Death In The Choir Loft

Roland Spencer, a well-known bass singer in the Holy Living Waters Church choir, dies following a rehearsal for the Messiah. The choir director and organist, Belle Franklin is the last person to see him alive, landing her at the top of the suspect list. To prove her innocence and find the real killer the budding detective must solve the case. Once again, Rich Baldwin weaves a tale of intrigue and suspense with interesting characters and unexpected plot twists.

It is the mid-1990s in the small, peaceful oil field town of Pierce, California, when one of its residents is suddenly found dead in a drainage ditch beside the road. Known as a happy-go-lucky alcoholic who wouldn’t hurt a flea, Verlin Simpson’s unanticipated death is quickly deemed suspicious. Verlin’s devoutly Christian wife, Shirley, is naturally devastated and relies on her faith and her friends in her church choral group, the Golden-Agers, for strength. Meanwhile, Officer Tom Phillips begins working the case. Although Pierce hasn’t seen a murder in over ten years, Phillips must rely on his instincts as a former LAPD officer as he begins questioning residents and church members, and investigating clues he hopes will help him solve the case and learn why someone would want to kill a drunk old man. But after the case goes cold, another body is found in a bathroom stall a few months later, leaving Tom to realize he now must consider the worst-case scenario. Pierce may have a serial killer in its midst. In this Christian murder mystery, a small-town police officer and several church members work together to solve a complicated case and find a determined killer.

This book is for anyone who has ever given serious thought to questioning the extraordinary claims of the Christian faith. For those who have harbored suspicions about the idea of a loving protector God; or the idea that an eternal paradise awaits us after death; or that there is a divine purpose to our lives – this book will be athought provoking read. The author was once a devout believer in the tenets of the Christian faith. He is now a contented atheist. An Atheist in the Choir Loft puts forward an honest account of what one firm believer discovered when he allowed himself to step back, separate his religious convictions from his identity, and objectively scrutinize the beliefs he had held for most of his life.

This Handbook traces the history of the changing notion of what it means to die and examines the many constructions of afterlife in literature, text, ritual, and material culture throughout time. The Routledge Handbook of Death and the Afterlife is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems, and debates in this exciting subject. Comprising twenty-nine chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into three parts and covers the following important themes: The study of dying, death, and grief Disposal of the dead: past, present, and future Representations of death: narratives and rhetoric Youth meets death: a juxtaposition Questionable deaths and afterlives: suicide, ghosts, and avatars Material corpses and imagined afterlives around the world Within these sections, central issues, debates, and problems are examined, including: the world of death and dying from various cultural viewpoints and timeframes, cultural and social constructions of the definition of death, disposal practices, and views of the afterlife. The Routledge Handbook of Death and the Afterlife is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology.

The Mass in My Life is the story of a Catholic laywoman's lifelong experience of the Mass. She recaptures childhood experiences, traces a path to adulthood, and in her elder years finds a wondrous gratitude for the Mass. Along the way, family, friends, pastors, favorite authors, and the Mass itself lighten her way as she seeks, in the words of an old missal, "the God who is the joy of my youth." Personal and family memories are recalled side-by-side with selected prayers of the Mass from her collection of missals that covers seven decades. The meaning of the Mass unfolds as the years go by, marked by ordinary days as well as rites of passage. Each chapter focuses on a milestone or period in the author's life and a prayer from the Order of the Mass. The two themes, life and Mass, interweave chronologically in a unique twofold structure. There are rich and sometimes troubling memories of personal and family life here, but always an attentive longing for the Mass which the author sees as the transforming experience of her life.

When Jon Mote is hired to investigate the murder of his erstwhile mentor, literary star Richard Pratt, the grad school dropout feels woefully unequal to the task. Skittering on the edge of madness, his only source of hope is the dogged love of his developmentally disabled sister, Judy, who serves as cheerleader, critic and moral compass. Soon the siblings find themselves haunting the neighbourhoods of Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota – from crime scenes to the halls of academe – exposing a series of suspects along the way. When he stumbles upon Pratt’s terrible secret, Mote is prompted to discover an equally dreadful mystery in his own past – a revelation that accelerates his descent into darkness and puts both himself and Judy at grave risk. ‘Daniel Taylor’s oddly reluctant Sherlock Holmes is accompanied by the most unusual and heartwarming Watson in my reading experience.’ Paul J. Willis, author of The Alpine Tales

Jane Willan’s The Hour of Death will be a Christmas delight for fans of G. M. Malliet, set on an island in Wales. Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn make sleuthing a work of art. But will they paint themselves into a corner when they investigate the Village Art Society president’s death? As Yuletide settles upon Gwenafwy Abbey, the rural Welsh convent’s peace is shattered when Tiffany Reese, president of the Village Art Society, is found dead on the floor of the parish hall. Sister Agatha, whose interests lie more with reading and writing mystery stories than with making the abbey’s world-renowned organic gouda, is not shy about inserting herself into the case. With the not-entirely-eager assistance of Father Selwyn, she begins her investigation. Sister Agatha has no shortage of suspects to check off her naughty-or-nice list, until finally, Tiffany’s half-brother, Kendrick Geddings, emerges as the prime suspect. There never was any love lost between Tiffany and Kendrick, and of late they had been locked in a vicious battle for control of the family estate. But if Sister Agatha thinks she has the case wrapped up, she’ll have to think again. As the days of Advent tick by, Sister Agatha is determined to crack the case by Christmas in The Hour of Death, Jane Willan’s perfectly puzzling second Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery.

It’s 1982, and Dee Ann Bulluck has enjoyed three peaceful years as a young wife, mother, and technical college instructor since moving to a backyard apartment in small-town Narrow Creek, North Carolina. Then her landlord Floyd Powell dies while sitting in his recliner on a calm Saturday morning. Turns out, his death is due to something more sinister than his diet of honey buns and Pepsi Colas, and the major suspect is Miss Josie, his wife of thirty-five years. Convinced of Miss Josie’s innocence—and by the fact that if her landlady goes to jail, she and husband Joe will likely lose their sweet deal of an apartment—Dee Ann agrees to help Miss Josie prove she's blameless. Their bumbling investigation manages to reveal Floyd’s involvement in some unsavory enterprises, including bootlegging. The reappearance of Miss Josie’s long-lost beau and the meddling of her overbearing, big-city daughter complicate their amateur sleuthing. Her landlord may be dead, but Dee Ann is busy with life: Monday night choir practice at the Methodist church, house-hunting with Joe, and controlling mischievous three-year-old Heather. She barely has time to hide in Miss Josie’s closet to eavesdrop or creep through the woods looking for a still. Will Miss Josie wind up in the big house while Dee Ann ends up with no house? Like its heroine Dee Ann Bulluck, Life and Death in Narrow Creek is smart and sassy, witty and insightful. Readers will discover a cozy mystery warmed by the culture yet complicated by the social issues of the early 1980s in a small Southern town. Book Review: “Small-town stories have an irresistibly quaint allure; throw in a mystery, dark secrets, and down-home characters who may not be what they seem, and it can result in an enjoyable read, as it does in this case.” -- Kirkus Indie Reviews