PDF Ebook The Rector: A Christian Murder Mystery (The Solo Ladies Bible Study Group), by Michael Hicks Thompson
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The Rector: A Christian Murder Mystery (The Solo Ladies Bible Study Group), by Michael Hicks Thompson
PDF Ebook The Rector: A Christian Murder Mystery (The Solo Ladies Bible Study Group), by Michael Hicks Thompson
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Combine a suspenseful murder mystery with theology (the study and explanation of religious faith, practice, and experience) and you have The Rector—with an allegory of Christ’s ministry!
Martha McRae is a widow living in a small Mississippi Delta town in the 1950s. She’s obsessed with the sudden death of her Episcopal church’s young rector. A murderer could go free if she doesn’t investigate. But Martha is torn. If she pursues the suspect, her Bible study friend’s awful secret could be revealed. It would be devastating, and life-changing. When the new rector arrives, she encounters a new puzzle--one that takes her into Parchman Penitentiary, where she comes face to face with evil.
“Michael Thompson offers a tantalizing murder mystery filled with chilling explorations of hypocrisy, true faith, and small-town secrets. It’s about sin and redemption. It’s about the search for truth, in both the physical and spiritual realms. And it’s all wrapped up in a puzzle that keeps even skeptics on their toes. The writing is compelling with a plot that grows ever thicker and offers even ardent mystery fans delightfully unexpected twists and turns. The intrigue is well developed with well-placed clues and cliffhangers. The characters are multidimensional and fascinating. The faith themes are so masterfully woven in that those who aren’t religious should simply find the novel to be top-notch suspense.” Diane Gardner, ForeWord’s Clarion Review.
The Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine, writes: “Michael Thompson is an author who takes you by the hand and leads you down unexpected paths. His ability to create believable characters instantly draws you into their world. You will find yourself rooting for goodness to prevail as you follow the twists he so brilliantly weaves in this story.”
Richard L. Pratt, Th.D., Harvard, professor of Old Testament theology: “The Rector penetrates the facades of southern cultural Christianity to take us to the true gospel … There is no Savior but Jesus and no salvation from the judgment of God but faith in Christ alone.”
“Michael Thompson has brought to life the Mississippi of my youth, complete with small town scandals, murders, prison, and the powerful southern female. Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy a glass of sweet tea and a romping good tale.” ~~ Carolyn Haines, author of 68 mysteries and the on-going Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series.
- Sales Rank: #2137002 in Books
- Published on: 2015-12-14
- Original language: English
- Dimensions: 7.99" h x .76" w x 5.24" l, .84 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 342 pages
Review
"Michael Thompson offers a tantalizing murder mystery filled with chilling explorations of hypocrisy, true faith, and small-town secrets. It's about sin and redemption. It's about the search for truth, in both the physical and spiritual realms. And it's all wrapped up in a puzzle that keeps even skeptics on their toes. The writing is compelling with a plot that grows ever thicker and offers even ardent mystery fans delightfully unexpected twists and turns. The intrigue is well developed with well-placed clues and cliffhangers. The characters are multidimensional and fascinating. The faith themes are so masterfully woven in that those who aren't religious should simply find the novel to be top-notch suspense." Diane Gardner, ForeWord's Clarion Review. "Michael Thompson is an author who takes you by the hand and leads you down unexpected paths. His ability to create believable characters instantly draws you into their world. You will find yourself rooting for goodness to prevail as you follow the twists he so brilliantly weaves in this story." ~~ Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine. "Michael Thompson has brought to life the Mississippi of my youth, complete with small town scandals, murders, prison, and the powerful Southern female. Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy a glass of sweet tea and a romping good tale." ~~ Carolyn Haines, author of 68 novels and the on-going Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series. "This novel is a superbly written story involving spiritual victory in spite of murder, deceit, and lust in a small town in the 1950′s. High stars for a Christian story that reads like a thriller." ~~ D.S. Hale, author of YA Christian spec fiction "The Rector penetrates the facades of southern cultural Christianity to take us to the true gospel ... There is no Savior but Jesus and no salvation from the judgment of God but faith in Christ alone." ~~ Richard L. Pratt, Th.D., theologian, author, and founder of Third Millennium Ministries, Orlando, FL. "If you love Southern gossips and party lines and communal mail, you'll feel right at home in Solo, Mississippi ... Biblical in its proportions, with a revolving Episcopal pulpit, a moonshine-swilling postmaster and a murdering villain. Jesus, Martha, Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, Satan-what a place!" ~~ Rheta Grimsley Johnson, Enchanted Evening Barbie & the Second Coming, and other books "The murder mystery in Solo, Mississippi unfolds like a classic Agatha Christie novel. Rich with colorful characters in an unforgettable era, Michael Thompson masterfully blends the essentials that transform readers into detectives." ~~ Steve Bradshaw, Author - The Bell Trilogy "Excellent. I