Overview
Six Amish barns burn to the ground one night in the Big Valley of central Pennsylvania. Jacob Hostetler, a young Amish man who left home months ago, is the prime suspect. But Jacob is missing. What happens to a youth who leaves his Amish community, tempted by the outside world? This novel probes the heart and soul of Amish families who suffered the loss of barns, animals, family, and privacy in a series of mysterious fires. 404 Pages.Synopsis
Ted Wojtasik uses the unexpected device of criminal mystery to introduce the reader to the fascinating and obscure ways of Amish culture in his first novel, No Strange Fire.
Library Journal
First-time author Wojtasik gives us a fascinating view of Christian life by focusing on the lives of Old Order Amish. The story concerns a series of barn fires, one of which kills a young Amish boy. Law-enforcement officials suspect the fires to be the work of Jacob Hostetler, a young Amish man who left home to live a more free life. Since Jacob disappears the night of the fires and the Amish community refuses to help in the investigation (vengeance is up to God, not human beings), things don't look good for Jacob. The thriller elements of the book are first-rate, but the real strength comes through in the fascinating, minute details of Amish life.