Lest Ye Be Judged (Paperback)

~ David C Trimble (Author)
Key Phrases: acting bishop, magenta shirt, purple fever, Bishop Mitchell, Lest Ye Be Judged, Judge Chancellor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Widely viewed as a liberal, Dunstan Mitchell, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Kentucky,has been aggressively pressing his agenda for the Episcopal Church, including ordination of openly gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex marriages. His actions have severely offended the more conservative elements of the Diocese. Mitchell also has some personal habits that his allies in the Church find distasteful, and it soon becomes apparent that he is a liability—one that the church may want to eliminate.

Six weeks later, the bishop’s desecrated body is found in the covered swimming pool of one of his archenemies, crusty Circuit Judge James Chancellor. An extensive police and forensic investigation leads to many possible suspects,none of whom are in the least upset that Bishop Mitchell is gone, including his exwife, rival priests, and disgruntled former parishioners. Ambitious prosecutor Ron Gaither soon gets his way, however, and indicts Judge Chancellor, a conviction that will ensure Gaither’s political future.The trial becomes a battle of wills between these formidable men that leads to a surprising and disturbing conclusion …

Set against the backdrop of the theological and political turmoil plaguing the modern Episcopal Church, Lest Ye Be Judged is a compelling page-turner that escalates the tension all the way through the final page.

About the Author

David C.Trimble is an attorney and litigator in private practice in Lexington, Kentucky. He has previously published a biography of a Civil War ancestor and is a weekly columnist for his hometown newspaper, The Georgetown News-Graphic, focusing his attention on political and economic issues. Lest Ye Be Judged is his first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595429890
• ISBN-13: 978-0595429899
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #873,027 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Want respite from all the wrangling in the Anglican Communion?, October 17, 2009

By	Louie Crew (East Orange, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I suggest you read LEST YE BE JUDGED (iUniverse, Inc., 2007) by David C. Trimble.

In it the gay bishop consecrated in 2003 becomes Rt. Rev. Thomas Becker, Bishop of Oregon. The Presiding Bishop becomes Most Rev. Dr. George Bryant, Becker's strong ally. The murder victim is the disgusting Rt. Rev. Dunstan Mitchell, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Kentucky. You'll join almost everyone else in being glad Mitchell is out of the picture soon.

One of the major suspects is a circuit court judge and right-wing curmudgeon who writes scurrilous threats regarding ECUSA on Midwest
Conservative Journal, Drell Descants, TitusOneNine, and StandFirm. The judge uses the moniker KingHenry2 (as in "Who will rid me of this
meddlesome priest?")

Most of the other main characters have secrets too. Few smell like a rose.

If LEST YOU BE JUDGED overdraws a few of your friends, it returns the favor for some of your enemies.

Instead of railing at one another here on HoBD, read the book to consign high dudgeon to the strong lawyers for the dramatic trial in Breckenridge, Kentucky. Periodically an anonymous person from 815 will call to orchestrate major turns in the plot, right to the very end of the book.

In the introduction, Trimble speaks of his own bishop, Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls, Bishop of Lexington: "I have had the honor and pleasure to work with Bishop Sauls on several matters within the church, and am very glad to report that he and my fictional creation, Bishop Dunstan Mitchell, have little or nothing in common."

Trimble is a lawyer. Fortunately he writes this novel with the clarity a jury requires, not with the opacity of a legislator. I delayed several other chores to read it non-stop. I enjoyed the fiction far more than Trimble's own volatile site in conservative blogosphere,
[...].

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing, Yet Utterly Compelling, July 15, 2007

By	Jacksonian - See all my reviews

The author of "Lest Ye Be Judged" stares unflinchingly into the soul of the modern day Episcopal Church and reveals the face looking back at him is not unlike the subject of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray." As a trial attorney for more than 20 years and a lifelong Episcopalian, I expected this book to interest me, but I did not expect it to blow me away. It did on every level. The intrigue created by the complex plot and believable characters set against current gay controversies propels this tale into a legitmate page turner. The author's description of the trial and the wait for the jury's verdict is as realistic, dramatic, and well done as any legal thriller I've read and far better than most. The book vividly portrays scenes of natural beauty and unnatural ugliness which provide a backdrop for a story that twists and turns into an ending you will not guess. This is a fascinatingly original work which is profoundly distrubing, yet real and utterly compelling. Five stars, no question.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Promises more than it delivers, January 10, 2008

By	Suzanne G. Bowles "Dr. Sue History Prof" (Florham Park, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This novel starts out very strong, but the conclusion left me disappointed. On one level this is a terrific book -- indeed, a page turner -- a murder mystery & a searing satire on the Episcopal church. But there are problems with it, especially as a murder mystery. Yes, the revelation of the murderer was a (seeming) shock & yes, the clues were all there. So far, so good. But the murderer's identity was revealed, not through good police work but rather a drunken slip of the tongue. This seemed somewhat anticlimactic, almost incidental. In fact, the detective work seemed to go nowhere. There was a good team of policemen, a female state trooper, & a female medical examiner, & a little help from the NYPD -- but their part of the story just petered out & their efforts seemed ineffectual in the end. There were also a lot of loose ends never tied up. Why was the visit to ECUSA HQ ("815") never followed up on? The relationship between 815 & the murderer was also never explained, yet it was a crucial part of the story. And who assisted 815 in setting up the accused? The reader is just left baffled on so many key points. There is also a graphic gay sex scene that seemed to me totally gratuitous. I do hope this author writes another novel, though. He has lots of potential.