And now for another great novel-

the psalmist

Synopsis:

Luke Bowers is in the good and evil business.

On a cold, late-winter morning in the Chesapeake Bay community of Tidewater County, Bowers discovers a dead woman seated in a pew at the church where he is pastor—her eyes open, her hands clasped as if in prayer.

Nothing at the scene identifies the woman or explains why she was at the church. And when state police homicide investigator Amy Hunter comes to town to head up the case, not everyone is pleased that a young, female outsider has the job. The only lead in solving the crime is a sequence of numbers that has been carved into the victim's right hand, which Bowers suspects may be a reference to the Book of Psalms.

With Bowers's help, Hunter follows a chain of seemingly innocuous clues to track down a deranged serial killer and unravel an elusive criminal enterprise that is more powerful than they ever could have imagined.

Review:

Bowers and Hunt seem to be the opposite of Julia Spencer-Fleming's Police Chief and Reverend series (which I love), but the tug between good and evil in their work and personal lives is the same. Luke is married, as the Chief was when that series started, and you can see how there is an immediate chemistry between Luke and Amy, that could lead somewhere in the future of the series. However I liked how James used the Psalms as a central point of the story, and more pastoral knowledge into the story, making the book more of a Christian leaning mystery. The mystery itself was satisfying, with enough bits to lead into the next book naturally. If you're looking for something familiar, but different, pick this one up to finish out your beach reading this Summer!

The second book in the series, The Rembrandt Storm, is releasing this Fall on ebook, and is available in hardback already.

About the Author :

JAMES LILLIEFORS is a journalist and novelist who grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and currently lives and works in Florida. He has written for numerous publications including The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Boston Globe and the Baltimore Sun. He started his journalism career as a writer and editor for Runner's World magazine and worked for many years as a newspaper editor and reporter, in Maryland and in Florida, winning a number of reporting awards. Since the late 1990s, Lilliefors has been head writer at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples, Florida. He is the author of several non-fiction books, including AMERICA'S BOARDWALKS, BALL CAP NATION and HIGHWAY 50, as well as a satirical mystery novel, BANANAVILLE. Check out his website for more!

Giveaway: