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Lillian Duncan
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SERENITY SPRINGS, OHIO Kindle Edition

by Lillian Duncan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 169 ratings
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An abandoned bird; an ailing aunt; and an unhappy fiancé. What else could happen? Oh, yeah—a murder! Chief of Police, Matthew Travis moved home to avoid the violence of being a big city police officer, but murder shatters the peace and tranquility of his hometown.

It appears to be an open and shut case. A troubled teenager at the scene covered in blood with the murder weapon in his hand is arrested. Unfortunately, as Matthew ties up loose ends, his once open and shut case unravels.

And the danger escalates!
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  1. Print length
    194 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    June 9, 2013
  5. File size
    1312 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00DB2D2J0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lost and Found Books; 2nd edition (June 9, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 9, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1312 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 194 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 169 ratings

About the author

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Lillian Duncan

Lillian Duncan

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Lillian Duncan turns her faith into fiction by writing fast-paced novels in a variety of genres, including suspense, romantic suspense, women's fiction, as well as stories she describes simply as Christian Fiction.

She lives in Ohio with her husband, two parrots, one Jack Russell, and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that she's thinking about renaming Clifford since he keeps growing and growing and....

She writes the type of books she loves to read. Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God's Word.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
169 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Donna M
5.0 out of 5 stars Love Thy Neighbor or Not
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2013
Verified Purchase
Sheriff Matthew Travis responds to a call at the Plaza Apartments, the calls are usually domestic violence or someone drunk, this feels different. He goes into the apartment and finds the body of a woman on the floor. He checks the apartment but doesn't find anyone but did he check everywhere? Jimmy Bowler comes at him with a knife, Matthew manages to subdue Jimmy who is covered with blood and holding the knife Matthew thinks killed the woman. It's and open and shut case, well at least it is until his Aunt Emily comes to live with him. Emily is a recently retired psychologist with Lupus who meets Jimmy at the police station while waiting for Matthew. When she talks to Jimmy she feels something isn't right about this open and shut case. Some twists and turns in the plot that I really enjoyed. I hope there are more books featuring this nephew and aunt duo.
10 people found this helpful
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Gail Christian
4.0 out of 5 stars Christian at heart
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2016
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If you don't want to read about God, being Christian, and going to church, then don't read this book. It's really that simple, and you have no reason to complain about any of those things if you still decide to read this.

Even in quaint little towns where everyone has known everyone else for most of their lives and where Christianity is still a big part of life, murders (unfortunately) still occur. Good thing everyone DOES know almost everyone else: that certainly makes it easier for the police to ferret out information.

Of course, with an open and shut case there isn't much that needs to be ferreted out, but what if it really isn't all that "open and shut"? Hmmmm... Perhaps the Chief of Police, Matthew Travis, jumped to conclusions just because he found Jimmy covered in blood, holding a knife, and lunging for him. Could it really be that easy, Matthew?

Unfortunately for Matthew, his Aunt Emily wasn't certain Jimmy was guilty, and since she was a psychologist she might just know a thing or two. What are you going to do now, Matthew?

Before long this seemingly open and shut case has several suspects! "As Chief of Police for the Village of Serenity Springs, Matthew’s job was to maintain the peace in the village. Most of his job was handling domestic violence calls, ensuring that traffic laws were followed.... It wasn’t his job to investigate major crimes. That duty fell to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department." Unfortunately, the sheriff believed Jimmy was the murderer, and he was none too interested in having multiple suspects. Looks like Matthew will have to do some investigating whether the sheriff has his man or not.

Follow Matthew, his staff, and Aunt Emily as they try to find the real killer. Can they clear Jimmy and find out who the murderer really is? Or are they only spinning their wheels since the real killer IS Jimmy?

Hopefully the truth will out no matter how painful it might be. Is the killer an old friend? Someone Matthew and Aunt Emily have known for years? Or is (s)he a newer resident - someone hiding their past and true identity? Only by digging into the facts (and not what LOOKS obvious or what someone WANTS him to believe) will Matthew ever solve the case. Good thing Aunt Emily had her doubts about Jimmy. Otherwise no one would have ever known if he was truly guilty or not.

This is a good, clean story, but it could definitely use a good editing. The author has written so many books that I expected better than this. Punctuation is often not there (especially when it comes to commas), and sometimes there is no space between sentences. After a while it became distracting but not so much that I finally gave up and quit reading.

