A Perfect Square (31 page)

1. At the end of Chapter Six, Tobias called Esther’s attention to the flowers growing at the edge of the field and along the road. He says, “It was
   Gotte’s wille
   that you look up and see the ones by the pond’s edge.” As Christians, do you believe we’re put in the midst of difficult situations for a reason? Or was it chance that Esther happened down to the pond that morning?
   
2. In Chapter Nine, Deborah’s twin boys were once again in trouble. This is a funny scene, but if they were our children we might not be laughing! Children often do make extra work. Did you think Deborah’s solution was too harsh or was it fair? There’s no doubt she loves the boys, so why does she saddle them with such chores at such a young age?
   
3. Ira Bontrager is introduced later in Chapter Nine. If you read the acknowledgement page that follows, you’ll see that the book is dedicated to my father-in-law, who has Alzheimer’s. Ira also suffers from a form of dementia. What was your reaction to this character? Do you have anyone in your life who has suffered from this disease or a similar disease?
   
4. In Chapter Eleven, we first see Reuben and Adalyn interact. They seem to be complete opposites, but they will have to find common ground in order to work together. Have you ever had to work with someone that you had nothing in common with? Why does God sometimes put us in situations with people who are nothing like us?
   
5. In Chapter Thirteen we are given another glimpse into Samuel and Katie’s past. What is Samuel’s biggest mistake so far? Does he really love Katie?
   
6. At the end of Chapter Sixteen, we learn the emotion Reuben is struggling with the most — regret. How can regret block our path? What does the Bible have to say about our past?
   
7. In Chapter Twenty-One, Ira tells Callie about the Palm Sunday Tornadoes. Forty-seven tornadoes actually did strike the Midwest on Palm Sunday in 1965, including the town of Shipshewana. What comfort does Scripture give us to help us through such horrific times?
   
8. In Chapter Twenty-Four, Callie has a dream. What do you think the dream means? Do dreams mean anything? What does the Bible say about dreams, and does it still apply today?
   
9. We finally have the reunion scene between Faith and Ira in Chapter Twenty-Nine. Do you believe such reunions are actually possible in this life? Or only in the next?
   
10. This story ends with an emphasis on grace: Katie’s father offers Samuel his hand in grace; Deborah doesn’t understand why the legal system can’t rule by the same grace the bishops
    would use to guide them; and Samuel pulls from his pocket Reuben’s letter, which offers mercy, forgiveness, and friendship. What place does grace have in our lives?
    

ack
— Oh

aenti
— aunt

boppli — baby

bopplin
— babies

bruder
— brother

daadi
— grandfather, informal

daed
— father

danki
— thank you

dat
— dad

Dietsch
— Pennsylvania Dutch

dochder
— daughter

dochdern
— daughters

eck
— corner

Englischer
— non-Amish person

fraa
— wife

freind
— friend

freinden
— friends

gelassenheit
— calmness, composure, placidity

gern gschehne
— you’re welcome

Gotte’s wille
— God’s will

grandkinner
— grandchildren

grossdaddi
— grandfather

grossdochdern
— granddaughters

grossmammi
— grandmother

gudemariye
— good morning

gut
— good

in lieb
— in love

kaffi
— coffee

kapp
— prayer covering

kind
— child

kinner
— children

mamm
— mom

mammi
— grandmother, informal

naerfich
— nervous

narrisch
— crazy

onkel
— uncle

Ordnung
— set of rules for Amish living

rumspringa
— running around; time before an Amish young person has officially joined the church, provides a bridge between childhood and adulthood

schweschder — sister

was iss letz
— what’s wrong

wunderbaar
— wonderful

ya
— yes

T
HIS BOOK IS DEDICATED
to my father-in-law, George Robert Chapman, better known to our family as Paw. Paw came into my life the same year that my father stepped into the next. I have no doubt that the Lord smiled on me that year and provided in my hour of need. He has been a blessing beyond measure. We have watched him struggle with Alzheimer’s the last several years and the character of Ira Bontrager was my way of painting a tribute to Paw. I remain grateful for every day we share. Paw is a veteran, a patriot, and a very dear man.

I would also like to acknowledge the help of all the wonderful people at Zondervan, whom I could not write without, and my agent, Mary Sue Seymour.

Amy Clipston, Beth Wiseman, Shelley Shepard Gray, and Mary Ellis always provide good counsel when I need it.

Rick Acker, a top-notch author and a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice, helped with legal questions. Any mistakes are my own.

Janet Schrock, President of the Shipshewana Area Historical Society, provided help in regard to the Palm Sunday Tornadoes, which actually did take place on April 11, 1965. I did take some liberties with the details — no Amish people lost lives in the storm but one Amish man was killed in the cleanup operation.

I could not write a book without the support and help of my pre-readers: Donna and Kristy. Thank you for faithfully reading everything I email you and giving me honest feedback. Cindy and Toot continue to correct my errors in regard to equestrian matters.

The friends I have made in Shipshewana are too numerous to name here. You all have been incredibly supportive and good natured about allowing your town to be the site of murder mysteries. Nothing could be further from the truth. Shipshewana is a lovely, friendly town. I can’t wait to go back!

Once again, thank you to my family who make it possible for me to write full-time. My husband, children, mother, sister, and in-laws have been incredibly supportive. It’s appreciated more than they can know.

And finally … always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
(Ephesians 5:20, NIV).

Vannetta Chapman
has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her first novel,
A Simple Amish Christmas
, quickly became a bestseller. Chapman lives in the Texas hill country with her husband.

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Falling to Pieces

While this novel is set against the real backdrop of Shipshewana, Indiana, the characters are fictional. There is no intended resemblance between the characters in this book and any real members of the Amish and Mennonite communities. As with any work of fiction, I’ve taken license in some areas of research as a means of creating the necessary circumstances for my characters. My research was thorough; however, it would be impossible to be completely accurate in details and descriptions, since each and every community differs. Therefore, any inaccuracies in the Amish and Mennonite lifestyles portrayed in this book are completely due to fictional license.

ZONDERVAN

A Perfect Square
Copyright © 2012 by Vannetta Chapman

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

EPub Edition © JANUARY 2012 ISBN: 978-0-310-41587-9

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Requests for information should be addressed to:

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chapman, Vannetta.

A perfect square : a Shipshewana Amish mystery/ Vannetta Chapman.

p. cm. — (Shipshewana Amish mystery ; bk. 2)

1. Amish — Fiction. 2. Murder — Investigation — Fiction. 3. Shipshewana

(Ind.) — Fiction. I. Title.

PS3603.H3744P47 2012

813’.6 — dc23

2011048414

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from King James Version of the Bible.

All Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible,
New International Version
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,
NIV
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Cover illustration: Mary Ann Lasher

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