From Publishers Weekly
The first fiction title published by Paraclete kicks off the Faith Abbey Mystery series. Set in the sleepy Cape Cod town of Eastport, the book juxtaposes the way two very different men go about the process of discovering the truth. Andrew Doane and Dan Burke were childhood friends. Andrew has joined the ecumenical religious community of Faith Abbey and taken the name of Brother Bartholomew, and Dan has become the police chief. Together, they try to track down a killer. Mac Curtis, the man behind a generally unwelcome upscale development, tries to ingratiate himself and his project by establishing a prize for the best new rose. The finalists gather at a reception hosted by Mac and his wife. Among the chosen are Maurice and Sarah, Bartholomew, his mother, his former fianc?e, a local eccentric environmentalist and others. The next day, Mac is found face down in the water at the edge of his pond. It turns out that many locals had a reason to want him dead. Stretched to the limit, Chief Burke calls upon Brother Bartholomew, who has a personal crisis of his own to overcome. Manuel proceeds in a leisurely fashion to introduce both the religious and lay communities, conveying the atmosphere of a place where life may be slower paced, but no less complex than in the big city. As a result, the mystery unfolds in a languid fashion, but there should be much more to learn about the chief, the brother and their neighbors in future trips to Eastport. (Nov.) FYI: PW contributing editor Phyllis Tickle is the editor of the Faith Abbey Mystery series.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Mac Curtis, a Vietnam veteran skilled at killing, becomes a ruthless real estate developer on Cape Cod. His latest venture teeters into failure and ruins his partners, but Mac obsesses about a woman who rejected him in Vietnam and later married a rose specialist. Mac gathers at a rose competition with other major players: a beautiful librarian, her ex-lover (now a monk at Faith Abbey), a lunatic "commodore," an environmentalist web-pager, and the chief of police. Attempted murder-by-bees and murder-in-a-storm result in investigation by the police and sleuthing by Brother Bartholomew. Chock-full of action and character subplots, this debut mystery (and series) is totally captivating. [This is Paraclete Press's first fiction title.AEd.]
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
