Turning Home

In the tender Amish romance that launches Johnson’s Tompkin’s Mills series, a woman visiting her brother decides to make her vacation permanent. Julia Durant is still traumatized from a brutal assault years earlier, so her brother’s sleepy Missouri town, Tompkin’s Mills, seems welcoming and safe. She finds a job at a local Amish furniture shop and discovers an odd sense of belonging among the Amish—though her feelings for Luke Bowman, the shop owner’s son and her new coworker, present a complication. Luke has just returned home after a 10-year absence from his family and his faith and feels Julia’s presence to be a constant temptation. Though Luke is tall and imposing, Julia appreciates his gentle nature, and their forbidden attraction blossoms into a chaste romance. Johnson (Hunting Season) has a gift for portraying emotional depth and vulnerability in just a few subtle glances and fleeting touches. And when an acquaintance from Luke’s time away from his faith comes back into his life in an unexpected way, it adds a welcome wrinkle to the traditional romance plot. This is sure to win readers’ hearts. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Oct.)