Book Review: Inescapable

About the book
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.

You can see a video trailer for this book here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq7-xzUPkpI 

My thoughts 
Inescapable is quite possibly, my favorite piece of Mennonite/Amish fiction (I realize these are 2 different religious sects, but in my mind they belong in the same genre).  That may be due to my other literary love of mystery books and this one marries the two genres perfectly.  Unlike many books I have read, mystery and non-mystery, it is really difficult to predict the events in this book.  I threw hypothesises (is that a word?) around in my head over and over and still could only come up with general predictions.

Mystery aside, I also enjoyed watching Lizzie return to her roots and see things differently.  The changes she saw, were in part due to actual changes in her hometown, but I also think some of them came from her maturing as well.  I loved the reunions with her old friends and her family and I loved watching as she re-built the relationships she had abandoned years before.

The book is the first in the Road To Kingdom series and includes an excerpt to the next book, Unbreakable, due for release in spring 2013.  After reading this book and the excerpt, I am anxiously awaiting this release.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Mennonite or Amish fiction, and those who enjoy mystery novels as well.  It is also a great book for anyone who has ever left home and was hesitant to return.  If you have returned home, you will understand Lizzie's experiences better and if you have not returned home, you may just decide to give it a try after reading this book.

About the author
Nancy Mehl, the author of 12 books, received an ACFW Carol Award in 2009 for her novel For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls . She has a background in social work and is a member of ACFW and RWA. She writes from her home in Wichita, Kansas, where she lives with her husband, Norman, and their puggle, Watson. Visit her website at www.nancymehl.com.

Disclaimer
Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for this review.  As always, my opinion is my own.