Customer Reviews

Bad Samaritan: A Sister Agatha Mystery (Sister Agatha Mysteries)

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In Bernalillo, New Mexico Sister Agatha is sad with the closing of Our Lady of Hope Monastery and depressed with her pending relocation to Colorado. While she struggles with leaving the Land of Enchantment, her former high school boyfriend Sheriff Tom Green has been arrested for murder.

The police accuse Tom of murdering his political opponent running against him for the sheriff's position, Robert Garcia at a Fourth of July celebration attended by many witnesses. The mayor's brother Garcia was found dead next to an unconscious Tom who was holding a bloody club. The victim and the accused were drugged with a date-rape drug found in the relish both placed on their hot dogs. Garcia's influential family demand Tom be tried. In the convent's Antichrysler, Agatha with Pax the retired police dog assisting her investigates the Garcia supporters that threaten her life and that of her K-9 companion. Agatha learns both sheriff contenders had spousal issues as Tom's wife is leaving him and Robert's hides his abuse and their son was sired by someone else.

This is an entertaining regional amateur sleuth though in fairness with Sister Agatha's track record, (see The Prodigal Nun) amateur seems inappropriate. The story line is driven by the Sister who struggles with solving a case in which Tom is increasingly the most likely culprit, ignoring the nastiness of the political unhinged, and working through her own faith issues with the pending shutting of Our Lady of Hope doors. Fans of the series will appreciate her latest whodunit while new readers will seek the backlist of one of New Mexico's finest sleuths.

Harriet Klausner

Have liked this series for several years now, after this book, doesn't look like it will continue. sure hope i am wrong. pat

I like the writing style of Aimee and David Thurlo. This mystery follows the now familiar Thurlo theme, but there are enough surpises and twists to keep you guessing even as you get to the portion of the book where you know that the solution is about to unfold.

I also like that the emphasis is on writing / story telling and not unnecessary descriptions of gore, mayhem, etc. The style and tone make it suitable for overall family reading. The religious aspects are handled with grace and humor and are definitely a positive aspect of the book.

There's a lot to like about Sister Agatha, feisty extern nun (that means she's not one of the cloistered ones for those who are unfamiliar with the term) who's the unlikely heroine of a delightful series of New Mexico mysteries by husband and wife writing team Aimee and David Thurlo. First, she rides a Harley. Wow...and, she never falls off; double wow! She's accompanied by her ever faithful canine companion, Pax, a white German Shepherd who's a former member of the local, police, canine unit. Truth to tell, he was the entire canine unit.

In this latest adventure, Sister Agatha is being confronted by two crises: her beloved monastery, Our Lady of Hope, is about to close due to lack of donations and all the good sisters are being located to another convent in a different part of the state. (She can bring the dog with her, so that, at least, is a good thing.) Before she can leave, however, Sister Agatha must prove the innocence of her good friend, Sheriff Tom Green, who has been framed for the murder of his chief rival in the upcoming sheriff election.

With the good Lord and several sympathetic townspeople--who know a lot more than they're prepared to tell, at first--on her side, how can Sister Agatha miss?

Morale of story? Never mess with a nun who rides a Harley!

Reviewed by: Susan Santangelo, author of "Retirement Can Be Murder" for Suspense Magazine