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Whiskers of the Lion: An Amish-Country Mystery    by P. L. Gaus Amazon.com order for
Whiskers of the Lion
by P. L. Gaus
Order:  USA  Can
Plume, 2015 (2015)
Softcover, CD, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

Whiskers of the Lion is the ninth in a series of Amish-Country mysteries by P.L. Gaus and though I enjoyed it, I would definitely have appreciated it more if I'd read some of the earlier books. Many of the characters obviously have a lot of history together that influences their attitudes and actions in this episode.

As the story opens, Sheriff Bruce Robertson is obsessed with finding a young Amish woman, Fannie Helmuth, who is on the run from a murderous drug ring, before she is found by the bad guys. Heat is on from the feds as well as they want Fannie to testify. But the Sheriff isn't sure that doing so will be in her best interests.

It's a mix of police procedural and race against time, with a backdrop of Amish life and customs. Young Fannie had fled the Sheriff's protection with help from her close friend, Howie Dent. Now Howie's corpse is found at the Helmuth farm, but what has become of Fannie?

Readers soon learn that she is moving between Amish communities, while keeping in touch with a young woman she believes to be a friend - but is she really?

The Sheriff's primary concern is for Fannie's safety and well being. He agonizes over what to do, while suffering an old nightmare, involving a lion's whiskers. Robertson's solution to Fannie's problems is an unusual one, but it works.

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