Missing, The (Seasons of Grace, Book 2) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Beverly Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Readers anxiously await the second book in this moving series filled with mystery and family secrets, love and loss, heartbreak and healing.

Twenty-one-year-old Grace Byler longs to find her missing mother and to uncover the secret that drove her to leave them three weeks before. Grace suspects the reason has to do with her father and his reserved, uncommunicative ways. This conviction led Grace to break off her betrothal to her quiet, staid beau, and she is now resigned to remain single. But when the young Amishman she thought was courting her best friend takes a sudden interest in her, Grace is befuddled and wonders if he can be trusted.

"Englisher" Heather Lang has come to Amish country to relive fond memories of her mother and to contemplate a grave medical prognosis of her own. While in Bird-in-Hand, Heather meets Grace Byler and the two young women strike up a fast friendship, amazed by how well they click.

Following the only clue they have, Grace and Heather travel together in hopes of finding Grace's mother and bringing her home. Will they find what they're looking for...or something much more?

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

WHILE A FAMILY WAITS, THE TRUTH BECKONS...

I stumbled upon my mother's handkerchief in the cornfield early this morning. Halfway down the row I spotted it--white but soiled, cast in the mire of recent rains. Only one side of the stitched hem was visible, the letter L poking out from the furrow as if to get my attention. I stared at it ...all the emotions of the past three weeks threatening to rise up and choke me right then and there.
Twice now, I'd walked the field where Mamma had sometimes wandered late at night. Like our sheep, she'd followed the same trails till ruts developed. I couldn't help wondering where the well-trod path had led her by the light of the lonely moon. Honestly, though, 'tis only in the daylight that I've been compelled to go there, drawn by thoughts of her and the hope of some further word, whenever that might come....
"Mamma...where are you?" I whispered to the breeze. "What things don't we know?" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover

A Painful Absence, a Desperate Heart... Is It Too Late to Find Lettie Byler? Grace Byler longs to uncover the secret that drove her mother to leave the family weeks ago. When all hopes are dashed for such a search, an unlikely friendship leads to a surprising invitation. Meanwhile, the young Amishman Grace thought was courting her best friend takes a sudden interest in her, and Grace's decision to remain single is challenged even as her determination to find her mother grows. The Heart-Warming Sequel From New York Times Best-Selling Author Beverly Lewis "No one does Amish-based inspirationals better than Lewis." Booklist --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764207253
• ISBN-13: 978-0764207259
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,339,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've had my nose in a book, for as long as I remember. When I was about 9 years old, I started writing my own stories. By sixth grade, I'd hand-written a 66-page semi-autobiographical book titled, "She Shall Have Music."

After I was married and our three children were in middle school, I began submitting articles and short fiction to various magazines.

My first book (Holly's First Love) was published in May 1993, the start of a 14-book series for pre-teen girls. Soon after, my first chapter book was published for 7-10-year-old readers ("Big Bad Beans") which later became part of my 24-book series, The Cul-de-Sac Kids. I wrote another long-running series for girls, titled "SummerHill Secrets," which was set very close to Neffsville, PA, where I grew up--near the heart of Amish country.

But it was the story of my grandmother Ada Buchwalter's shunning by her ultra-strict father and subsequently her old order Mennonite community that nudged me toward writing adult fiction. THE SHUNNING was published in 1997 by Bethany House Publishers, and along with its sequels, has touched a nerve in millions of readers intrigued by the Plain culture of Lancaster County, PA. The Hallmark Channel will air the movie, "Beverly Lewis's The Shunning" on April 16, 2011 at 9 EDT/8 Central.

My passion for Amish-related stories continues to keep me up at night, and I'm presently writing the third book in my new series: The Rose Trilogy, due out September '11.

When I'm between writing deadlines, I enjoy hiking in the Rocky Mountains with my husband. Cooking from scratch, playing Mozart at the piano, and making family memory albums, as well as traveling to meet my devoted readers during book tours, are some of my very favorite things. I also adore reading biographies and memoirs, as well as classic literature.