never suspected the ending. I particularly like the way the author wove religion and mystery together without over doing the dogma. I'd say this is a new genre of writing!" ~~ Douglas J. Wood, author, Presidential Intentions and Presidential Declaration "Michael Thompson has written a southern story with unpredictable twists and turns and genuine characters that provide comic relief in the midst of malevolent schemes ... a page turner ... we loved it." ~~ Janet and Reverend John Sartelle, author and pastor "I am in awe. I loved the book. I will miss my friends Martha, Oneeda, Mary, Annie and Freddie as I feel they are like family. That is the sign of a good book! It was inspirational for me, also, as Father Davidson gave me insight into things I wonder about constantly. It fed me spiritually and I want to be more like Martha. Already looking forward to Martha's next mystery in The Solo Ladies Bible Study series." ~~ Emily Kay, ARC Reader
About the Author
MICHAEL HICKS THOMPSON was born in his mother's own bed. Raised on a farm in Mississippi, he claims to know a thing or two about small towns, strong women, and alcoholic men. And Jesus. He graduated from Ole Miss, served in the military, then received a masters degree in mass communication from the University of South Carolina. Married to Tempe Adams for forty-four years, he lives in Memphis, Tennessee. He's the father of three Christian men, grandfather of four, and mortgage holder of a home full of toys. The Rector is his sixth novel. Michael founded an advertising agency in 1977 that grew into a multi-city, multi-service marketing organization with 87 employees, which he sold in 2011. Michael has written movie scripts and novels, is a self-taught artist of religious works, a licensed offshore sailor, and scuba diver. He's traveled to Cuba twice on door-to-door evangelism mission trips, is a member of Kairos prison ministry, and member of IPC Church for 36 years. (That has to be enough about me. There's more on my author site.)
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent!
By Literary Litter
Martha is an incredible heroin and I adore her! She's bright and sassy! She tries to hold strong to her morals and at the same time, she has compassion for others instead of judging them. She tries her best to protect everyone in her town, regardless of what the outcome might be. Some would say that her insatiable curiosity is a bad thing, but it wouldn't stop Martha from searching for answers! She's indomitable, unstoppable and darn sweet!
The last time that I fell in love with a town so deeply, it was when Jan Karon created Mitford. These characters will completely capture your heart. These are real characters with real struggles. Most of them just want to be the best they can be and help each other. Of course, we do have a few characters that just don't fit in. They have their own agenda. Every character is beautifully flawed. This book captures human essence better than any cozy mystery I've read.
The mystery part is a little tricky. The thing is, we have information that our sleuths do not. Instead of wishing that Martha and her cronies would catch up to where I was, though, I found myself too immersed in the story to really care how far along they were in solving it. Normally, a mystery of any kind for me is about the solving of the mystery, but here it was so much about just losing myself in the town and enjoying my stay.
There were a few real twists and turns here. Twice (twice!!) I was so astounded that I began flipping back through pages looking for any suggestion that the shocking twist was about to happen. Nothing! You're riding along and picking up honey and hanging out with your friends over coffee cake, and BOOM! What? Where did that come from? Now, it's not the type of shock that pulls you out of the story. It's the type of shock you get in real life. You're happily walking through an amusement park and your favorite singer walks by and says 'hi!'. Well, of course it throws you off, but you're still walking the same path you were and headed in the same direction. Not all of the twists are good in that manner, but you get the idea. I almost used an analogy of a blown tire, but that really does derail you. I was only momentarily stopped from reading because I wanted to go back and look for clues :) That's how I roll :)
Don't let the fact that this is a Christian murder mystery keep you from picking this book up. Though there are some valuable Biblical references and a few fascinating thoughts, there is no point in this book where it gets preachy. Thompson doesn't use his writing talent to force you to see things his way. Instead, the characters talk about their beloved God and you can either take what they're saying and think about it, or discard it. For those of you who are Christians, you might find some interesting insight. It's definitely more 'leading' than it is 'forcing' though.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
An Engaging Murder Mystery... Southern Style!
By terrylynn
This is just a good old fashioned Southern murder mystery with all the familiar touches... sweet tea, corn bread and homemade honey, sweltering weather and of course an abundance of good versus evil. This is book one of a series that I will certainly want to follow as this author comes out with each new book about the Solo Ladies' Bible Study and the murder mysteries that Miss Martha McRae will surely feel compelled to solve as she was with this one. She kind of reminds me a bit of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple except that she is a good Christian woman who is determined to right the wrongs that occur in her sleepy little town in Mississippi. She is endlessly kind, sharp as a tack and tough as a steel magnolia, but she really shouldn't be driving at night!
