Easter Murders

Reviewed by Phee Paradise

The Lord is My Shepherd
By Debbie Viguié

I couldn’t put The Lord is My Shepherd down. It’s a fast paced murder mystery with some interesting themes. It starts with a murder in a church, but that’s only the beginning. Cindy, the church secretary discovers the body by tripping over it. Within a few days she has discovered several other murders and wonders if the murderer is targeting her somehow. Her support comes, not from her church colleagues, but from the Rabbi next door. He helps her feel secure in the midst of the chaos, and helps her try to track down the murderer.

By bringing Cindy and Rabbi Jeremiah together, Viguié provides an interesting twist on the serial killer theme. The murders occur during Easter week and the juxtaposition of Christian Easter and Jewish Passover is well done. While the murderer is clearly targeting Christians, the Jews from the synagogue next to the church play an important role. Cindy and Jeremiah’s friendship bridges a gap between the two religions which surprises them both. This is the key theme of the book, but I was disappointed in the staff at Cindy’s church, who didn’t seem to care about her turmoil. The friendship theme also appears in the murderer’s motivation, but it has pretty deep psychological roots and was a little difficult for me to grasp.

But the reason I couldn’t put the book down was the tightly knit plot. The action, the clues and the relationships are woven together seamlessly to produce a really fascinating story.

Pros: Engrossing murder mystery interwoven with themes of religion and friendship. It’s a great story.

Cons: Although the murder descriptions are not graphic, they are gruesome and you may find them disturbing.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The Lord Is My Shepherd

Abingdon Press (March 2010)

by

Debbie Viguie


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Debbie Viguié has been writing for most of her life. She has experimented with poetry and nonfiction, but her true passion lies in writing novels. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing from UC Davis. While at Davis she met her husband, Scott, at auditions for a play.



Debbie's love for writing brought her from working as a church secretary to a successful career writing supernatural fiction. She is the author of Midnight Pearls, Scarlet Moon, and Charmed: Pied Piper, and the young adult Sweet Seasons series. She also is coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Wicked book series.

Debbie and Scott now live on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. When Debbie is not writing and Scott has time off they love to indulge their passion for theme parks.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Cindy’s church is getting ready to celebrate Easter, and Jeremiah’s Temple is preparing for Passover when Cindy literally stumbles over the body of an unknown man lying dead in the sanctuary. The church was locked, and a bloody cross necklace on the floor seems to be the only clue. The killer is likely a member of the congregation, but there are hints that similar deaths have happened in the past. Are Cindy and Jeremiah dealing with a serial killer? They have to unravel the clues before Easter Sunday arrives and more people die.


Cindy and Jeremiah come from two different worlds, even though they work right next door to each other. Cindy is a strong Christian who lives a normal but somewhat dull life, working as a church secretary. Jeremiah is a Reformed rabbi with a mysterious past full of danger and excitement. But one eventful Easter/Passover week, the two find themselves working together to solve a murder and stop a serial killer from striking again. Solving the mystery should put an end to their alliance, but the church secretary and the rabbi quickly find themselves enmeshed in another mystery. Soon the two form a friendly alliance and friendship, exploring personal history and faith and growing closer with each passing adventure. Despite their differences Cindy and Jeremiah find a lot of common ground.

To read the first chapter of The Lord Is My Shepherd, click HERE.