Tour Review & Giveaway: Lamb to the Slaughter by Karen Ann Hopkins

*Hosted by Kismet Book Tours*

I am absolutely THRILLED to be participating in the blog tour for Karen Ann Hopkin’s new adult thriller, Lamb to the Slaughter. I adored her YA Temptation series and it got me completely hooked to Amish fiction, I am absolutely fascinated with the Amish lifestyle after reading it! When I seen that she was releasing another Amish fiction, but an Adult mystery thriller I was over the moon!!

Pages: 336
Published: March 14th 2014
Series:  Serenity’s Plain Secrets #1
Source: Provided for tour review

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Some Amish communities aren’t so cozy.

Lamb to the Slaughter is a story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely people in an Indiana Amish Community and the devastating results when a rebellious teenage girl is found shot to death in a corn field during the harvest.

Serenity Adams is the newly elected young sheriff in the country town of Blood Rock and besides dealing with the threatening behavior of her predecessor, she now has a dead Amish girl on her plate.  At first glance, the case seems obvious.  The poor girl was probably accidentally shot during hunting season, but when the elders of the Amish community and even the girl’s parents react with uncaring subdued behavior, Serenity becomes suspicious.  As she delves deeper into the secretive community that she grew up beside, she discovers a gruesome crime from the past that may very well be related to the Amish girl’s shooting.

Serenity enlists the help of the handsome bad-boy building contractor, Daniel Bachman, who left the Amish when he was nineteen and has his own dark reasons to help the spunky sheriff solve the crime that the family and friends who shunned him are trying desperately to cover up.  Serenity’s persistence leads her to a stunning discovery that not only threatens to destroy her blossoming romance with Daniel, but may even take her life in the end.

 
I could not even wait for this release when I seen it pop up on Goodreads so when I seen that Kismet was hosting a book tour, I immediately jumped at the chance to participate. After reading Karen Ann Hopkins’ Temptation series I was completely hooked on her writing and stories so I was itching to dive into this as soon as I received it.

Lamb to the Slaughter is told in three alternating points of view: Serenity, Daniel and Naomi. Serenity is the town sheriff and this is her first encounter with the Amish community, Daniel was born Amish but left when he was a teenager and Naomi is the young girl who was killed. I think telling the story in these separate points of view really gave it that added wow factor. I loved reading all three points of view, but the one that really hit me hard was Naomi’s. You know immediately that she is the young girl that dies, so that’s not a spoiler, but hearing her story in her words up to her death is just so sad. She really didn’t get a fair chance at life, and her POV really impacted me.

The characters are just so easy to love. I find this is a common element in Hopkin’s writing, she writes wonderful, wonderful characters. Serenity was strong and determined and really what you could except from a sheriff of a small town. Daniel was sexy and I loved his role in the mystery. Serenity really utilized his knowledge of the Amish culture and I loved the budding romance throughout the story.

The mystery itself was really attention grabbing. I found it nearly impossible to put this book down! I honestly had NO idea what was going on, or what happened to Naomi, that in itself being a surprise because I can always guess the endings. I really had no idea what was going on, because you are led astray so many times by the Amish community, and I was thoroughly shocked by who the killer was found out to be! I had a totally different suspicion in my mind…

One thing that is clear, is that Karen Ann Hopkins, really puts a lot of thought and research into creating her worlds. It’s obvious that she is very familiar with the Amish culture and does a wonderful job depicting that. I find their traditions and customs fascinating and even while reading fiction, I’m learning about the Amish people as well.

I would highly, highly recommend this one. I cannot find a single thing I disliked. From the mystery, the characters, and the writing this is a fantastic book! I was so excited to find out this is the beginning of a series. I loved the way the story ended and I’m glad that there is room for certain plot points to develop into the next book. I cannot wait for book two!

Lamb to the Slaughter is only $2.99 right now at Amazon and B&N!

*Open internationally*
*If Rafflecoptor does not load please refresh or click on the link!*

 A $100 Amazon Gift Card
An autographed set of Karen’s YA Temptation series
A traditional Amish style hand stitched wall hanging/lap quilt with the lone star pattern in country colors

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday April 21 – Caffeinated Book Reviewer – Review
Tuesday April 22 – Lose Time Reading – Review
Wednesday April 23 – Love Life Read – Review
Thursday April 24 – A Book Addicts Bookshelf – Author Interview
Friday April 25 – Curling Up with a Good Book – Guest Post

Monday April 28 – Page Turners – Character Interview
Tuesday April 29 – Andi’s Book Reviews – Review
Wednesday April 30 – Unabridged Bookshelf – Review
Thursday May 1 – Evie Bookish – Guest Post
Friday May 2 – Bookish Brunette – Excerpt

Follow the rest of the tour here!!