Customer Reviews

A Sister's Hope (Sisters of Holmes County, Book 3)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A Sister's Hope by Wanda Brunstetter is the third and final book in the Sisters of Holmes County series. Martha Hostettler has been falling in love with Luke Friesen for three years, but ever since the first attack on her family's home, her father Roman has believed Luke to be the culprit. The attacks were at first like troublesome pranks, but accelerated into violent and vicious acts that resulted in the death of Martha's older sister's husband. But Martha is a bit of a rebel in her Amish family. She wants to make a life out of breeding and caring for dogs, and she can't help but think about Luke, but the only way to be with him is to prove his innocence. Martha is the spunkiest and most enjoyable character is this fantastic series. She doensn't want to disobey her parents, but she's not afraid to try new things. Ruth and Grace from the previous two books are back as well and still struggling with crises in their lives. Brunstetter creates a believable villain in the end and uses him to show the type of mercy that the Amish have become famous for. I loved every moment of this series. It was filled with suspense, drama, romance, and faith.

Martha Hostettler is a likable young woman with a soft spot for animals and a man named Luke. Luke Friesen is an Amish man whose eye has been captured by Martha. Although he courted one of her sisters, and has worked for (and been fired by) Martha's father, Luke's heart belongs to the young lady whose farm is being frequently attacked by an unknown assailant. Will the sheriff discover who the culprit is? Will Luke find the courage to approach Roman Hostettler to ask permission to court his youngest daughter?

Wanda E. Brunstetter's "A Sister's Hope" was an educational experience for me. Although this is the third installment of the "Sisters of Holmes County" series, I was able to easily follow the story without feeling that I'd missed something important. This was my first time reading one of her books, and I learned a tremendous amount about the Amish that I didn't know before. These characters are fresh and simple, at times making them seem wooden and one-dimensional, but the charm that oozes from the pages of this book make the reader realize that this is because the people being written about are without pretense or hidden agenda. Her writing style is smooth, and she captured my interest with the care she uses to describe the characters and surroundings. I was thoroughly impressed with how Ms. Brunstetter introduced unfamiliar words and cleverly gave their clear meaning without the use of a glossary. I was surprised with some suspense and mystery that I never expected in a book about the Amish. This is not my normal genre, but I will definitely read this author, again!

The attacks on her family continue unabated. Her father's business is destroyed due to an arsonist and their cattle gunned down leading to a breakdown by her mother. Upset but resolute Martha Hostettler continues to pray to God for help, but also decides to investigate in order to expose the skunk and hopefully end the assaults.

She hones in on Luke Friesen as the prime suspect, but quickly changes her mind about him because she is attracted to him even as she understands how illogical that is. Still as her belief in the Lord strengthens, she knows she loves Luke and thinks he might love her back, but the increasingly dangerous threat lingers over the Hostettler family. He joins her in an effort to uncover the identity of the culprit destroying his beloved's family while also framing him.

The latest Sisters of Holmes County tale (see SISTER'S SECRET) is an engaging final tale as the mystery that has impacted the Hostettler family is uncovered at a danger to the amateur sleuths. The story line is fun to follow although there are passive debates over who the assailant is. However with the attraction taking a back seat to the mystery fans will appreciate Wanda E. Brunstetter's fine tale of finding love amidst the sleuthing.

Harriet Klausner

Martha and Luke are in love with each other but there is a major problem. Martha's father Roman Hostettler will never allow Luke to court his daughter especially when he believes he is the person involved in the tragedies that have happened to their family.
For more then two years this family has had to live with a death to there son in law, serious injuries to there daughter suffered in the same accident, Romans business burning down, vandalism and destruction to there home a rock thrown thru the window and emotional health issues as a result of all these threats.
Martha and Luke want to solve this mystery for two reason one to stop these incidents from occurring and secondly to prove to her father that Luke is not responsible. This is a very emotional story as the Amish strongly leave things in the hand of God and it just seems like the problem is getting worse instead of better.
The book is extremely interesting and you keep guessing until almost the last page who is doing these things and more importantly why? You will be shocked at who it is and will cheer for Martha and Luke as they get to set about the life they have always dreamed of being together.
A wonderful and enjoyable story.

