Is Mark the culprit, or Calvin, or a third party? The sheriff and Waneta are convinced of Mark’s innocence, but things look bad for Calvin, who’s been taking out his anger on a local girl. Calvin also has returned, looking to claim his half of the shabby house the brothers have inherited coincidentally, another young woman has been assaulted. She learns about his history of abuse at the hands of his alcoholic parents, who were only nominally Amish and caused Mark and his younger brother Calvin to go hungry. Many locals still avoid Mark, but after an uneasy day or two, Waneta becomes friendly with him. Two years later, he has returned to Hart County and taken a job in a plant nursery, where he works with Waneta Cain. He wasn’t charged, but most community members believed in his guilt, and he disappeared. Mark Fisher was accused of the assault of a young woman. When Hannah starts receiving photos and daisies again, it seems that Trent has found her.īook Two, His Guilt, takes the unusual perspective of being from the man’s point of view. Hannah’s sister Jenny is acting out by talking to an “English” man she’s met in town, and the elder Hiltys share a disturbing secret.

She is startled and tries to be civil, but he inadvertently insults her and she scurries off home. Hannah’s mother finally persuades her to take a walk, and she comes across neighbor Isaac Troyer fishing. Hannah now is homeschooling her brother and sister, and rarely leaves the house because of her fear of Trent. Hannah’s younger brother and sister resent her because they were made to leave their friends in Berlin, the bustling town in Holmes County, and move to Kentucky’s Hart County, a sparsely populated area partly settled by Amish from Geauga County. After Hannah Hilty receives an envelope of photos at the restaurant where she works, including one clearly taken through her bedroom window, her parents announce that the family is relocating. Her Amish of Hart County series begins with Her Secret, in which a young Amish woman is stalked by Trent, who follows her around town, sending her daisies and taking photos of her (a no-no in the faith). Shelley Shepard Gray, popular and prolific author of Amish romance, has begun another series about small-town conflicts and values.

Widow's Secrets by Shelley Shepard Gray