Marta Perry has always been a favorite author of mine and her latest novel, WHERE SECRETS SLEEP is exactly why I am a huge fan. WHERE SECRETS SLEEP takes place in Amish country, but the main character, Allison Standish is an Englisher. Allison is an interior designer and the story opens with her walking into her boyfriends's apartment and finding him in bed with her boss. Well, needless to say, she quits her job and her boyfriend too! She leaves town and heads straight to Blackburn House, a mansion that her late grandmother, Evelyn Standish, left to her.

When she finally arrives, she decides to poke around in all the shops that are housed in the mansion. While she is doing that, she is tackled by the hot owner of Whiting and Whiting Cabinetry. Once they clear up the misunderstanding, Allison informs Nick that she is just there to sell the mansion and go back to the city. That is, until she meets with her grandmothers executor. There is a condition that comes with the inheritance that Allison will have to run the mansion for an entire year with a profit before it can actually become hers. Will she stay for a year or will she walk away? Read WHERE SECRETS SLEEP to find out.

Amish life was prominent in the area and had been since the 1700's. Sarah Bitler, an Amish woman, and a very heartwarming character, has a shop in the mansion marketing quilts. She'd been very close to Evelyn Standish throughout her life. Mrs. Standish had been a very proud and strong-willed woman, but had shown Sarah much kindness, setting her up with the quilt shop in Blackburn House. Now Allison is a co owner of the quilt shop. Sarah and her mother welcome Allison and as their friendship develops, Allison helps them out. Others in the community are jealous and want the house, and will go to any length to see that Allison goes back to her big city life.

WHERE SECRETS SLEEP is a mystery of who done it with the twists and turns of a great page turner that I just couldn't put down. Marta Perry creates a suspenseful atmosphere, and leads the reader to a variety of conclusions before revealing the true identity behind the criminal activities. She had me convinced I knew "who dunit" a few times, before leading me in yet another direction. To me that is a sign of a good mystery novel! I always look forward to reading Marta Perry novels and WHERE SECRETS SLEEP is exactly why.

Book Summary

In Amish country, not everything is as simple as it appears

After a terrible betrayal, Allison Standish flees Philadelphia for the small Amish village of Laurel Ridge to claim an unexpected inheritance. Allison intends to sell the mansion housing various shops on Main Street—until she meets Nick Whiting, a single father and tenant of Blackburn House, who challenges everything she believes about her estranged grandmother and the Amish community.

Strange stipulations in her grandmother's will soon bring distant relatives and seething townsfolk to Allison's door. As anonymous threats escalate, Nick grows protective of Allison, and she finds herself falling for the handsome carpenter- But then she discovers her grandmother's death may not have been accidental, and someone wants Allison gone. Permanently.

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