Miriams Secret is the first book in Jerrys NEW Land of Promise series.

Jerry Eicher has begun another wonderful, true to life Amish series!

As usual, its full of emotion and difficult choices

When the man Miriam is hired to care for dies, she is surprised to learn that she has inherited a huge fortune, along with his family farm.

Having grown up in an Amish home and teaching in Amish schoolhouses, Jerry Eicher knows very well the ways of an Amish community. This is such a unique situation I cant imagine this happens often to young Amish girls.

But you can see her faith in the choices she makes

I dont want to give anything away, so Im going to tread lightly here but its a great story!

From the first word, this story will draw you in and it wont let you go until the last page. Whether it is the superb writing or the wonderful plot, you will find this book impossible to put down and if youre like me, youll be wishing the second book was available the moment you finish the first book!

Miriam is an Amish girl who has a heart of gold. She is always eager to help out. She knows her family is very poor and decides she needs to find work to help with finances. Miriam gets a job taking care of an Englisher. At first her father is not happy with this arrangement but let's Miriam continue working because the family needs her wages.

One morning as she is fixing breakfast , she realizes how quiet it is outside on the porch where Mr. Banks went to wait for his meal. He loves being out there in the fresh air. She goes out to check on him and finds that he has passed away. Miriam had gotten very close to him and thought of him like a second father. After the shock of finding him begins to hurt less she contacts his sister.

After the funeral is complete, Miriam finds out that Mr. Banks has left something to her in his will. He has left her with one of the finest farms around and 2,000,000 in cash. Miriam is stunned and now must decide what to do.

After much discussion and hurtful words exchanged between her and her father, Miriam decides to give the farm to her father and mother. She knows this will be a blessing for them and hopefully her father won't worry so much about finances.

There is a secret though that she has not told anyone about. She decides to keep this secret to herself as now one of the young men in the community has suddenly become interested in her. Miriam has many sleepless nights and decides to take her sister with her to Oklahoma to help her aunt out who is expecting a child soon.

Mr. Eicher has written another beautiful Amish story rich in values and struggles. I love how the story shows us that the love of money can change people and can sometimes make us do things that hurt others. He has captured a strong independent woman in Miriam. Will she finally find true love in Oklahoma or back home? Is the attention she is getting because of her wealth? What happens if her secret is revealed? This book has everything you have come to expect from a gifted writer like Mr. Either. He takes us thru hardship , greed, forgiveness and a hope at true love. I can't wait for the next book in this series. Well done Mr. Eicher

Miriam's Secret was definitely full of surprises for me as this is the first time I have read an Amish story from a male perspective. It was fresh and felt more true to the Amish and how they really live, and how they interact with the English. Even though there was romance it was not the mushy type of romance with all the hearts and flowers. There is a lot of issues with money in this story and how it can affect people's lives in a bad way and a good way. How could someone hold that much guilt over having the money when it was gifted was so heart wrenching. I enjoyed reading Miriam's Secret and can't wait to read the second book in the series.

Miriam's Secret is an amazing book. Author Jerry S. Eicher has written a captivating, intriguing and uncomparable book. He writes an unusual but most interesting storyline. The details and descriptions make me feel I'm experiencing what's happening with the characters. I love the characters and enjoyed reading this fabulous book. Jerry S. Eicher has a different style of Amish writing and it was a joy to read Miriam's Secret. If you haven't read one of his books, you don't know the great books you're missing. Miriam's Secret is Book One in the Land of Promise series. I can't wait until Book Two comes out.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This review is one hundred percent my opinion.

I discovered Jerry S. Eicher's Amish fiction several years ago and his books never disappoint me but they do always surprise me. Jerry does not write the typical Amish fiction. This one is no different as Miriam inherits a HUGE fortune along with the family farm from Mr. Bland, the elderly gentleman she had been caring for in his home. She tells others about the farm but keeps a secret of the even greater fortune she has inherited. When she decides to leave town and go to Oklahoma and visit with her Aunt and Uncle to be the helper when she has their first baby, she takes wayward sister, Shirley. along with her. Shirley has been dating an Englisch boy and promises her parents to give him up but doesn't. Miriam thinks going far away for a while may help both of them. I really like Miriam, she is mature and independent. Generally the Amish fathers make all the decisions but she is the one to suggest they go away. It must have been a scary decision to leave all that one knows and travel clear across the country to the great unknown. I have great admiration for Miriam. Living in Oklahoma brings with it new excitement for Miriam and she loves living there. She falls in love and begins teaching in the Amish one-room school. Shirley is still immature and does not seem to find her happiness so easily. I love the surprises that Jerry Eicher brings to this book and I won't spoil the story for the reader by revealing too much. I have always fantasized myself about just running off somewhere unknown and experiencing life, but that has not happened for me so I was able to live vicariously through Miriam.

I rate this book 5 stars and highly recommend it to readers. This is book one in the Land of Promise Series and I am very excitedly anticipating the other two books in the series.

I received a pdf version of this book from netgalley and the publishers, Harvest House, in exchange for my honest review.