The Preacher’s Son

Johns (Thursday’s Bride) kicks off her The Infamous Amish series with a cautionary tale of dishonesty and ostracization. When preacher Abe Yoder is sentenced to prison for swindling people out of their money through a fake charity, his son Isaiah is left behind to shoulder the burdens of guilt and shame. After the bank repossesses Isaiah’s house and land to pay for his father’s crimes, Isaiah begs for work at a book bindery. The bindery owner’s daughter, Bethany is struggling with her own loss: her former fiancé, Micah, broke up with her and left the Amish community. The plot thickens when Bethany discovers she is pregnant with Micah’s baby and turns to Isaiah for help. Isaiah, who always secretly loved Bethany, never courted her, as his friend Micah expressed interest first. Unlike both his friend and his father, Isaiah is committed to practicing the values in which he believes, even it means suffering social ostracizing for defending Bethany. He and Bethany initially bond over their shared notoriety in the community but gradually realize they share common values and help each other learn how to forgive and trust again. Bethany and Isaiah, forced to choose between personal beliefs and societal pressures, make for empathic protagonists. Johns’s fans will enjoy this complex social drama. (Feb.)