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In Book Three of the Housekeeper Mystery Series, murder knows no bounds. It’s a beautiful Sunday morning in Austin, Texas, and Mrs. B. has a sense of contentment as she enters the church on her favorite religious holiday, Easter Sunday. She sits in the last pew and watches parishioners arrive: the old, the young, single folk, and families with children. All dressed in their Easter Sunday finery.
From the back of the sanctuary, the well-modulated baritone voice of James Litton says, “Please stand.” In unison, the congregation stands to the first rousing chords of Bach’s Easter Oratorio. In his white surplice carrying the bronze cross high in the air, the altar boy precedes the priest, deacon, and altar servers. Mrs. B. looks around. The beautiful music and the solemn majesty of the procession fill her soul and bring tears of joy to her eyes. She feels a spiritual connection with the uplifted hearts in the assembly. This day is the core of their belief: Jesus is risen.
After the gospel reading, Father Melvyn closes the book, steps away from the pulpit, and walks forward to address his congregation. Standing tall, centered in the light streaming from the windows high above, his snowy white vestments shimmer in the sunlight. The grey streaks in his hair are more prominent and his hazel eyes shine bright above his freshly trimmed reddish mustache.
“On that day, over two thousand years ago,” he begins, projecting his voice to the back of the sanctuary, “after suffering...”
Whock. A strange, intrusive sound interrupts his words. No one moves—Something thuds to the floor.
Mrs. B.’s heart skips a beat. Time slows, and goosebumps rise on her arms. Her eyes, wide as saucers, are glued to the priest who lunges toward the pews, a horrified expression on his face.
Again that intrusive sound. Whock, and a red flower explodes on Father Melvyn’s white vestment. He drops to his knees and keels over.
Then, all hell breaks loose.
People run for the exits, screaming and crying. Parents cover their children’s bodies with their own; the elderly are almost trampled in the panic.
Against the sea of people pushing toward the back of the church and the exit doors, Mrs. B. fights her way to the front of the sanctuary, kneels beside Father Melvyn, and prays, “Please, God. Don’t let him die.”
In a heartbeat, the peace of the holiest day in Christendom is wiped away. In a matter of hours, a bloody web of intrigue and murder unfolds, and Austin finds itself in the grip of religious persecution as old secrets and enemies resurface. A far-reaching, treacherous international plot is uncovered, and Mrs. B. and Father Melvyn inexplicably find themselves targets of an assassin in this fast-paced, dark murder mystery. Will they foil the plot? Survive the assassin? Buy it and find out.