The Patient One by Shelley Shepard Gray

Greetings!  The Mint Julep Murders by Angie Fox releases on April 25.  We get to see what Verity Long and Frankie the German are up to this time in the eighth The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries.  Staging is Murder by Grace Topping comes out April 30 and it is the debut novel in A Laura Bishop Mystery series.  Dying for Devil's Food by Jenn McKinlay is available on May 7 and is the eleventh A Cupcake  Bakery Mystery.  It is Melanie Cooper's fifteenth high school reunion and you know murder is just around the corner for our baking duo.  Chai Another Day by Leslie Budewitz will be out on June 11.  It is the latest A Spice Shop Mystery.  My wish list on Amazon is getting quite long.

The Patient One by Shelley Shepard Gray is the first full length novel in the Walnut Creek Series.   Everyone is shocked in Walnut Creek, Ohio when they learn that Andy Warner had committed suicide.  It is especially hard on the Eight which is a group of men and women who are Amish, Mennonite and Englisch.  They had been close friends since they were kids and considered Andy the leader of their group.  None of them had any idea that Andy was troubled and wished he had confided in one of them.  The group had drifted apart when they entered their 20s which had bothered Andy.  Now they are reunited for their friend’s funeral and agree they need to become the close group they had been before life sent them off in different directions. Marie Hartman had been living in Cleveland, but now she has returned to Walnut Creek.  She looks forward to spending more time with her friends especially John Byler.  The two of them have always been close, but there have been romantic feelings simmering between them since their late teens.  John, though, was raised Amish while Marie is firmly in the English world.  Is it possible for them to overcome their cultural differences?  Come along to Walnut Creek to see how this group of close friends moves forward after the death of their close friend.

My Thoughts

The Patient One is a touching story about friendship, love, patience, family, and faith.  Will, Elizabeth Anne, Harley, Logan, Katie, Marie, John and Andy plus Andy’s little sister, Tricia have been friends since childhood.  The fact that they were from different religions does not bother them (Old Order Amish, Mennonite, English and New Order Amish) or affect their friendship.  The group is devastated when Andy kills himself.  They do not understand why he did not talk to one of them.  The group had drifted a little as they took on adult responsibilities and jobs, but they would drop everything for one of the group (as we saw in Friends to the End).  Marie has moved back to Walnut Creek, and she wants to finally explore her feelings for John Byler.  Their relationship will be complicated since John was raised Amish, but he has not been baptized.  Molly Byler, John’s younger sister, became paralyzed after a buggy accident when she was nine.  She is now sixteen and wants to be treated as any other girl her age.  Molly is thrilled when Danny Eberly wishes to spend time with her.  I like that the characters are from different backgrounds.  As John and Marie explore their romantic relationship, their differing views come into play.  It provides interest and depth to the book.  Logan and Tricia (their story began in Friends to the End) are included peripherally in the story. There are updates on their progressing relationship.  We get to see how this group of friends deal with the loss of a close friend.  The friends must deal with grief, guilt, anger, and confusion.  None of them understand why Andy did not confide to one of them.  I hope we get answers about Andy in future books.  The Patient One has Shelley Shepard Gray’s signature writing style which drew me in right away.  The story is well-written with pacing that suits the book.  The characters are complex along with their situations.  I look forward to learning more about each character as the series progresses.  Patience is a recurring theme in The Patient One.  Patience with people, situations and life.    All things happen in His timing, not ours.  My favorite line in the book was “even in the darkness of times there was always a glimmer of light”.  I recommend reading Friends to the End before embarking on The Patient One.  The Patient One is an insightful and emotional story that will touch your heart.            

The Patient One will be out on Tuesday, April 9 (paperback, hardback, kindle, and audio).  The next book in The Walnut Creek Series is The Loyal One which comes out on August 13.  Thank you for visiting today and I hope you have found my review helpful.  Tomorrow I am featuring An Amish Reunion by Amy Clipston, Beth Wiseman, Kelly Irvin and Kathleen Fuller.  I hope you have a divine day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader