A Place of Peace

Clipston wraps up the Kauffman Amish Bakery series with a tale of Amish star-crossed lovers Timothy Kauffman and Miriam Lapp. Miriam has left her Amish community, but returns when she receives news of her mother's death. There she must face her estrangement from her family because of a painful incident in the past and the presence of Timothy, to whom she was once engaged and whom she still loves, and who is now involved with someone else. A complicated web of relationships, tangled by lies, reticence, and indirection, is slowly resolved as the story unfolds. Clipston's narrative drags repetitively around the lovers—how many times can Timothy raise his eyebrows in surprise and eat Miriam's crumbly peach pie?—and misses chances for conveying greater emotion in central family relationships. Yes, there are recipes for baked goods, a tasty addition. A mitteling addition to the Amish romance shelf. (Dec.)