A Saintly Killing, Faith Morgan Mysteries Series #3

This book met my expectations and I am anxiously looking forward to book 4 can hardly wait. It was so good to read another instalment to this wonderful series. As always it was full of surprises and kept me guessing. I love the interaction between Faith and Detective Ben Shorter. And the progress of her family.

Saint James Church in Little Worthy is celebrating its 900th Anniversary. Faith and the other church members are all busy trying to prepare for the big celebration. Everything is thrown into jeopardy when the artist painting a picture of the church is found dead in her little art studio beside the church. As suspicion falls on first one member of the church and then another, Vicar Faith Morgan finds her police-woman instincts reviving as she helps the police solve the crime.

A Saintly Killing is the third book in the Faith Morgan Mystery series by Martha Ockley. I've read each book as it was released, and I've enjoyed seeing Faith grow in her confidence and hope as a Christian, in her role as vicar, and personally. I've also been glad to see Faith healing relationships with her sister as they work to care for their mother who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Her relationship with former boyfriend and partner Detective Inspector Ben Shorter is much more complicated.

Little Worthy is full of very interesting people, some with secretive or unpleasant personalities. As the story unfolded, my suspicion as a reader fell on several different characters. Martha Ockley drops little clues that the reader can notice and wonder about. Then she slowly makes sense of the different clues as Faith Morgan works out the mystery. Initially, my suspicions were aroused by one character though the motive seemed a complete mystery. Toward the end, a red herring was thrown in that I started to fall for. Even when Faith dismissed certain characters as no longer being considered as suspects, I still suspected one of them. The ending was a surprise, though not a complete surprise.

I personally am enjoying seeing the subplot of Faith and her sister Ruth helping their mother as she progresses through Alzheimer's Disease. Since this disease has touched our family personally, I am always interested when it works its way into books or movies. The author handles it gracefully and naturally. Her depiction of Marianne's confusion and dementia is similar to my Mother-in-law's progression. I will be interested to see this aspect of the story unfold in future Faith Morgan mysteries.

A Saintly Killing is another satisfying cozy murder mystery from Martha Ockley! I thoroughly enjoyed it! The Faith Morgan Mysteries keep getting better and better!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Kregel Blog Tours for review purposes. No other compensation was received and this is my honest opinion.

Martha Ockley in her new book, A Saintly Killing Book Three in the Faith Morgan Mystery series published by Kregel Publications gives us another mystery with Faith Morgan.

From the back cover: Faith Morgan is feeling settled and contented in her role as the vicar of Little Worthy. St Jamess is about to reach its 900th anniversary and to celebrate Faith has commissioned a new painting of the church from distinguished local artist Sal Hinkley.

However, Sal, recently returned from Australia, is not a universally popular choice: outspoken and opinionated, she has made her share of enemies.

Before the painting can be completed, Sal is found dead at her easel. Suddenly, several respectable members of the church community are under suspicion and Faith finds herself thrown into the path of her former flame, Detective Inspector Ben Shorter, who, though he has no time for God-botherers, still seems to have time for Faith

I grew up with the Father Brown stories which means I really enjoy Faith Morgan. This is the third book in Ms. Ockleys series and I think it is the best so far. Faith has her Vicar responsibilities which are keeping her busy and then she has her personal responsibilities. Somebody murdered the artist working on the 900th anniversary of the parish and it seems nobody liked her. Plenty of suspects, plenty of motive, now Faith has to narrow down the field to just the one who did it. Not an easy task. This is a hard-boiled investigation filled with all kinds of twists and turns that will really keep you engrossed. Faith Morgan has a keen observant eye that catches all the little things that even I missed, and I was watching for them. Martha Ockley is an extremely talented writer who really knows how to tell a story that will grab you and keep you flipping pages until you reach the end. A Saintly Killing is a very exciting book. I am so looking forward to the next book from this very talented author.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Kregel Publications. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

If there were a church in my community named St. James, I would be tempted to visit it regularly. Unfortunately, I do not live in St. Worthy. Also, there is the vicar named Faith Morgan. Faith lives up to her name. She is faithful to her parish and parishioners. In A Saintly Killing by Martha Ockley, Sal Hinkley is murdered at a very busy time during the season. It is the 900th Anniversary celebration of St. James. Unfortunately, Sal is found murdered, strangled to death during this period. Sal had been a wonderful artist. However, there is a water colorist who is her competition.

The solution to the mystery is fascinating. I never would have guessed it in a million years. Martha Ockley has the wonderful ability to put all the elements of a novel together in a remarkable way. Each time I read the mystery, I felt as though St. Worthy had become my community. When Faith picks the ropes for the church bells, I picked those ropes too. When the parish booklets for the anniversary are provided, I felt just as upset to see the wrong painting on the back of the booklet as Faith.

I really got lost in the intense debate Faith has with some of parishioners who go behind her back to choose the painting for the booklet. It seemed so underhanded and wrong especially for a church group. After a Democratic vote is taken, some of the parishioners choose to go against the vote and do things their way. They don't even consult with Faith. Of course, Faith becomes deeply hurt and lets her feelings be known. For a while, there is a tense situation between Faith and those involved in going against the vote.

This is one thing so good about the mystery. It's not a preachy Christian Fiction mystery. Each person seems very real down to the vicar herself, Faith. It is an emotional mystery. I became very involved with the people who were closely involved with the murder. The feelings of those closely involved in the murder are very raw. The novel is more intricate because no one likes Sal Hinkley. I wondered would it be possible to ever like her. I wondered how the author wrote this part of the novel so well. I am anxious to read other novels in the series by Martha Ockley.tumblr.com/search/Martha+Ockley Thanks to Lion Fiction.

Faith Morgan, vicar of Little Worth, St. James, is up to her eyeballs in preparations for her church's 900th anniversary celebration. Not the most convenient time to get sidetracked with a murder, especially when the victim was the artist commissioned to paint the church for the gala occasion.

As if that were not enough, Faith is also in the midst of some personal struggles with her mother's ailing health.

The Faith Morgan mystery series is a somewhat light hearted look at crime. As a former police woman, crime has a way of finding Faith. So does her previous boyfriend, who usually heads up the investigation. With the awkwardness of that failed relationship ever present, Faith has to set aside her emotions and try to navigate the delicate waters of church politics and local gossip as the killer is tracked down.

The series offers a glimpse into village and church life with all it's charm (and warts). Ockley does a good job of describing characters and daily life so that the reader feels an integral part of the action and its resolution. The crime gets nicely tied up but some of Faith's relational issues remain a mystery--no doubt to be continued in future installments.