When the local rector of Martha's church drops dead eating ribs at the local diner, Martha never believes that the young clergyman had a heart attack like everyone is saying. And as she begins to snoop around and ask questions, she runs into one small town secret after another and it isn't long before she is convinced he was murdered. When a new rector shows up, Martha gets the funny feeling that something is just not right with this fellow and boy is she right. All heck is about to break loose, including at Parchman, the prison close to her town of Solo and before it's all said and done, sinners and saints alike will be wondering what in the world is happening in this quiet little Southern town!
Quick paced, well written with a wonderful cast of characters, a good plot, a really scary bad guy and all the trappings of a good murder mystery... (even some humor)... The Rector will keep you entertained from start to finish and the biblical references aren't in the least "preachy" and only help to enrich the story. Well done Mr. Thompson! Five Stars.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
A Vivid Mystery In A Southern Small Town
By Nathan Albright
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Bostick Communications in exchange for an honest review. Spoiler alert, obviously, because this is a review of a mystery novel.]
As someone who is very fond of genre literature in general and Christian mystery novels in particular, this book was a very worthwhile one to get. I was a bit puzzled by the fact that the book came with an apron, because the author said that Martha (the investigator at the heart of this symbolic novel) wore the apron while cooking and trying to solve the crimes of the gossipy small town of Solo, which sits at an important crossroads shown in Northern Mississippi. The author considers this to be a work of serious Christian literature, and I am inclined to agree with him. Fortunately, serious in this case does not mean too serious or weighty to be enjoyed, for this is a ripping good story. It is serious in the sense that anyone reading it, if they are not familiar with the Bible, especially the attributes of Satan discussed in the New Testamenet, or C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, or the general gist of the Gospel stories and their timing, will find a lot of the reading difficult to understand. Those who are familiar with these things will see this novel as the sort of serious-minded Christian fiction that C.S. Lewis and others are fond of writing, which do not see writing about Christian faith and doctrine as any excuse not to write sparkling prose with strong characters.
Without revealing too much, I hope, of the fantastic mystery to be found in this novel, there is complexity at the heart of this novel. Specifically, there are four rectors for the small Episcopalian church in Solo, Mississippi, where the novel's action mostly takes place, aside from some courtroom drama and other action in neighboring small towns in the same general area. Given the shortage of Episcopalian priests, the fact that a single town was looking for its fourth when three of them had come to untimely ends within the short period of a few years would be a subject of considerable alarm. The town of Solo is small, only a few hundred people, which makes the large number of per capita murders and suicides a very painful matter. Of course, mystery novels do tend to amp up the level of death to alarmingly high levels to make for compelling plot action, never mind the implications on demographics. The action blends vivid and colorful characters, sparkling dialogue, and thoughtful reflection on matters of faith, of sin and redemption, of justice and vengeance in a format that makes the reader look forward to reading more about Martha's adventures with her gossipy neighbors, the long-suffering sheriff, and the alarmingly large number of widows and divorcees around town.
At slightly more than 300 pages, this is a novel that reads relatively easily but leaves plenty of material to think and reflect upon. If we were presented with a Satanic minister who had mimicked the right liturgy in our denominational book, would we be able to tell? The Satanic false minister here is an adulterer, a murderer, greedy for money, preaching the prosperity gospel and a rapist to boot. But he is far from the only sinner to be found. There are other murderers here, a poisoner, a man who tries to cover his impotence with fierce wrath, a remorseful former prostitute who ends up with an unwanted pregnancy, and is divorced in her grief and shame and guilt, but who seeks to make the best of it, and a witty part-time writer and full-time keeper of a boarding house who is not perfect but is witty and decent, and a lot of other people, vivid characters that show one cannot judge a book by the cover, or judge a town simply for being full of eccentrics. When one reads a book that on any given page can be showing a beloved rector giving a message on C.S. Lewis' argument that a good man knows how bad he is, but a bad man thinks he is pretty good, and on another page read about a lonely woman asking why she can't have a man in her life and having a crush on every single male rector that passes through the town, one knows very quickly if this is the sort of broad and thoughtful fiction that one likes. Fortunately, I do. I suspect many others will as well, and it's no mystery why: this is a well-crafted novel that is worthy of reading, and in spreading the word of this mystery writer to those who are not yet in the know, but soon will be.
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