I received this book for free from the Tour Company in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Series: Serenity's Plain Secrets #1
on March 14, 2014
Genres: Adult, Crime, Mystery
Pages: 336
Format: eBook
Source: Tour Company
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Some Amish communities aren't so cozy.
Lamb to the Slaughter is a story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely people in an Indiana Amish Community and the devastating results when a rebellious teenage girl is found shot to death in a corn field during the harvest.
Serenity Adams is the newly elected young sheriff in the country town of Blood Rock and besides dealing with the threatening behavior of her predecessor, she now has a dead Amish girl on her plate.  At first glance, the case seems obvious.  The poor girl was probably accidently shot during hunting season, but when the elders of the Amish community and even the girl’s parents react with uncaring subdued behavior, Serenity becomes suspicious.  As she delves deeper into the secretive community that she grew up beside, she discovers a gruesome crime from the past that may very well be related to the Amish girl’s shooting.
Serenity enlists the help of the handsome bad-boy building contractor, Daniel Bachman, who left the Amish when he was nineteen and has his own dark reasons to help the spunky sheriff solve the crime that the family and friends who shunned him are trying desperately to cover up.  Serenity’s persistence leads her to a stunning discovery that not only threatens to destroy her blossoming romance with Daniel, but may even take her life in the end.
*Lamb to the Slaughter is book one of Serenity’s Plain Secrets.
My Thoughts:
An eighteen-year-old Amish girl named Naomi is found dead in a corn field a few weeks after she had been shot with a shot gun. Newer Sheriff Serenity Adams had thought she’d left the brutality of the big city behind when she’d left Indianapolis and her position as a city cop to head back to her home town of Blood Rock, Indiana. Now she’s facing a difficult case when dealing with the secretive Amish community near her town. They don’t cooperate with the investigation or react the way Serenity has come to expect when someone so young dies suspiciously. When she and her deputy keep getting shut out, they know that they need a way in, and they find that in building contractor Daniel Bachman, who fled the Amish community when he was nineteen and hasn’t been back since.
Told from the perspectives of Serenity and Daniel in the present day, and Naomi in the few months leading up to her death, you get a unique look at the Amish community and the struggles both inside it for its youth as well as how outsiders view them. The characters are complex and dimensional, whether they have a large or smaller part to play in this story, and it really added such a richness that I enjoyed. Serenity throws herself into her work with such a fierce hardness, but she’s unwilling to put herself out there with Daniel. Daniel believes that his past mistakes with women and his heritage make him unsuitable to snag a woman like Serenity, so they dance around each other for much of the book. Flawed characters can be entertaining, but they can be frustrating at the same time.
I give Lamb to the Slaughter a four out of five. With the rich rural scenery full of small town politics and intrigue, Serenity and Daniel worked together to find out what happened to Naomi quite realistically. Things didn’t go smoothly, and their subtly blooming romance took second place to the murder investigation aspect of the novel. I was unfamiliar with the Amish culture, and I did enjoy a glimpse into their lifestyle. The mystery was a little predictable in spots, but it wasn’t so much that I knew who the culprit was too early on in the novel. Overall, I look forward to reading the next installment featuring Serenity and Daniel investigating another set of crimes.
Some Amish communities aren’t so cozy.
Find Karen Ann Hopkins
About Karen Ann Hopkins
A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.
Tour Dates:
Make sure to visit the Tour Page for more Details, and more Tour Stops!
Monday April 28 – Page Turners – Character Interview
Tuesday April 29 – Andi’s Book Reviews – Review
Wednesday April 30 –  Unabridged Bookshelf – Review
Thursday May 1 – Evie Bookish – Guest Post
Friday May 2 – Bookish Brunette – Excerpt
Monday May 5 – Bewitched Bookworms – Review
Tuesday May 6 – Blissful Book Reviews – Guest Post
Wednesday May 7 – Bittersweet Enchantment – Interview
Thursday May 8 – Chosen by You Book Club  – Interview
Friday May 9 – Christy Howell Books – Review
Monday May 12 – Book Swarm – Review
Tuesday May 13 – Literary Me – Interview
Wednesday May 14 – Addicted Readers – Guest Post
Thursday May 15 – Tien’s Blurb – Review
Friday May 16 – Jeanz Book Read N’ Reviews – Review
We have a really exciting prize package for this tour, so make sure to follow along for more chances to win every day! What’s up for grabs:
• A $100 Amazon Gift Card
• An autographed set of Karen’s YA Temptation series
• A traditional Amish style hand stitched wall hanging/lap quilt with the lone star pattern in country colors
Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
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Be sure to catch the other tour stops for great content!
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I love a good Amish mystery. They are starting to really grow on me.
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Lamb to the Slaughter was my first book that had Amish culture in it. I did really enjoy it.
Heather recently posted..Lamb to the Slaughter by Karen Ann Hopkins – Blog Tour Review and Giveaway
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I love how Karen Ann knows the community well and can represent it perfectly in a story!!
It’s awesome the mystery is believable and the romance is present but doesn’t impact the plot.
Thank you 🙂
Lovely review 🙂
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Karen Ann Hopkins definitely knows the Amish community well, and it really showed in the writing. This definitely made for an interesting and intriguing book.
Heather recently posted..Lamb to the Slaughter by Karen Ann Hopkins – Blog Tour Review and Giveaway
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I do love a good mystery, especially since I’m terrible about figuring out whodunit (I will never be a PI or detective. I’d fail hard.).
Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted..Steampunk History: THE INVENTOR’S SECRET by Andrea Cremer
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LOL, Mary! I’m usually pretty good at figuring out whodunit if I’m paying close attention. The mystery wasn’t completely predictable in Lamb to the Slaughter, so it was definitely a surprise in the end!
Heather recently posted..Lamb to the Slaughter by Karen Ann Hopkins – Blog Tour Review and Giveaway
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this looks and sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing!
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You’re welcome 🙂
Heather recently posted..Lamb to the Slaughter by Karen Ann Hopkins – Blog Tour Review and Giveaway
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I’m quite curious about this one. Anything with the Amish has fascinated me, but throw in mystery and it’s a big win!
Candace recently posted..Young Adult Review: Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson
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I was definitely curious about the Amish aspect as well, Candace. You get an inside look in Lamb to the Slaughter since you get Naomi’s pov in the months leading up to her death.
Heather recently posted..Lamb to the Slaughter by Karen Ann Hopkins – Blog Tour Review and Giveaway
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This review made me even more excited about this book! I love mysteries especially ones that involve closed communities! Thanks so much for sharing!
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You’re welcome, CJ! This closed Amish community really likes to protect and take care of things in their own way, and you get an in depth look at that. It’s an entertaining read.
Heather recently posted..Lamb to the Slaughter by Karen Ann Hopkins – Blog Tour Review and Giveaway
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Interesting characters
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So excited for this book!! Hopkins YA Amish series intrigued me and I am even more excited for this baby!!!! Great post and thank you for being part of this tour <3
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Lovely giveaway! The book sounds amazing.
Maria Medeiros recently posted..Coraline By Neil Gaiman book review and GIVEAWAY!
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Love the cover looks cool book looks very good.
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Well we got a Amish horsecart and cornfields. I’m thinking this is a Nebraska or midwestern thing.
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I’m kind of into mysteries these days, so I would totally like to give this one a try.
Megan recently posted..Waiting on Wednesday: Mortal Danger
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Cover looks cool book looks very god would love to read.
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