The Amish Clockmaker... a book review

Which is more important - seeing your own family is taken care of or

helping another family who experienced personal tragedy in the past?

The Men of Lancaster Series, book 3

ISBN: 9780736957380

Available: February 2015

As Matthew Zook begins to expand his family’s Amish tack and feed store, he soon realized he does not own the one small plot of land he needs to make the expansion possible.  He quickly learns that the management building a resort next to his property has been trying to locate the previous owner to buy the land for their use.

To settle the dispute of the rightful owner of the land, Matthew must seek out Clayton Raber, the former owner of the store and land.  Yet, there is a dark cloud following Clayton.  His wife died under mysterious circumstances decades earlier and he was the arrested for her murder.  Although all charges were dropped, his family and church felt he was guilty.

Clayton left his church and family and was never seen again.  Now, Matthew must locate Clayton and try to convince him to sign the land over to him and not the resort.  With few leads to follow and Clayton’s family refusing to help, will Matthew locate Clayton before the resort does?

My rating:

A

4.5 out of 5 stars

I always enjoy reading about the Amish and their simple ways of living – add a mystery that spans decades, and you have a winner!  This story weaves in numerous subplots apart from locating the previous owner.  As Matthew begins his search, the readers get a wonderful glimpse into the lives of the Amish – their love of family and their strong faith in God.  I found myself cheering (silently, of course) Matthew on and felt the emotions of learning of one character’s battle with an often misunderstood mental illness. 

As much as I enjoyed the second book in the series, The Amish Blacksmith, I felt a deeper connection with the characters and storylines in The Amish Clockmaker.  Kudos to both Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner for a wonderful, insightful novel.   I look forward to reading the first book in The Men of Lancaster County Series: The Amish Groom.

I received a complimentary digital copy of The Amish Clockmaker from Harvest House Publishers and NetGalley for my honest review.


Happy Reading,


     Ellen