Hiding in Plain Sight

February 13, 2012
Wallace offers a serviceable opener to her Place of Refuge series with this tale of a young police officer who must reckon with her painful past. Ashley Walters has fled Atlanta for the small town of Montezuma, Ga., which has a thriving Mennonite community. She crosses paths with Mennonites when she catches Bradley Yoder, a 13-year-old boy with a complicated history, breaking into a grocery store, which leads her to his family, including handsome uncle Jonathan. Ashley’s personal life, meanwhile, grows complex when a local matchmaker connects her with Patrick James, a counselor who can help Bradley. As the characters make personal discoveries, Montezuma faces the question of redevelopment, a prospect that threatens the Mennonite community. The story has a lot going on and could have used some Mennonite simplicity to concentrate its emotional impact. The romantic triangle keeps the reader turning pages, but the villain is a stretch to believe.