices. Old ones, new ones, life altering ones. Choices both right and wrong. No one is weighed down heavier with choices than Katie Beiler, who remained Amish when her twin sister, Hannah, left to join the world of the English.

My emotions really ran the gambit with this story. I could feel Katie’s turmoil over her love of sketching the faces of the people she loves, though it goes against her Amish beliefs. Her feelings of being less than her sister. And, I shared in her anger with her sister, Hannah, for reasons I will leave you to discover in the book.

Author Bradford handled Katie’s struggles with a skilled certainty. For the author to not be Amish, her grasp of what these people go through in their daily lives, and what they as a collective whole believe, serves as a tribute to her vast research into their lives, and the passion she feels for the people.

PORTRAIT OF A SISTER is a must read for any fan of Amish fiction, and every fan of Laura Bradford’s accomplished writing.

While spending a rainy afternoon at a friend's house more than thirty years ago, Laura Bradford (a.k.a. Elizabeth Lynn Casey) fell in love with writing over a stack of blank paper, a box of crayons, and a freshly sharpened number two pencil. From that moment forward, she never wanted to do anything else.

Today, Laura is the national bestselling author of the Amish Mysteries, the Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, the Tobi Tobias Mysteries, the Jenkins & Burns Mysteries, and the Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries (written as Elizabeth Lynn Casey). 

In June 2018, Laura will debut her first-ever women's fiction novel, Portrait of a Sister. 

Laura is a former Agatha nominee and the recipient of an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award in romance. In her free time, Laura enjoys making memories with her family, traveling, baking, and visiting the sea lions at the Central Park Zoo. For more information and all the latest book news, visit her website at www.laurabradford.com.

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Release Date

June 26, 2018

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