Martha Hostettler's family is being attacked, and she is determined to find out who is the culprit. More and more evidence seems to stack up against her admirer Luke Friesen. How will he be able redeem himself to her, not to mention her father?

With many authors writing about the Amish culture, it is hard to find a book that has a interesting and unique plot. Mrs. Brunstetter has no problem in this book. The air of mystery permeated the pages. I had my own suspicions while reading of who did what and why. I wanted to finish as quickly as possible to find out who the attacker was! The Amish ways are intertwined in the book, avoiding the feelings of being awkward or forced.

Questions raised in the previous Sisters of Holmes books are finally answered in this book. The suspense has been growing throughout the series and has come to a satisfying end. I know readers of the first two books will not be disappointed in the surprising (although slightly abrupt) conclusion.

Never fear fans, it finally happens!!! After 2 years of trouble, we finally find out in this book, who really is doing all these horrible things to our favorite family.

We will be suspicious of several people. Luke who Roman fired, Gary Walker who promised he would get even with Grace, maybe even the sheriff??

As always, our favorite family grows and also grows with the Lord.

I am sad that this is the last one I have in this series. I can't get enough. Ms. Brunstetter is a wonderful author.

Wanda is an awesome writer and I have read and enjoyed nearly all of her writings. I felt a bit let down and disappointed with this series, however. The first book held my interest and the story lines were well established but the repetition and mulling over of the attacks, the rumored attackers, the secret liasons between Martha and Luke, the dog business, etc., etc. became tedious and stagnant by book two, and even more so by book 3. It was apparent early on who the culprit was and I struggled to finish the book. I think these three might have been more successfully accomplished in one volume with more development of the other family members and story lines. A little disappointed , but I will still follow this gifted writer as she shares a lovely and simple faith and life-style of the gentle Amish people.

The book was extremely well written. Books 1 & 2 in this series are a great build up to this final book. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

This is the last book of the "Sister's of Holmes County" series. It is just as compeling as the first two books were. The attacks on the Hostettler family never seem to stop. The family never knows when the attacker will strike again. Roman's wife can no longer live in fear of what may happen. She withdrawls to some where in her mind where she finds peace. So it is decided the best thing for her is to be taken to another relative until the mystery can be solved.

Martha is the youngest of Roman and Judith Hostettler daughter's. She has feelings for a young man named Luke. Luke has feeling for her. The problem is Roman fired Luke for being late to often, and for wanting to try new things. Roman is suspicious that Luke may be the person who is doing the terrible things that are happening to his family.

Luke and Martha join forces to figure out who is responsible for all the attacks on the Hostettler family. Not only for Martha's family's sake. But also so Luke can clear his name and be allowed to court Martha.

The end of this book is as visceral as riding on a roller coaster.

Rated G

I am truly amazed at the other reviews for this book. Based on what other readers said, I checked this book out of the library, thinking that perhaps Brunstetter would be a new author I would want to add to my reading list. Sadly, that will not be the case.

On the plus side, there are few grammatical errors in this book, the themes of family and forgiveness are pleasant, and it is nice to read a book in which people generally behave in a decent, respectful way.

That's all the good I can find in the book. Now, on to the bad: everything that is said is said not once, but several times. Secondary characters are given far too much time. There is zero character development -- and I mean ZERO. None. After finishing this book, I know nothing more about the protagonists than I did on page ten. The plot moves so slowly that there almost isn't one, which is quite a feat for a novel that runs almost 300 pages. Scenes abound which don't do anything to move the story (such as it is) forward. Thoughts and emotions are explained to the reader, then to other characters, and then to yet still other characters. Furthermore, this is meant to be a mystery - someone is attacking the Hostettler family and we want to know who and why. We are constantly told that the attacks are horrible and that the characters want them to stop, but no one ever does anything concrete to truly try to catch the perpetrator(s). In addition, they make ridiculous decisions regarding evidence, and the process of "investigating" takes months just to begin. There was zero realism in any of this.

Unless you don't mind a book about people you learn nothing about other than the fact that they seem quite content to allow someone to attack them on a regular basis, I recommend you skip this one.