Inescapable ~ A book review

Today I'm reviewing Inescapable by Nancy Mehl

Synopsis:

Lizzie Engel is used to running away. At eighteen, she left her Mennonite hometown, Kingdom, Kansas, with plans never to return.

But five years later, the new life she built is falling apart. Lizzie knows she's being followed, and she's certain the same mysterious stranger is behind the threatening letters she's received. Realizing she'll have to run again, the only escape Lizzie can manage is a return to the last place she wants to go.

Once she arrives in Kingdom, Lizzie is confident she'll be safe until she comes up with a new plan. In reacquainting herself with the town and its people--especially her old friend, Noah Housler--she wonders if she judged her hometown and her Mennonite faith too harshly. However, just as she begins to come to terms with her roots, Lizzie is horrified to discover the danger she ran from is closer than ever.

No longer sure who to trust and fearful for her life and the lives of those around her, Lizzie finds she has only one place left to run--to the Father whose love is inescapable. 

My review:

I love Amish fiction, so I was excited to get to review this book.  It begins with us meeting Lizzie and her little girl.  They have a good, yet tentative support system set up in the city where Lizzie has been living since she ran away from home 5 years before.  When she's wrongly accused of embezzling funds at her job and also starts getting threatening notes and knows she's being stalked, she runs to the only place she knows...home.

Her home is set in an idyllic town that has been controlled with rigid and harsh religious traditions.  There has been no grace in Lizzie's life, only rules.  

She comes home to find that things are changing in the town of Kingdom and those who've been in charge don't want the change to happen.  There are many people that welcome her and show her the unconditional love she yearns for, yet many others treat her like a scarlet woman, including her own Father.

The danger that surrounded her in the city doesn't go away and Lizzie finds that she can't continue to run from her problems.  She has to trust...trust those around her and most importantly, the God who never leaves us.

I was interested to learn about this type of sect of Mennonites.  I've read books about Old Order Amish, but have had a more idealized view of Mennonites.  I didn't realize that there were groups even more strict than some Amish groups.  This Order is in the process of becoming more loving and Godly, but change is very hard.

Lizzie seems to be a rather weak woman struggling to be strong, which makes a lot of sense with her harsh and loveless childhood.  I appreciated that Lizzie is a very good Mother, going to great lengths to protect her daughter and give her a much more loving upbringing than the one she had herself.  Her little girl Charity is a delightful character and made the book just that much more heartwarming. I especially loved the characters of her romantic interest Noah and the woman who really nurtures Lizzie's faith, Cora. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading the rest of the series of  "The Road to Kingdom" when they come out.  I do wish there would have been more focus on the traditions and beliefs of this particular sect of Mennonites, but I felt the characters were believable and well established in this first book.

Inescapable is a combination of suspense, romance and redemption. It is definitely a book I can recommend reading.

 In exchange for my honest review, I received a copy of the book from Bethany House.