A Prayer for the Night: An Ohio Amish Mystery

This book is another of P.L. Gaus works. I have read all but one of his Amish Detective series and I loved them. He is a very gifted author. He makes the people come alive in his books and makes you feel as if your there yourself. I find his book very intertaining and I am glued to them once I start page one. I travel to where his books are located and I find they help me understand the Amish very much. If you like Amish stories I recommand that you read these. They will keep you coming back for more. Thanks again P.L.Gaus for such wonderful books. Shirley Burdett

The quiet, withdrawn, close-knit world of the Amish community of Holmes County, Ohio, sets the pace and atmosphere of this series, in a tale of murder and coming-of-age. The Rumschpringe is the free-form period when Amish teens get to try out the "English" world - no questions asked - before deciding if they want to commit to their church and way of life. This particular group has run more wild than most and one of them turns up dead amid rumors of drugs and violence. When a girl is kidnapped the tension ratchets up, along with the bewilderment of her elders. Gaus takes the reader deep into the community, informing his prose with the Amish philosophy and the rites, relationships and problems of this isolated people. His measured approach transports the reader into the Amish world, ever beleaguered by the temptations of the outside, battered by the sudden violence, but serene in its choices.

In order to make an informed decision about embracing an Amish lifestyle, young adults from those communities are encouraged to explore the tempting outside world of "the English" (i.e. non-Amish) through a process called Rumschpringe. In A Prayer for the Night, P. L. Gaus' fifth Ohio Amish mystery, this process goes wildly awry, plunging an adventurous group of young Amish into a dangerous world populated by thugs, criminals and drug dealers; as the novel opens, one of their number has been brutally slain, and another has been kidnapped, triggering a police investigation into the murder and a frantic search for a missing girl. The New York Tines Book Review once described Gaus as "...a sensitive storyteller who matches his cadences to the measured pace of Amish life..." Entirely accurate, that phrase manages to catch both the strengths and weaknesses of Gaus's very formal, very sober, very detail oriented writing style. To those accustomed to the stripped down, faster paced style of writing so prevalent in modern police procedurals, Gaus' prose may seem a bit stilted, as reading him requires patience and attention. That effort is rewarded, however, by the telling glimpses Gaus provides into the lifestyle and thinking of today's Amish. Writing with intelligence and a deep knowledge of his subject matter, Gaus draws readers deep into the novel, making them feel as if they are part of the events unfolding before them. It's these insights and attention to detail that have earned Gaus a loyal audience, and which will help him keep it.

This is one mystery you'll truly enjoy! I love reading about the Amish and this book is no exception. The author displays a keen knowledge of the Amish lifestyle and I love the way the three boyhood friends have become modern day sleuths among the people of the past. You won't be sorry for buying this book!

What a wonderfully written novel. I loved the story of teens looking to find themselves, whether Amish or otherwise. The mystery and problem-solving - very good. I felt that I knew all the characters well - this book has the story-telling quality like CSI - CSI Ohio!