Sawyer (When Mercy Rains) returns with a pleasing contemporary romance about the search for the owner of a lost ring. After Jase Edgar's fiancée dies in a car accident, Jase leaves San Antonio, Tex., to become youth pastor at Beech Street Bible Fellowship in tiny Bradleyville, Kans. There, he meets Kenzie Stetler, a congregant who grew up Amish, and Lori Fowler, a custodian for the church. Each of the three struggles with private turmoil: Jase with his faith in a God who would take the love of his life, Kenzie with her desire to share God's grace with a family who has shunned her for leaving, and Lori with overeating problems and issues of self-worth. After a lost engagement ring is found among church donations, the three work together to find the owner and, as they grow closer, help one another to overcome self-doubt. When romance sparks between Lori and Jase, both will have to let go of fears in order to accept happiness. Sawyer packs this entertaining tale with many twists and leaves the door open for more tales set in Bradleyville. The author's fans will love this. (Feb.)

Among scores of the faithful at his new Baptist church, Jase Edgar feels like a total fraud. His arrival as youth minister is preceded by tragedy, and the loss of his trust in God, his dreams for the church, and his true love leave him with a haunting emptiness. But before long, he realizes he is not the only one harboring faith-shaking doubt and pain. A church custodian with a self-destructive addiction, a local weaver stuck between grace and guilt, and a lost diamond ring that connects them all will be the keys to their individual and collective healing. Set in contemporary small-town Kansas, the latest from Sawyer, following The Librarian from Boone's Hollow (2019), is a refreshing story of supportive friendship and accountability in a conservative Christian community. Sawyer uses realistic characters and their flaws to illuminate the damaging effects of shame-based coping mechanisms while exploring themes of self-worth, discernment, and prayer in daily life and reflecting on the power of the past to define one's future.