Ellie Hathaway, a high-profile lawyer, escapes to the lovely, quiet corner of Lancaster, Pa. There she hopes to rest and rethink her current job and romantic relationship, both of which are unfulfilling and static. Little does she know when she arrives she will have time to deeply examine her life, but not in the context of the world as we know it.

Her great-aunt Leda sweeps Ellie into a horrific murder case. Katie Fisher, an unmarried, 18 year old girl has been accused of killing her newborn infant hours after its delivery. Thus begins a highly emotional, strained relationship between Ellie and Katie. Ellie has chosen to defend Katie, but how does one defend a crime that "never happened" according to Katie? What fears have blocked out this horrendous event? What is it about the Amish community that adds to her dilemma?

This amazing novel is not just about a crime! In a world constantly questioning its own values, Ellie lives in the weeks preceeding the trial in the Amish world. Here there are almost no questions but only the "Plain truth" and ways of living. Outsiders and those who disobey the Plain rules are shunned, and simplicity in work and play is the order of each and every passing day. How does a young teenage girl experience love and maturity in such a culture so foreign to that in which most of us live? Why does she confess to her Amish elders what she repeatedly denies to Ellie and any outsider associated with the case?

Ironically, the main protagonist of this novel, Ellie, experiences a returning love and the consequences of that renewed relationship. This enables her to totally understand the young woman she is defending. "Justice" is very often deemed relative to those pursuing it in our contemporary law cases, but it takes on a wholly different flavor in the clash of these two cultures and in the relationships evolving from each one.

"Seamless" is the best word this reader can use to describe the magnificent writing talent of Jodi Picoult. It isn't just the unending tension or unpredictable nature of a tight plot! It isn't just the odd scenario that piques the usual interest in Amish life by most Americans. There is a depth of feeling and thinking in Picoult's writing that magnetically grips the reader to her works from start to finish. We come to know every individual and the Amish people very well, indeed. Far from rejecting their unique untechnological ways and religious beliefs, this reader came away from this novel with a deep respect for those who choose to live according to traditional values as well as those who struggle with them in the "real" world of everyday existence.

I promise you will not be able to predict the turns this novel takes, yet you will wonder about the end on every page and perhaps ask some vital questions about your own values relative to the issues in this rewarding novel.

Well done, indeed, Jodi Picoult!