The story is worth reading so don't let the problems distract you. Hang in there so you will finally know the truth. And that truth won't become evident until toward the end of the story so follow the investigation all the way through to its conclusion. You'll be glad you did.
One person found this helpful
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Kendra Waldriff
3.0 out of 5 stars Serenity Springs, Ohio
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2015
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This book was very enjoyable! The action started from the opening page and reeled me right in. The characters were believable and I was very into it, and enough where I wanted to throttle a few of them! There was quite a bit of humor too which was nice, and a parrot even graced the pages of the book and won my heart! I also had no clue whodunit until near the end, so that was nice as there were times where it could've been any number of people. This is a solid 4 star book but honestly the editing could use some work, and it was bad enough to change my rating to a 3 unfortunately. Don't let that stop you from reading it, as it is a sweet story!
3 people found this helpful
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Linda Husvar
5.0 out of 5 stars Serenity Springs, Ohio
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2015
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★★★★★ The author treated us to a wonderful look at small town life, even in the midst of an unusual murder mystery. Wayne County, Akron, and Cuyahoga Falls are near my home, which enriched my enjoyment of the book. I loved the portrayal of Emily as a wise "Aunt" who struggled with the disabling effects of Lupus. Her nephew, Matthew, showed a lot of common sense as the village Police Chief. I loved the character development in the murder suspects as the author kept us guessing to the end. Serenity Springs, Ohio, was truly "a place where neighbors become friends." Highly recommended for those who like a faith-based book.
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Fun Grandma
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2015
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Small town living doesn't mean boring that's for sure! I did think the author did a great job of presenting her story with lots of intrigue and surprising twists! I enjoyed the development or the characters and found the book fast paced enough to keep my interest. I want to be just like Aunt Emily!
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Amy
4.0 out of 5 stars Serenity Springs, Ohio
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2015
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What a great read!! I literally couldn't put it down. It was a page-turner from the the start. If you're super picky about editing errors, then this one's probably not for you. And I AM pretty picky about editing errors, but I was able to easily overlook them because of the great story. There WAS some unfinished business with a couple of the characters, but again, easily overlooked. Don't know if there's a sequel or not, but I certainly wouldn't mind hearing more from the gang whose lives were so engaging in this novel! And as far as "who done it"? HUGE surprise! Very well done, Ms Duncan! Thank you for a very enjoyable book!!
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Action,
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2018
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What a great action packed God fearing story.
I would love to hear not about this town of Serenity Springs, Ohio. I have only read two of Lillian Duncan's stories but I won't be stopping with these. Great job.
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Already Booked
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Christian Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2015
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I really enjoyed this short mystery novel, it was s pleasant surprise.
It's set in the heart of Amish country in Ohio, the main character s of the novel have all gone back to a supposedly quieter way of life in the small village their parents have grown up in and of course things have changed. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Duncan.
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Top reviews from other countries

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LaberLili
4.0 out of 5 stars Kleinstadtdunkel
Reviewed in Germany on April 17, 2015
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Hinter "Serenity Springs, Ohio" verbirgt sich ein angenehm zu lesender Kriminalroman, in dessen Mittelpunkt eigentlich ein Mord steht, der sich in einer idyllischen amerikanischen Kleinstadt ereignet hat. Eigentlich? Ja, eigentlich, denn auch das Privatleben des ermittelnden Polizisten Matthew wird stark fokussiert; er hat das frühere Haus seiner Großeltern gekauft, seine an Lupus erkrankte Tante, die Psychologin Emily, bei sich aufgenommen und seine Verlobte hadert mit beiden Tatsachen. Insgesamt ist "Serenity Springs, Ohio" da ein wenig wie diese etwas gemächlicher ablaufenden Kriminalfilme, in denen es den Kleinstadtpolizisten tatsächlich möglich ist, noch unmittelbar während der Arbeitszeit ein gewisses Maß an Privatleben zu pflegen.
Der Mord scheint anfangs bereits geklärt zu sein: Der junge Jimmy wird blutbefleckt, mit dem Tatmesser in der Hand, am Tatort aufgefunden, scheint im Rausch gehandelt zu haben und ist nicht vernehmungsfähig. Doch die nötige Untersuchungsroutine zeigt Lücken auf und weist auf andere Personen hin, die - im Gegensatz zu Jimmy- ein Motiv gehabt hätten; eventuell handelt es sich bei Jimmy lediglich um einen traumatisierten Augenzeugen?

Der Autorin Lillian Duncan gelingt es im Verlauf der Geschichte sehr geschickt, immer wieder neue Spuren zu legen, neue Verdachtsmomente zu erwecken; die schlussendliche Auflösung konnte mich zudem noch stark überraschen (einen kleinen, aber wesentlichen Hinweis, der im Vorfeld gegeben worden war, hatte ich einfach völlig überlesen). Dabei war der Roman nun nicht nervenzerfetzend spannend, sondern unterhaltsam spannend.
Persönlich mochte ich es auch sehr gerne, dass es hier nicht nur um den Mordfall ging!
Was mir nicht so gut gefallen hat, war hingegen, dass besonders zum Ende hin der beschreibende Erzähler von der direkten Kommunikation in den Hintergrund gerückt wurde: Da war es mir plötzlich einfach zu viel an wörtlicher Rede - eben besonders dadurch auffallend, dass Konversationen zuvor oftmals doch auch nur indirekt wiedergegeben wurden; dieser Wechsel von "deutlich weniger" zu "sehr viel" hat mich stellenweise doch etwas irritiert.

Zum Schluss wird es übrigens noch etwas sehr christlicher (Emily macht keinen Hehl aus ihrem Glauben, ist regelmäßige Kirchgängerin und legt die typische "Gott ist für uns ALLE da"-Attitüde an den Tag); wer damit ein grundlegendes Problem hat, sollte "Serenity Springs, Ohio" eher weniger lesen.
Ich würde "Serenity Springs, Ohio" aber dennoch auch nicht unbedingt als "christlichen Roman" deklarieren; dazu ist dieses Buch doch viel zu sehr "normaler" Krimi (in dem eben nur zufällig eine tragende Figur gläubige Christin ist).
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