Customer Reviews

The Lord Is My Shepherd - The Psalm 23 Mysteries #1

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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

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.

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.

Church secretary Cindy Preston teams up with Jeremiah Silverman, the rabbi from the synagogue next door, to try and stop a dangerous killer. Their interfaith friendship, including Cindy's first Passover Seder, was a highlight of the book for me.

I noticed one mistake. Rabbi Silverman's prayer opening his synagogue's Seder includes a section for Sukkot, a different festival that occurs six months after Passover. Apparently the author could have used a more Siddur-savvy editor.

Cindy Preston is the church secretary, and she hates Monday. After a long weekend away from the office, she never knows exactly what she'll find, and she doesn't like disarray. So, she unlocks the church doors and promptly falls over a body. Someone has been stabbed to death in the locked church.

Jeremiah Silverman is the Rabbi at the Jewish temple next door to Cindy's church, and when he hears Cindy screaming he comes running. Jeremiah calls 9-1-1, and helps Cindy answer questions, then takes her safely home. Or maybe. Someone is walking around inside Cindy's apartment.

As Easter Sunday draws near, a man named Jesus is found dead on a donkey, and clues are found that more deaths should be expected. Fighting against time and a serial killer, Cindy and Jeremiah try to expose the truth. Who is behind this, and why?

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD is the first book in The Psalms 23 Mysteries series I've read by Ms. Viguie'. I do have the second book in the series over in my to-be-read pile.

I don't know what the final version of the book is like (I have an advanced reader copy of this title) but I found the writing of this rather weak, contrived, and telling. It was not very strong engaging writing that draws the reader into the story.

However, I didn't figure out who was the murderer. The person I thought might be it didn't prove to be, so the author is definitely good at red herrings. If you like a mystery, then maybe THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD would be a good book to check out. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book.

I love a good mystery series with likable amateur detectives and more mystery than gore. This book's amateur detectives couldn't be more likable, and the fact that they are a Presbyterian church secretary and a Rabbi definitely adds to the interest. There's a bit too much gore for this to be fully entrenched in the cozy mystery genre, but just a bit. There isn't enough gore to bother me and I consider the book to be more cozy than not.

The plot isn't entirely believable, but the fun of watching the church secretary and the rabbi team up to solve the mystery more than makes up for plotting. I also enjoy their discussions on their respective religions, discussions that are more educational than preachy.

I was lucky enough to find this first of the series as a Kindle freebie, but I'm hooked and look forward to buying the second book in the series.

What happens when a church secretary and a Jewish rabbi get involved with solving the mystery of a series of murders during Passover and Easter holidays? This is not the punch line of a joke, this is a murder mystery called, "The Lord is My Shepherd," by Debbie Viguie, a first in a series of mysteries featuring a church secretary Cindy Preston and Rabbi Jeremiah Silverman. Together they single-handedly bring down a serial killer and bridge the gap between Christianity and Judaism.
Finally, a book in the Christian market that isn't dripping with unrealistic romantic mush! I am not a big fan of fictional murder mysteries (I like to watch TV shows and movies on the subject) because on the whole they're more about romance than the mystery. "The Lord is My Shepherd," follows Cindy Preston and Rabbi Jeremiah Silverman from the moment they discover the first body, onto the friendship that develops between them as well as the developments of the case, to Easter Sunday when the murder is solved. Despite the suspicion of others, Cindy and Jeremiah maintain a platonic friendship that could evolve into something more, but with both being devoted to their faiths, it won't be likely unless one of them has a change of heart. Another thing I liked was that Cindy wasn't out to convert Jeremiah and his congregation; the faith aspect of the book was subtle, but more genuine than most of the Christian fiction that is out there.

[...]

What an intriguing concept!! A rabbi and a church secretary walk into a.... sounds like a joke but this book is far from that. While there is humor and a bit of light romantic tension, there are daily lot of unimaginable, grisly murders. There is some description but not in vivid detail. Nicknamed the Passion Week Murders, the setting the holiest of time for Jews and Christians, Passover and Easter.

I love the insights into another religion as well as insight into how we are seen by others.

One part that hit home with me is when the rabbi has to decide whether to continue to chase a killer who is running away or answer the call of an injured victim to provide spiritual care. He realizes he is a rabbi not a policemen. It reminds me of the Tyranny of the Urgent, a booklet that challenges one to take stock of what is most important.

