Looking at the blurb for this book, I must admit I wasn't expecting much. Don't get me wrong, I'd read other Picoult's, and loved them, but -going on looks and a paragraph or two- this one I was less enthusiastic about. How wrong can one woman get?????????????? THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Picoult manages to shock, evoke a giggle and pull on the heartstrings of the reader in every chapter, no, every page. The story of an innocent Amish Girl, surrounded by an unforgiving family and a stern religion, who finds herself thrust into the biggest criminal case of the year, Picoult delivers facts, feelings and a flipping fantastic plot in this immense novel. A must buy!! :)

It starts with a birth in the Amish barn, a young woman giving birth to a child. It then goes to the same barn a little later and the body of a baby being discovered and the police soon arrive. The story unravels with a young girl denying pregnancy and birth despite evidence to the contrary and the police looking to charge her with murder. Ellie, her distant cousin comes in as her attorney, reluctantly, to defend her and finds herself as much a prisoner as Katie, in the Amish farm as she tries to build a defense with no modern technology. Is Katie guilty of killing a baby she denies all knowledge of, will the truth out and can Ellie defend someone she knows is lying to her. I feel bad saying I enjoyed this book as one of the main events is the murder of a baby however I couldn't put it down. I know very little about the Amish community so it was nice to have a bit of education in that respect. There is also some medical terms throughout the book, not in large parts, but as a student I found this really interesting too. Katie is a young woman and comes across as a wee girl at times as she is so innocent. The mystery is there from the start as to what happened to the baby and we are teased along as the case progresses and Katie is interviewed by psychologists. Slowly Katie's memory is teased to reveal what she actually remembers whilst the story also focuses on Ellie and how she adjusts to living with the Amish people. There are so many levels, I felt, to this story and relationships explored and budding. The pace goes along in some parts slowly but always enough to keep you drawn in. There are a few surprises in store and as always I love how Jodi writes so if your a fan this one is sure not to disappoint, 4/5 for me this time.

While I enjoyed this book, I was expecting a whole lot more. I enjoyed learning more about the Amish people, and how they live, what they believe in. This book also had the usual Jodi Picoult-esque elements, e.g. an emotional dilemma, relationship issues etc, but for some reason it wasn't quite as unputdown-able as some of her other books.

A very interesting read. However, it repeats itself in the middle and I guessed what happened to the baby.

I have loved all of the other books i've read by this author, but i felt this was one of the weakest. I found it repetitive and at some points lacked in rhythm. It kind of trundled along although the story wasnt that bad. I expected so much more though. And i was very dissapointed by the ending as i thought it seemed so blindingly obvious too.