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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great start to a new series, March 9, 2010
This review is from: The Lord Is My Shepherd - The Psalm 23 Mysteries #1 (Paperback)
For years, the trend in Christian fiction has been to make books as ecumenical as possible. So when a church is mentioned, it's usually given a generic name that could fit almost any denomination. Debbie Viguié makes a bold move in The Lord is My Shepherd. Not only does she make her mystery-solving church secretary a Presbyterian, but then she pairs her up with the Rabbi from the temple next door. Together, Cindy and Jeremiah must unravel the clues leading them to a serial killer. As they are constantly thrown together, they forge a bond of trust and friendship that transcends their religious beliefs.
Viguié's book packs a double whammy. First, it's a great mystery. As the clues unfolded and the tension increased, I found it harder and harder to put the book down to deal with real-life issues. Second, it's a wonderful story of two people from two very different backgrounds who discover that, at heart, they're not so different after all. The friendship that grows between Cindy and Jeremiah is very sweet, and what they learn about each other's faiths is illuminating.
The Lord is My Shepherd is the first of The Psalm 23 Mysteries, so fans of this book will get to meet Cindy and Jeremiah again when I Shall Not Want comes out in Fall 2010. It will be interesting to see how Viguié handles the friendship between her Presbyterian secretary and the intriguing Rabbi. If it blooms into something more tinged with romance (which many readers will expect it to) there will be some controversial faith issues to deal with. But I'm confident this series will deliver in stellar fashion. Kudos to Viguié and to Abingon Press!
NOTE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for reviewing purposes
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Serial Killer Mystery Without The Gore, March 7, 2010
This review is from: The Lord Is My Shepherd - The Psalm 23 Mysteries #1 (Paperback)
Cindy Preston led a pretty boring life as a church secretary until the Monday before Easter when she tripped over a body in the church's sanctuary. Considering what was left at the scene, it appeared highly likely that the killer was a member of the church. Cindy soon learned this body wasn't the first murder of the day. A few hours earlier, police had found another victim and it appeared highly probable that these two deaths were linked. Within days, more bodies were discovered and it quickly became apparent there was a serial killer in town--one who had killed before in other towns and in much the same way.
Surprisingly, Cindy kept finding herself near the victims. Was she a target or the audience? With numerous questions and a killer who left behind little evidence, authorities were baffled, and the bodies kept turning up. Eventually, feeling divinely led to help, Cindy and the Rabbi from the synagogue adjacent to the church, began to see how the pieces fit together, but could they locate the killer before his final production? In a mystery full of mystery, The Lord Is My Shepherd is both inventive and highly entertaining.
I love a good serial killer novel, and this is a nice one. It's a bit different than others in this genre in that it doesn't focus its attention on the method of killing as much as the process and production of the murders. It was a good change and kept the ick factor down while maintaining a good level of suspense. Though it has a high body count, because the gore is low this is a great choice for those who like a good serial killer mystery, but not a lot of blood.
The themes and motives of the murderer were excellent. I completely enjoyed this portion of the book and felt it was the highlight. The plot was well planned and worked perfectly with the characters. I struggled a bit with the apparent competent ignorance of the detectives working the case. I'm not sure how they could have missed some of the connections they did, but apparently their official computer database was not as comprehensive or useful as the internet. Additionally, the killer is revealed much earlier than I would have liked, but given the rest of the mystery surrounding this story there was still plenty to enjoy.
An aspect of this book which Viguié beautifully incorporated was the Jewish Rabbi, Jeremiah and Passover week. I adore Jewish history and traditions included in novels. They tend to add a wonderful richness to stories and bring the Christian faith back to its roots. While I thoroughly loved what was included, a nice addition would have been if the elements of the Passover meal would have been related to the Christian faith. This would have been a nice way to include Christian themes in a noninvasive manner. I liked the point of view in which most of the spiritual aspects were presented. Using Jeremiah as the primary voice for spiritual insight was quite effective. It highlighted the quest and the mystery of understanding God and his purpose that many religions share. Viguié did an excellent job in this area, easily blending faith with fiction without interrupting the story.
This book had many likable characters and I enjoyed getting to know them. I'm glad this is the first book in a series because I felt like I only got a brief introduction to each one. They are at times surprising and at other times frustrating, but are always easy to relate to. This book handled the church aspect very well. The characters did not act fake in their interactions or with their feelings. I appreciated that as a reader I wasn't inundated with trite words of comfort and recycled lectures. Viguié did a great job in making the church feel like a church, complete with bickering and internal rivalries. It might not be how it should be, but definitely reflects what often does happen.
The Lord Is My Shepherd is a very good serial killer mystery. Its strength was not in the gore and creative ways to kill, but rather in the presentation and the motivation. The discovery of the identity of the killer was a bit anticlimactic, but the mystery surrounding his background made for a fascinating and entertaining story. I'm already looking forward to the next book in The Psalm 23 Mysteries series.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
NOT a source for information about anything Jewish, October 4, 2011
This review is from: The Lord Is My Shepherd - The Psalm 23 Mysteries #1 (Paperback)
This was a nice little mystery but I was dumbfounded by the lack of knowledge this author showed about Judaism. Why use a Rabbi as a character in your book if you don't at the very least have a rabbi friend who could edit your information? There were so many mistakes I found myself getting angry at her ignorance. A few of the most glaring errors included:
* Any synagogue that cleaned for a traditional seder could NOT allow the handling money at a seder (additionally, giving each child a silver dollar would be insanely expensive and beyond the capability of most synagogues even if Jews were allowed to handle money on a holiday or Sabbath)
* The day following a seder isn't a day off for a rabbi it is a day for services - the synagogue parking lot would NOT have been empty as the author described but the synagogue would be full of people praying, not running or picnicking in a park.
* The prayer over the wine at the seder is a mess and does indeed contain a mixture of two disparate blessings and an addendum for the holiday of Sukkot, not Passover. The two seders are so badly described that look much more like a church's pre-Easter seder event than a Jewish festival.
* The author had the rabbi eating breakfast at a restaurant with Cindy during the holiday - that would be impossible for a traditional rabbi and actually insulting. Read this book to enjoy a little (albeit very bloody) murder mystery but don't fool yourself into thinking you will learn anything about Passover or anything about Jewish practice on this holiday. You can't.
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