Hidden Mercies

Hidden Mercies
Serena B. Miller
(Howard Books)
ISBN: 978-1451660357
April 2013/368 pages/$15.00
At seventeen, Tobias Miller smashed his cousin’s car into a tree, killing his brother only four hours before he was scheduled to marry Claire Shetler. Unable to live with his father’s bottomless grief and anger, Tobias left the Amish church and ran away to join the Marines. Twenty-seven years later, Tobias, now called Tom, returns to Mt. Hope, Ohio, a wounded, decorated Marine helicopter pilot, and rents an apartment over Claire’s workshop.

A widowed Amish midwife, Claire is struggling to support her family. When Tom rents her room she does not recognize the disfigured soldier as the boy she once knew. She only sees the money as a godsend, though she is nervous about having a strange man so close by. Claire never dreams that she will end up falling in love with a battle-scarred soldier.

As Claire and Tom fight their way through the traumas of the past, they discover the tender mercies God has hidden along the way—including a loving father who has been praying for his prodigal son to come home and a God who makes all things new.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Prior to writing novels, Serena Miller wrote for many periodicals, including Woman’s World, Guideposts, Billy Graham’s Decision Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Focus on the Family, Christian Woman, and The Detroit Free Press Magazine. She has spent many years partnering with her husband in full-time ministry and lives on a farm in southern Ohio near a thriving Amish community.

MY THOUGHTS

Serena B. Miller's Amish novels are fresh and tender. Her previous book, An Uncommon Grace (reviewed here, began with the death of Claire's husband but primarily focused on her son Levi, and I'm so glad Miller turned the spotlight on Claire with this novel, which is on my short list of favorite Amish novels. Loss and regret color the pages of this novel as Claire and Tom-and even Levi and Grace-deal with the events of the past and wrestle with their faith. I particularly loved Tom's interactions with his father, who had no idea that Tom was Tobias, his shunned prodigal. Hidden Mercies is a beautiful story of forgiveness, redemption, and new beginnings. Highly recommended!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book free from Howard Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”