Customer Reviews

Prey for a Miracle (A Sister Agatha Mystery)

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Jessica's daughter Natalie claims she sees an angel who stopped a car that was about to run over a man in a wheelchair. The angel Samera told Jessica that her friend's house was in danger and if her friend wasn't watching, the house would have burned to the ground. The angel was right. Natalie made no secret of having an angel always by her side but the resulting media attention and the people begging Natalie to perform a miracle for them wore mother and daughter down. Threatening letters and phone calls made Jessica realize they would need to move if they are to have a peace.

Jessica is on her way to her brother, a priest's church to give him something when a pick-up runs them off the road. Jessica is injured but before she falls into a coma, she tells Natalie to run. After an extreme search, Sister Agatha finds Natalie and brings her to the monastery as a safety precaution. Agatha vows to protect her at all costs while she tries to find the person who injured Jessica and who is seeking Natalie.

This is the best book in the Sister Agatha series and one of the best books the Thurlos have written. Readers see how the nuns believe God watches over them at the same time Sister Agatha has to deal with the outside world in order to help Natalie who might actually see angels. Her faith allows her to take risks confident that God is with her. She is the one who figures out who the criminal is but not before he kidnaps Natalie and puts her in danger. PREY FOR A MIRACLE is a great ecclesial mystery reminiscent of the Father Dowling who done its.

Harriet Klausner

Sister Agatha is one of the externs in a contemplative religious order, that is a nun who conducts the monastery's business affairs with the outside world. Natalie is an eight year old girl who says she sees (and converses with) an angel named Samara. Jessica Tannen is Natalie's struggling single mother. Father Mahoney is Jessica's brother and Natalie's uncle. Pax is the monastery's dog.

All these improbable characters and many more are drawn together in a whirlwind of complicated events after Jessica is run off the road in a violent hit-and-run accident that may not have been an accident. The last thing she tells Natalie is to run and hide. Natalie ends up in the monastery where the sisters try to keep her hidden and safe while solving the "case" of her mother's accident.

There's a lot more, so I won't try to explain all the sub-plots. Let's just say it will keep you turning pages. Authors Aimee and David Thurlo do a good job keeping the reader interested and engaged with an enormous cast of characters and ever thickening intrigue. The writing is a bit ragged and the characters hard to keep straight. The authors talk a lot about the contemplative silence in the convent, but the sisters are surprisingly chatty and busy, even when they're not sleuthing. Still, with all its flaws, this is a fun, light-hearted read and I recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Another top notch mystery by the Thurlos. Sister Agatha and the other nuns of Our Lady of Hope (located in the desert of New Mexico) save an eight year old girl who sees angels and seems to have the power to heal. The nuns, including Sister Bernarda (an ex-marine),innocent Sister de Lourdes and, of course, Reverand Mother, use their wits to protect the child, hiding her among them. Pax, the nun's German shepherd, the nun's old motorcycle with its useful sidecar, and the monestary's broken down car known, affectionately, as the anti-Chrysler all play their parts.

Book came very fast. It was just as described, in brand new condition and it was a Christmas present for my husband. He was very pleased because it matched his set perfectly. Thank you for a great sale. You are highly recommended!

Sister Agatha is back with another mystery to solve. This time it concerns a young girl, Natalie, who claims to see an angel, and her mother who has been run off the road and is in the hospital in a coma.

It is thought by Sister Agatha and her friend the sheriff that Natalie is in some danger so she is hidden in the convent while her mother recuperates.

Another problem that Sister faces is a financial one because the roof of the convent is unsafe and the nuns do not have the money to pay for a new one. The nuns use all of the skills at their disposal to create a product which will produce a profit and allow them to continue their ministry.

There are several loose ends left in the plot but Sister Agatha fans should still enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at a convent, the interaction between the nuns and the gently twisting plot line.

This mystery by the well known New Mexico writers holds the reader hostage until you finish the last word. Another great read in a collection of great reads.

She might be a bit like the spunky Sister Agatha, a journalist turned extern nun. This is my first Sister Agatha Mystery experience and I can say for sure that it won't be my last. The Thurlos' writing doesn't hold a candlestick to someone like Tim Downs in the dialogue department, but they can keep the plot moving along decently and occasionally make you laugh.

Sister Agatha is unique in her own right, but she's also got all the right elements of the old, classic mystery tycoons. She's not quite so scientifically brilliant as Holmes and she's not as frisky or young as the Hardys or Ms. Drew, but she's endearing in her own hitch-up-the-habit and smack-the-badguy way.

A good mystery, Sister Agatha makes a very human detective. The Thurlo's have a good knowledge of New Mexico and it's people that helps make their work realistic. I will always go back for more Sister Agatha books.

This the 3rd Sister Agatha mystery and I strongly recommend that readers begin with the first and second in the series, "Bad Faith" and "Thief in Retreat" in order to fully enjoy the history and background of Our Lady of Hope Monestary in New Mexico and the cloistered and extern nuns who reside there.

Jessica's daughter, Natalie, claims that she sees an angel always by her side and that the angel has stopped a car about to run over a man in a wheelchair and warned her about a fire at her friend's house. Natalie has told all her school friends and her teachers about this angel, and the resulting media fallout and people begging Natalie to perform miracles, has made life difficult for mother and daugher. Threatening letters and phone calls have made Jessica realize that she and Natalie must leave town and move to another place if they are to have any peace.

On a stormy night, Jessica and Natalie are on the highway on the way to her brother priest's rectory, when a pick-up runs them off the road. Jessica tells Natalie to run even as she lies injured and slips into a coma. The sheriff, Tom Green, organizes a search for Natalie and asks the extern sisters from the nearby monastary to help in the seach. Sister Agatha finds Natalie and, at Tom's request, brings her to the monastery to keep her safe. Sister Agatha and the other nuns promise Tom that they will protect her at all costs, and Sister Agatha decides that she will try to to find the person who injured Jessica and who is now looking for Natalie.

What makes this 3rd Sister Agatha book so appealing is because there is an innocent child in jeopardy from an unknown person, and because readers also get to see into the lives of the nuns at Our Lady of Hope Monastary. The Thurlos describe how the nuns live their faith and believe that God provides them with all they need. Because the monastary is cloistered, the reader also gets to see how Sister Agatha, as one of the three extern nuns at the monastary, has to deal with the outside world and how this makes it possible for her to involve herself in the investigation and help Natalie. Sister Agatha's strong faith allows her to take risks, confident that God is with her, even while her natural ex-reporter's instincts and skeptisism wonders if the child is really seeing the angel she describes in such detail. The daily life of the monastary is lovingly and vividly described, as are the daily tasks of the sisters, and their never ending struggle to fix the crumbling monastary with money raised by their delicious cookies. The personalities of each of the nuns, as well the people of the small New Mexico town, of Pax, the dog, and of Tom the sheriff are vivid and well rendered. Sister Agatha, as the protaganist, is the one who figures out who the criminal is but not before he kidnaps Natalie and puts her in danger. PREY FOR A MIRACLE is an entertaining ecclesial mystery with an unlikely dectective and setting. The lives of the cloistered sisters adds an interesting dimension for those of us who may wonder what such a life must be like in today's modern world. Readers don't need to a Catholic in order to be entertained and beguiled by Sister Agatha's adventures.

Other reviewers have covered the plot and characters of this book in great detail. So I won't bother to do that. I will say that the setting is realistic. The people in this one book are less realistic- a preacher who was a former pro wrestler, a girl who sees angles, a nun who solves crimes. But, despite being less realistic they are fun, believable and enjoyable. This is a good romp of a mystery.