181 pages

Review of Death in the Choir:

Short and sweet (but not too sweet!) and seasoned with suspense—this is how I sum up Death in the Choir, a cozy mystery by Lorraine V. Murray.

Francesca, a lonely thirty-eight-year-old widow with no children, lives with a cat and a dreams of meeting someone special. For this purpose, she joins the choir at St. Rita’s Catholic Church. She encounters a few romantic possibilities, but when death strikes, her focus shifts to uncovering the truth. Was it suicide—or murder? Everyone seems to have a motive. Suspects include choir members, relations of the deceased, even Father John and a handsome police detective.

Featuring a tight plot sprinkled with clues and humor, Death in the Choir reads smoothly and enticingly. The characters are convincing and well-rounded. From Francesca lying on the floor doing stomach-flattening exercises (and being interrupted by the doorbell and frantically preparing to answer it), to her mentally justifying taking “just one more” donut or muffin, she is real, she is flawed, and she is lovable. She is someone you could imagine being friends with.

At 181 pages, Death in the Choir is just the right length for a rainy-day read; it has the perfect amount of everything (plot, description, characters, dialogue), without a clutter of excess.

I thought I’d figured out the mystery, but I was wrong. The story keeps you thinking and guessing—and that’s what you want in a mystery.

Death in the Choir is a satisfying and recommended read. And it is certainly refreshing to find a Catholic mystery geared for women readers! I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, Death of a Liturgist.

Poor Banished Children by Fiorella De Maria
Published in 2011 by Ignatius Press

299 pages

Review of Poor Banished Children:

Poor Banished Children by Fiorella De Baria is a truly unforgettable historical novel about rejection, survival, despair, and redemption. I feared it might be a ponderous read, but in contrast it was swift-paced and completely compelling. Scenes will be seared in your mind long after you close the book.

Set in the 1600s, this tale (completely untainted by modernism) is about a young Maltese girl who is spurned by her family, taken in and nourished in both body and soul by a physician priest, before being torn from her religious life by Barbary pirates and sold into a savage world of slavery in Muslim North Africa.

Be warned that this is no story for light entertainment. Exciting as it is, and as hard to put down as it is, it is also hard to read because it is fraught with the most wretched of abuses and suffering, unspeakable atrocities made painfully vivid by such expert writing. Not for weak stomachs or the faint of heart! Make sure that you can handle the strong depictions of degrading, inhuman treatment of slaves, the merciless torments, misery and horrors. In many ways, Poor Banished Children is more frightening than inspiring.

And yet . . . I couldn’t put it down (even when I should have been sleeping). I had to read on, hoping for mercy and redemption. The main character struggles and fights and prays and despairs as she relives her tale during what she feels must be her death-bed confession. She clings and falls from her Catholic faith, convinced that she is unworthy of love, unable to be saved, and yet she yearns for absolution.

Poor Banished Children is a powerful Catholic historical adventure story in which the main character fights for survival of both her body and soul. It is gripping and haunting, filled with many religious elements that enrich the story and are never superfluous. Poor Banished Children is highly recommended for adult readers, Catholic or not—just make sure you are up to the challenge of a truly soul-shaking journey!

The Soul Reader by Gerard D. Webster

Published in 2011 by WestBow Press A Divison Of Thomas Nelson
260 pages

Review of The Soul Reader:

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a common saying, but in the case of The Soul Reader by Gerard D. Webster, the book’s captivating cover caught my attention immediately, and the image of a man hooded in shadows does a great job of conveying the dark suspense lurking within this book’s pages.

The Soul Reader, Webster’s second novel, is the sequel to In-Sight, and while I highly recommend reading In-Sight first, it isn’t necessary. The Soul Reader stands strong on its own merit, complete with living and breathing characters, a well-layered plot, colorful images, interesting settings, and a dynamic story.

Ward McNulty’s life is fast flowing downhill after a tragic accident, a painful breakup, and the murder of his father. Ward lost his job, and now he’s losing his home. Just as he is preparing to move back in with his mother, ex-girlfriend Carrie Hope re-enters his life, trying to convince him to collaborate on a high-profile book dealing with the disastrous North Beach Project.

Refusing at first, Ward is ultimately roped in by his need to protect Carrie. He has a special “gift” that is also a curse: to see into the very soul of others, to see if they are spiritually dark and dead, or full of the divine life of grace. But even seeing where evil lurks may not be enough to save Ward and Carrie from those who don’t want the corrupt details of the North Beach Project revealed; these people are willing to stop the investigation at any price—and the price may just be Ward’s and Carrie’s lives.