Book Two of my present series: THE JUDGMENT, will be released on April 5, 2011.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not enough plot to justify a book!, March 8, 2010

By 

Mac (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Missing (Seasons of Grace, Book 2) (Hardcover)

I have rarely been angry after reading a book. Especially Beverly Lewis - I have always liked her books. The Seasons of Grace series carries a good story - a very good one. And it deserved better development from the writer.

Book 1 of the series was very promising, but Book 2, The Missing, feels like a stretched out chapter. Not much moves forward in this book; although the subplots plod along a bit, the overall plot is near-static. It feels like a bridge between the first and third books - you have to wonder if the writer was assigned a series and tried to stretch a story into three books, when one long one would have done just fine. It is a lot of saying the same things over and over and over. For me, to be marketed as a series, these books need to stand alone, or they should be labeled as Volume 1, 2 and 3. This book does not stand alone. I will be reading Book 3, and I certainly hope it is worth it.

Another small thing has bothered me throughout the series. I am a veterinary nurse; the writer needed to do some more research on livestock. We have a horse here, lying on her side for weeks. Horses cannot do that or they die. (You keep them on their feet, injured leg or not; that is why an injured leg is so critical.) And there is a lot of interference with ewes trying to give birth. In these books, the humans hover around like it's a delivery room, when in reality there would be little human intervention unless a lamb is apt to be rejected and starve, or freeze. This hovering would be stressing the animals something terrible. There is plenty to do in a sheep operation, but it doesn't involve that. The writer implies that hooves are trimmed only when it's shearing time. That is interesting. Most goats and sheep are trimmed much more frequently. And we have no feel for whether these are sheep grown for wool or for meat. (Yes, different breeds are for different uses!) In Lewis' mind, sheep are sheep are sheep. Curiously, no one ever gets slaughtered or sold. This farmer seems to have no idea that he can use the skin of a dead lamb to entice another ewe into adopting a rejected lamb - ANY sheep farmer knows this! Instead these men are carrying lambs around like babies stuffing bottles into their mouths - which in actuality would be a last resort. And birthing at this farm is very predictable. I had to laugh at the vision of this farmer scrambling around to make a bed for a given ewe to give birth! In reality, it is predictable within a few days - but not the exact day, and sheep generally give birth in the pasture. This must all sound very picky, but it drove me crazy. Anyone who grew up on a farm would be senstive to these innaccuracies, and it is grating. It seems that it would not have been difficult to do some more homework and make the farm scene more authentic and true. No wonder the men in this book are always exhausted - they are acting like mother hens around these sheep! Sure, you need to be checking to make sure each baby (which represents money) is going to be okay. But the majority are, and hovering stresses the sheep out! Again, if you are going to write about a livestock operation, do some homework.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Missing, September 16, 2009

By 

L. Verburg "Belynda" (Glendale Heights, Il.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Missing (Seasons of Grace, Book 2) (Hardcover)

I have read both the Secret and the Missing. Love them both. The problem I have with them is that I wish I had read futher and saw that this will not be resolved until the Telling is out in April. Don't think I would have started the series had I known that.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Missing" Beverly Lewis Amish Series, October 1, 2009

By 

Beverly "Amateur Aperature" (Stanford, ky United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Missing (Seasons of Grace, Book 2) (Paperback)

I Read the Secret anxiously awaited The Missing, As with all Beverly Lewis books there is the stern Amish christian order. In the second book we find a few more answers than we did in the Secret. Grace goes against her fathers wishes in search of her mother. The Grandmother holds secrets that developed the troubled heart of her daughter. There is also the mystery of the adopted Heather who befriends Grace. Heather is an englisher born to amish couple but adopted to an english family which creates more secrets around her life. I liked the second book better than the first but both equally good. My biggest problem is the 3rd book does not come out until April. That is a long time to wait when you read as much as I do you forget a lot about the previous book. However you can never go wrong with a Christian Amish book by Beverly Lewis.I will say if you like reading the Amish christian books Cindy Woodsmall has a series of 3 daughers of the quilt series. That are absolutely wonderful. All three are available now