Kingdom Come

The Elizabeth Harris Series 1

By: Jane Jensen

Narrated by: Rachel Fulginiti

In Kingdom Come, the first in a new mystery series from Jane Jensen, an ex-NYPD detective seeks escape in Amish country and finds darkness instead.

When a beautiful, scantily clad "English" girl is found dead in the barn of a prominent Amish family, Detective Elizabeth Harris knows she's uncovered an evil that could shatter the peace of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Even though Elizabeth's boss is convinced this was the work of an "English", as outsiders are called, Elizabeth isn't so sure. Now Elizabeth must track down a killer with deep ties to a community that always protects its own - no matter how deadly the cost.

©2016 Jane Jensen (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The best Amish murder mystery story since "Witness

Okay, okay, so, I haven't read a whole lot of Amish murder mysteries. While I'm certain that there are more than the Harrison Ford movie and Jane Jensen's new book, "Kingdom Come", none come to mind. Certainly none that I've read. Despite originally being from Pennsylvania and spending a little bit of time in Lancaster, I can't say that I've spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about the Amish or their lifestyle and even less time reading fictional Amish murder mysteries. When it comes to the Amish, I like their baked goods, their rocking chairs, and their beards. I also like a good pair of suspenders. And horses. Horses are nice.

"Kingdom Come" is the first in a promised new series of mystery novels by writer Jane Jensen. Full disclosure: I've been a fan of Jensen for a very long time. I've played the video games that she's written and designed and I've read her previous novels. I am, loathe as I am to use the term, a Jane Jensen fanboy.

Even those unfamiliar with Jensen's work should appreciate and enjoy "Kingdom Come". It's a solid murder mystery; not too complicated (unless I've just gotten good at figuring out "whodunit") but creative, clever, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Jensen populates her novel with believable characters and dialogue, brisk pacing, and enough moments of pulse racing suspense to keep the pages turning. While the Amish play an important part of the story, Jensen doesn't bog down the story by dwelling too heavily on their lifestyle and tradition. There's just enough to keep them interesting and to introduce them to readers unfamiliar with their lifestyle.


The narration is good if not spectacular. Rachel Fulginiti has a clear, comfortable voice that's easy to listen to. She does a pretty good job with the complex Amish accent and none of her characterizations seem forced. She doesn't force the distinct Lancaster accent on any of the characters nor does she make Harris, a Lancaster native who spent ten years in NYC, sound like she's some sort of weird Big Apple Amish hybrid, for which I was grateful. Instead, her reading was a bit like watching a newscast, a bit blandly generic but pleasant and enjoyable enough.

While not breaking any new ground in the police procedural / mystery genre, "Kingdom Come" is an enjoyable, engrossing read written by a talented storyteller. I look forward to the next entry in the series.

Really good book that keeps you guessing.

Great narrator for this genre. She has a professional, engaging voice. Not an obvious ending which is the best kind. Fun listen.

Good narration and good story

This author is new for me. I enjoyed the Amish elements and the Narrator did really well. Looking forward to more as she develops the characters. Loved Horse the mule and the humor in Ezra. The strength of Elizabeth as she survives brokenness.

Addicting

Always have had a fascination with the Amish, this book was hard to stop listening to, I loved every chapter and was sad to have it end. Excited for the second one.

interesting crime thrileer with Amish setting

First time author for me. There are a myriad of novels with Amish settings by different authors now although I've only seen one other where a detective is solving crimes in an Amish setting. The author is a video game designer and novelist who lives in Lancaster County, PA, seemingly the center of the Amish universe. So, it stands to reason she has ood background knowledge for these stories.

I've listened to a good number of these books with Amish settings and I don't know that you learn anything new about the religious sect. Still, it's a good crime thriller. It was a shorter novel, 7 hours plus, and it was riveting enough that I plowed right through it. The highlight of the book was getting to know Detective Elizabeth Harris in the first book in the series.

A solid start to a new series

What made the experience of listening to Kingdom Come the most enjoyable?

The main characters were interesting and believable. From what little I know of the Amish (mostly from an excellent 'Stuff You Should Know' podcast), it was nicely portrayed here.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Elizabeth's nerve and smarts. The only thing I found off-putting was her reaction to 'hot Amish dude' - I would have liked her to have been professional enough to not turn into a love (lust) struck ninny whenever she was in his company. But given that this seems to be the first in a series, it was a good setup to a future relationship.

What about Rachel Fulginiti’s performance did you like?

I thought she did a good job with the accents and her narration really made the story come to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but I had to work. :-(

Title did not match

Title did not seem to be clear as to what it meant. Book and story good Typical hero cope goes out alone to get bonked. Nice romance. Just enough detail I liked it.

Intrigue into a different world

If you could sum up Kingdom Come in three words, what would they be?

Intrigue, suspense, captivating

Which character – as performed by Rachel Fulginiti – was your favorite?

The main character Detective Harris

Any additional comments?

The narrator does an awesome job and her voice fits perfect with the story

Quite predictable but fun

I liked the adventure of reading it and learned a few things about the Amish. But there were clues all along that they ignored and near the end I was itching for the main character to catch on.

Great Book!

Any additional comments?

I really liked this book. I think the main character is interesting and the narrator played it very well. Writing a mystery involving the Amish is a unique take on the classic mystery. I think this book is absolutely worth a listen. I will defiantly read the second book when it comes out.