Bless Me Father For I Have Sinned - The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings on Friday

Seattle PD Homicide Detectives Nick Winston and Pat Strom are once again on the hunt for a killer in Bless Me Father For I Have Sinned. In this fourth book in the series, the victim is Father Michael Dunne. Who would want to murder the beloved priest? Could the killer be a former lover? A druggie? A sexual abuse victim? The search takes the detectives from Seattle's squalid homeless camps to Tacoma's Catholic sanctuaries in search of the killer.

Kelly Marshall sprinkles her mystery with humor--sometimes dark, often politically incorrect--and the ongoing banter between Winston and Strom provides a respite from the plot's tension. The strong friendship between the detectives shows their human side, too. Marshall kept me wondering whodunit until the story's end.

This book stands alone but once you've read it, you'll like the characters and plot so much you'll want to read all four Winston-Strom mysteries.

Book Beginning:
     Hunched in a pew outside the confessional, Cecilia Armstrong fingered her blue rosary beads as she whispered the well-known words, "Hail Mary, full of grace...." She completed the rosary and opened her eyes. What was taking Father Michael so long with the last penitent? She tried not to judge, but surely someone had confessed mortal sins. Otherwise, why would the priest have to counsel them so long?

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
     "He threatened Dunne on more than one occasion. We don't have a smoking gun yet but give us time. We'll find it because this creep murdered Dunne."

Genre:  Police Mystery
Length:   244 Pages
Amazon Link:   Bless Me Father For I Have Sinned
Author Website:   Kelly Marshall Books

Synopsis (from Amazon):
     A charismatic and popular priest, Father Michael Dunne is brutally stabbed to death in the confessional. The Seattle Catholic Community is stunned and in mourning for a cleric who served not only the people in his parish but many in the Northwest's burgeoning homeless and drug-addicted communities.
     Seattle homicide detectives Nick Winston and Pat Strom find Father Mike face down in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds to his body. Because the attack was so savage, the police surmise the killer knew the pastor. What in his past could account for the highly personal nature of the crime? Was he murdered by a penitent scared that the priest would break the seal of the confessional? Or did an illicit love affair come back to haunt Michael Dunne?
     Everyone loved Father Mike...with one grave exception.

              

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Shelter Us - First Chapter / First Paragraph and Teaser Tuesday

Shelter Us is the story of a woman whose daughter died at the age of six weeks. Now, several years later, the mother of two preschool sons is still overwhelmed by her daughter's death and barely functioning. When she becomes obsessed with a young homeless woman and her baby, her life changes, and her marriage is in jeopardy.

I was hesitant to read this book, mainly because it involves the death of a child, but I'm glad I stayed with it. It was nicely written and edited, and the story was compelling. The author takes her readers deep inside her character, and the plot will stay with me for a long time.



First Paragraph:
     This Ferris wheel revolves faster than I remember. It was Robert's idea to come tonight. "A great way to say good-bye to the old year -- right kiddos?" Oliver and Izzy jumped up and down, squealing their agreement. There was no saying no. And so we ride.

Teaser from 11% on my Kindle (three sentences, instead of two):
True, I didn't plan on being a full-time mom, didn't expect my maternity leave to end in an abrupt resignation. But now that I have them, I wouldn't give up these days with my children, no matter how trying of my nerves and patience they can be. I should remember this feeling the next time Izzy throws a fit because I've sliced his sandwich the wrong way, or when I envy Robert's pristine law-school setting, where the young people in his charge respect his opinion, listen to every word--take notes, for Chrissake--and let him use the bathroom in private.

Amazon Link: Shelter Us
Length: 246 Pages
Genre: Women's Fiction

Synopsis:
     Lawyer-turned-stay-at-home mom Sarah Shaw is struggling to keep it together for her two young sons and law professor husband. Since the death of their infant daughter, her husband has been buried in his career, her friendships have withered, and Sarah remains lost in a private world of grief. Then one day walking in L.A., Sarah’s heart catches at the sight of a young homeless woman pushing a baby in a stroller—and saving them becomes her obsessive mission. An unlikely bond grows between Sarah and the young mother, Josie. When tragedy threatens Josie, Sarah discovers that she is capable of deceptions and transgressions she never imagined. Her lies unleash a downward spiral that will threaten her marriage, family and her sanity.
     Shelter Us speaks to the quiet joys and anxieties of parenthood and illuminates a place all parents know: that shadowy space between unconditional love and fear of unbearable loss.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!

Link at ADailyRhythm.com

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Link at BibliophileByTheSea