With the help of a private investigator, Ward and Carrie begin to probe into the truth behind the mysterious deaths of three powerful people who were linked only by their connection with the North Beach Project. Ward visits his father’s murderer in prison and, following a lead, slips away to Columbia, where grave danger confronts him as he tries to escape the grasp of Culebra. Spanish for “snake,” Culebra is the nickname of a dangerous assassin who strikes quickly and leaves his signature in the form of a piece of snake skin laid over his dead victims’ eyes.

The Soul Reader may appear to be more of a guy’s novel, but I can attest to that fact that it can definitely be enjoyed by women as well. Webster’s writing is vivid, lively, and entertaining. Images are original and the story intriguing. This novel goes deeper than just a suspenseful adventure, addressing matters of the heart and soul, as well as forgiveness and redemption. The ending literally sent a shiver through me, and I can’t offer a better testimonial than that!

Published in 2011 by Full Quiver Publishing
201 pages

Review of Stealing Jenny:

When I first read the back cover of Stealing Jenny, Ellen Gable’s latest novel, I was intrigued by the promise of a suspense-filled contemporary story involving the kidnapping of a young pregnant mother. I was not disappointed. Stealing Jenny was everything I’d hoped, and more!

From page one, I was pulled into the story. Jenny Callahan, a young Catholic mother of five, is nearing the end of a precarious pregnancy and longing to cradle her new baby safely in her arms. With only days to go until the necessary scheduled C-section, Jenny is unaware of the unbalanced woman who is stalking her and plotting to tear this baby away from her at any cost.

When Jenny is kidnapped from a rural bus stop, her three-year-old son is the only witness. Jenny’s stunned family is desperate to find her. The abduction quickly becomes a high-profile case, with news media hounding the Callahans. Father Paul, the parish priest, offers comfort and assistance to the Callahans, and he leads a public rosary for the intention of Jenny’s safe return.

Meanwhile, Jenny awakens to find herself in a living nightmare: chained to a cot in a remote cabin, at the mercy of a sad, sick, and desperate woman. If Jenny can’t escape before her labor begins, she and her baby are both in extreme danger of death.

When I had to put this book down, I literally could not wait to pick it up again. The perfectly-paced story features a stellar cast of believable characters. Jenny is the main character point of view, but the author skillfully shifts to other character viewpoints including those of Tom (Jenny’s husband), Chris (the Callahan’s oldest daughter), Denise (the villain), and Sergeant Kathy Romano (in charge of the investigation). Also, the story is interspersed with well-timed, poignant flashbacks of Jenny and her husband before they were married, which add to the richness of the story.

Stealing Jenny is a smoothly written, chilling tale of gripping suspense. There are terrifying moments and heart-wrenching moments. Catholic faith and hope are tested. Above all, the sacredness and privilege of precious new life is made indisputably evident.

Ellen Gable is a masterful storyteller. At 201 pages, Stealing Jenny is the perfect length for an intense day of uninterrupted reading. I wished the novel was longer, not because it wasn’t complete in itself, but because it was such an enjoyable read, I never wanted it to end. I’m rooting for a sequel!

Read the full review of Isabel C Clarke’s A Case of Conscience on our Novels page.  (Click on the link above.)

I bought my copy of A Case of Conscience for a very reasonable price on Ebay, and began eagerly reading it last night.

Published by Benziger Brothers in 1927, A Case of Conscience is 370 pages long, and I am now on page 73.  This is not a fast-paced book, yet it is not cumbersome to read; the old-fashioned style just takes a little getting used to.

So far, the story takes place in Italy, at a lake-side villa where nineteen-year-old Elizabeth  lives with her ailing father(John), to whom she is very devoted, having no one else in the world since her mother left them both when Elizabeth was only a few weeks old.  When Elizabeth’s father dies, she decides to go see her mother, who lives in England with a second husband and a daughter, Opal, Elizabeth’s half-sister.

At the same time, handsome Timothy, a very distant relative, has inherited John’s ancestral land in England, and finds himself drawn to both Elizabeth and Opal.  He is a lax Catholic, while Elizabeth is a devout Catholic.

Certainly one can see the potential for twists, complications, and the voice of conscience . . .

We shall see, as the reading continues!