Finding out "who done it" is wonderfully complicated and unexpected for the most part. The writing is good but still lacks some of the professional polish that will come for this author. I've read the 1st chapter of the next book in the Psalm 23 series and it looks good!

Mondays are no one's favorite day of the week, but for a church secretary they are awful. Nowhere else but in a church have people been digging through your desk, walking off with all your office supplies and reorganizing your desktop. Every Monday you spend the first hours of the week finding all of your "stuff" and putting your office back together. Cindy walks into church dreading those details plus she knows it is going to be extra busy with Easter week, but before she can ever make it to her office she trips over a dead body.

Her screams bring the Rabbi from the Jewish synagogue next door running to her assistance. Unknown to them, this meeting won't be their last and neither will this murder.

There are three views of faith in this book. The Rabbi is obviously Jewish. Cindy is Christian and Mark, the investigator, is an unbeliever. Ms. Viguie goes into a great deal of detail explanating the details regarding the Jewish faith and traditions. The Rabbi plays the role of "hero" to Cindy throughout the book. Although it is Easter week in the book, the only details regarding Easter involved the murders. It was also a little disconcerting that the pastor was portrayed in such an inept manner.

This book was a great read. Very well written and definitely a great fit for the mystery genre.

This mystery is not your usual cozy. The Lord Is My Shepherd is what's considered Christian fiction. I normally don't read books labeled as such because the ones I've picked up are too "preachy" and usually in a way that doesn't reflect my faith. However, this book was a pleasant surprise. Author Debbie Viguié deftly blends elements from many popular genres: mystery, thriller, humor, and even a touch of romance in the awareness and tension between a rabbi and a Protestant church secretary. She even manages to inject a believable faith into the story via the characterizations of Jeremiah and Cindy without being preachy or upsetting the balance of the story.

Debbie Viguié, best known as a fantasy and YA author, takes on the mystery genre in her own style. What you get is a nice cozy but with a serial killer plot which surprised me since this was published by Abingdon Press. Admittedly, I don't read what is generally called Christian fiction, but this mystery sounded promising, and, for the most part, it did not disappoint.

From the opening sentence--"More than anything, Cindy Preston hated Mondays." this cozy will keep you entertained and guessing until the killer is revealed. Even then, there's still a few surprises.

The Lord Is My Shepherd is Book 1 of the Psalm 23 Mysteries. First Shepherd Presbyterian Church secretary Cindy Preston literally stumbles over a dead body in the sanctuary of her church. When Rabbi Jeremiah Silverman at the synagogue next door hears her screaming, he races to her rescue.

Thus begins an odd friendship between Cindy and the Israeli-born Silverman. The confluence of Christian Holy Week and Passover brings out the worst in the killer, and Cindy seems to be on the scene far too often. She, Jeremiah, and police Detective Mark Walters try to solve the mystery while the killer escalates.

Room For Improvement

This book is told from multiple viewpoints which enables the author to create tension and uncertainty as to who the killer is. Normally, the main character has most of the time on-camera, so to speak. However, this had so many viewpoints and a lot of it was from Jeremiah. At one point, before the first half of the book had been reached, I began to wonder if this was really his story, and Cindy was a lesser, though important viewpoint.

I had only one other quibble, and that was with the characterization of the protagonist. Cindy cries. A lot. Maybe it's because I'm not given to weeping in fear or stress, but that got to me a little. I reached the point where I wanted Cindy to "woman-up" and get going. She did reach that point and proceeded to hang in there in spite of everything that was happening to her, and she solved the mystery and saved the day.

Now, she also screams a lot, but that's kind of funny. Perhaps the author purposely had her as a screamer because Jeremiah came running each time. Those scenes reminded me of a golden age screwball comedy. I don't want to give anything away, but in Book 2, an excerpt of which is given at the end of this book, Cindy hasn't seen Jeremiah since the murders were solved. Then, one evening she and he happen to be at the same party, and, you guessed it, she stumbles over a dead body, screams, and Jeremiah dashes in! Once again, the game is afoot.

In Conclusion

This is a book that any mystery reader would probably enjoy. I know I want to download the second book in the series: I Shall Not Want onto my Kindle as soon as I have time to read again.