Finding Rose by Dana Becker
Description: A dark mystery|horror story of a girl who escapes death because of a deranged man. The story delves into how being held captive for a long time and surviving a (failed) horrible death can affect the mind of the captive.
NOTE: Ignore the cover, this is NOT an Amish book other than being set on an Amish farm.
Review:
Normally I dislike giving negative reviews but in this case, I feel like I was tricked into this book. The cover CLEARLY is Amish but the girl in that doorway is NOT Rose but perhaps her sister April. Rose is not Amish — has no plans to be Amish — and doesn’t wear Amish clothing. The description provided for the book is quite different than mine. “The tale of a young woman who finds refuge from a dark past in Pennsylvania Amish country” hardly begins to describe what happened to her. I do not read horror. Or dark, negative books.
I thought I’d be reading a book about how the Amish community helped Rose to put the dark past behind her. There was no Amish community per se in this story. I would never have requested the book if I had known the darkness that was central to the entire story.
I have tagged this book horror for a good reason. “Finding Rose” is a dark story — for this reviewer, it was not pleasant to read. I got through it by reading two other books at the same time — both much lighter. It is a mystery — the man who kidnapped Rose is still out there, she can “feel” him.
The book title isn’t really about “Finding Rose” because Rose has already been rescued. I never felt like Rose was trying, using a cliche, to ‘find herself’ again. I felt for her but did not like her. So, this book already has two strikes against it — it’s horror & dark and the description did not warn me. I do not count the cover because authors don’t always have a say about the cover the publisher picks.
I love Amish fiction and have read hundreds of them. My profile states “…but having grown up near an old-order Amish community, I`m tough on those who think all they must do is add a buggy & a prayer capp“. This book was about as Amish as ‘my Aunt Fanny’. April & Joseph (Rose’s sister & brother-in-law) married *before* they moved back to Amish country. April was NOT Amish and but the book says she is learning Pennsylvania Dutch. But there is never a mention of a Bishop, going to church, Joseph’s family, learning how to pin a dress — that’s done with straight pins, not bobby pins. April was English. Now she must learn to cook, clean, wash clothes, etc. without electricity. There is not one mention of prayer.
Authors — if you want to set a book like this in “Amish country”, for goodness sake, RESEARCH how the Amish live. The farm is located “west of Lancaster” and Lancaster is primarily Old-Order Amish. Joseph couldn’t have just waltzed back from living ‘Englishe’ bringing an ‘Englishe‘ wife and been immediately folded back into the community. Using an Amish setting but *NOT* researching — minus 2 stars.
Results: a one-star rating. I do not enjoy giving them. But potential readers, I have not given away the plot of this book. It’s up to you now whether you want to read it or not.
I received a complimentary e-ARC copy of Finding Rose via NetGalley from the publisher, Kensington Books, Zebra. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#FindingRose #NetGalley #Kensington
