Arms of Mercy

Catherine has loved Elijah for a long time, but he moved away and married someone else.  Since then, she's been dating Zach, but she senses something wrong.  When she finally gets the gumption to ask Zach to marry her, he puts her off for financial reasons.   Her emotions get truly mixed up when Elijah comes back to town.

The store she works in closes for the winter at the same time her cousin asks her for help in the bakery in Florida.  She decides to go to Florida, buys her bus ticket, and waits for her departure date.

When the time comes, Elijah shows up to go to Florida too.  That's when the adventure starts.  On the way, the bus driver has a heart attack.  When they get a new bus, the new driver got them into a wreck that left Elijah searching for Catherine for months.

Ruth Reid writes unusual Amish Fiction, using God's special messengers (angels) guiding her characters through the rough parts of life.  Arms of Mercy utilizes this trope in its plot development.  It doesn't override the plot, but gives the reader just enough to understand what the angel character is doing, and that is drawing his receivers closer to God.  Catherine is always aware of his presence by the scent of lilacs around him.

This is a wonderful book, hard to put down, with a fast moving plot that can guide the reader closer to God, if the reader allows it. 

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and some lilacs to scent your day. 

My thanks to Zondervan Fiction for allowing me to read and review this book.