A corporation is seizing land by eminent domain. Syd Cranzler threatens a court battle to keep his land.
Then Syd is found dead. The police call it suicide. Case closed.
But Father Frank doesn't believe it's suicide. And the more clues he uncovers, the more danger he faces.
Can he find the real killer before he becomes the next victim?
September 12, 2016
When a friendly, inquisitive parish priest starts exploring the details of a parishioner’s unusual death in a small town in east Texas, tensions rise and accidents begin to happen. Father Frank can’t quite believe that crotchety old Syd Cranzler would actually commit suicide, no matter what the medical examiner and police say. Syd was too busy fighting recent corporate attempts to buy him out of his property. Frank and Syd’s mutual friend Georgia agrees, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend, police detective Mike Oakley. Despite Mike’s opposition, Frank and Georgia team up to sleuth out the peculiar circumstances of Syd’s death, not realizing the danger they face. Callan (Cleansed by Fire), after using a weak plot device to kick-start the investigation, rebounds to keep the pace lively and the dialogue interesting. Easygoing, insightful Frank anchors a colorful cast of characters who are the highlight of the book. Even though a priest is at the center of the story, matters of faith are touched on lightly, but with a positive spin. This is a solid, entertaining whodunit with believable characters, twists, and complications.