Shunning Sarah: A Novel
By Julie Kramer
3.5/5
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About this ebook
Minneapolis’s star investigative reporter Riley Spartz is constantly in search of her next TV sweeps piece. When she hears that a young boy is trapped at the bottom of a sinkhole, she smells ratings. Little does she know just how big the story will be—not only does it involve a tragic murder, but the local Amish community as well. Once Riley is on the case, though, she sees that solving it will be anything but easy.
When Riley finds a clue the cops have missed, she uncovers a dark web of fraud and deception in the community—driven by motives as old as the Bible: sex and money. Riley will stop at nothing to bring the killer to justice, and she is determined to do so before anyone—including herself—becomes the next target.
Julie Kramer
Julie Kramer is a journalist turned novelist. She writes a series of thrillers set in the desperate world of TV news. Julie has won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense, RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best First Mystery, as well as the Minnesota Book Award. Her work has also been nominated for the Anthony, Barry, Shamus, Mary Higgins Clark, and RT Best Amateur Sleuth Awards. She formerly ran WCCO-TV’s investigative unit before becoming a freelance network news producer for NBC and CBS. She lives with her family in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Read more from Julie Kramer
Silencing Sam: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Delivering Death: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Killing Kate: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Shunning Sarah
32 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Riley Spartz is an investigative reporter in Minneapolis who knows a good news story, even when her new boss Bryce doesn't. When she gets a tip about a ten year old boy who has fallen into a sink hole in Harmony Minnesota, a rural area that is in the middle of an Amish community, she convinces her boss that it is a newsworthy story. By the time she arrives on the scene though the little boy Josh Kueppers has already been rescued.Undaunted Riley decides to interview the sheriff on the scene, and soon learns that there is another story. A dead body was down in the sinkhole with Josh, a body that might be hard to identify because it is missing its face. Riley is determined to see the case solved, even if it puts her own life in jeopardy.I am a huge fan of Amish fiction and when there is mystery and suspense involved I know I am in for a great read. With "Shunning Sarah" the author spins a story that pulled me in from the beginning. A little boy trapped, I wondered how or if he would be saved, but then the real story begins after he is rescued. A woman's body at the bottom of the sinkhole who turns out to be an 18 year old Amish girl named Sarah Yoder. What happened to Sarah? Well that question kept me turning the pages to find out. As a fan of Amish fiction I admit I was most fascinated by the Amish portion of the story, but there was also an interesting secondary story going on as well that involved the drama of TV news. Ms. Kramer is truly knows how to paint a picture with her words, she brings her scenes, and characters to life, without being overly graphic in her descriptions. Even though this book wasn't the first in the Riley Spartz series I had no problems diving right in. The author provided enough background information so that I didn't feel lost. While Riley was the main character in the story, for me I couldn't get Sarah out of my head, as her story is finally revealed my heart broke for her. Fans of mystery, suspense,and a plot filled with more twists than a winding country road will certainly want to read this one, the Amish twist is an added bonus. On a scale of one to five I would easily give this book a six, and plan on going back and reading the rest of the series! Highly recommended.A complimentary copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not realizing that this was part of a series was the first mistake I made. I don't mind reading a series out of order, as long as I can still make sense of it. This was a stretch for me on this book. I did enjoy the main part of the story, and the amish aspects. I liked the ending and although it was slightly unbelievable, it was still satisfying. The author kept going back to what had happened in the past, which of course I knew nothing about, and didn't help advance the main story. There was also, sexual harrassment, a bear, and a corrupt townsperson, which really I felt were all unneeded for the main story. All these extra aspects bogged down the book and frustrated me to no end. The book wasn't terrible, but it could have been much better, some serious editing would have been a big help.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Riley Spartz is a TV reporter who has survived a mass shooting at her station. In addition to the killings of several coworkers, the incident was the death of her engagement to the government agent who killed the shooter. A new station manager has come on board and is pretty much a young bean counter with an eye to the ladies. His brilliant new idea is that the reporters will carry their own cameras and shoot their stories themselves.Riley has become involved in the story of a young boy who fell down a sink hole and discovered a dead body. The body turns out to be a young Amish girl who left the religion and was shunned by her family and community. In addition to the unsolved murder, Riley gets mixed up in a local sheriff’s election, with the family of Sarah, the murdered girl and with Ike the owner of a store that specializes in Amish handcrafts. Nick Garnett, her onetime fiancé reappears but Riley is not sure how she feels about him any longer. As she gets deeper into the back story of the murder, Riley uncovers disturbing information about Sarah’s life that could have consequences for her surviving family members.I have read all of the books in this series and enjoyed them all. Riley is an interesting character. She is not a glamorous TV persona, rather a day to day slogger in a small market trying to survive. She is a widow and has not has the best luck in her romantic adventures. Her age is a factor in her continued employment in a media that celebrates youth. In other words, she is realistic and believable and someone you want to read about. This book continues the series and keeps the reader hooked to the last page and wanting more when it is done.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kramer's mysteries and writing just keep getting better and better. Riley Spartz, after the horrific end of the previous story, is back on the beat, juggling new responsibilities via the direction of a new news director and trying to keep up with fresh new stories. A tip about a boy in sinkhole leads to a homicide outside the Channel 3 viewing area. Because Amish stories are always interesting, Riley gets the go ahead to hit Southern MN, camera in tow. I always appreciate Kramer's attention to newsroom detail, and how Riley's relationship with Nick Garnett and her parents always seem so realistic.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Shunning Sarah is the fifth book in this series featuring television reporter Riley Spartz. Riley thinks she's going to report on a basic boy-in-a-sinkhole story near her parents' farm in rural Minnesota, but it turns into a lot more. When the young boy is rescued, a woman's body is found at the bottom of the sinkhole. The woman's body at the bottom of the sinkhole turns out to be an 18 year old Amish girl named Sarah Yoder. Riley then becomes involved in investigating the Amish community and their culture—as well as bear research?? Although I enjoyed this series in the past, this one was a bit too much—particularly as the twists, turns and addition of more plot points (sexual harassment, bear research etc) became of improbable and difficult to believe. 2 out of 5 stars.