Nowhere to Run by Amy Wallace

In this sequel to Hiding in Plain Sight, Ashley is being stalked. She reluctantly goes to a Mennonite community in Shipshewana, Indiana with her friend Maggie. She struggles with her faith in God as the terror continues.

The Mennonite community is mixed, that is, there are Plain People and those who dress more like the culture around them. The community is also a sheltering place. Ashley meets a woman who has been abused by her husband and is now hiding from him. When the abusive husbands comes to reclaim his wife, Ashley tries to help her see him for what he truly is.

This novel is a sequel and, unless you have read the first one, you may not be able to appreciate the full impact of this story. Many of the characters, including Ashley herself, had earlier traumatic experiences that play into this novel.

There is a great deal of character development and thinking in this novel. Ashley struggles with her faith in God, wondering why He is allowing all this to happen to her and the ones she loves. The action at the end is very exciting but most of the novel is Ashley working through issues inside.

One aspect of the novel I did not like was the police being portrayed as being so inept. Even though the police know Ashley and her loved ones are in danger, the stalker manages to outsmart various police agencies and hurt people. I understand this was necessary so Ashley could be the heroine in the story, but I certainly hope law enforcement is smarter than portrayed in this novel.

Wallace writes about internal struggles. She wrote this novel during a health crisis when she was asking the same questions Ashley was, Where is God when life hurts? Wallace was herself stalked when she was in college. She writes of Ashley's fear from her own experience. It causes the reader to think about the power a man has to destroy a woman's life, whether by stalking or by physical abuse.

Amy Wallace writes Dark Chocolate suspense, high action suspense that delves deep into heart issues. She is a homeschool mom, author, speaker, co-leader of a young writer's club, and avid chocoholic. You can find out more about her at www.amywallace.com and follow her blog at http://peek-a-booicu.blogspot.com/

Harvest House Publishers, 352 pages.

I received an advanced egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.