By Melissa Willis
GENRE: MYSTERY
PUBLISHER: ABINGDON PRESS
PUBLICATION DATE: MARCH 2010
Cindy Preston led a pretty boring life as a church secretary until the Monday before Easter when she tripped over a body in the church’s sanctuary. Considering what was left at the scene, it appeared highly likely that the killer was a member of the church. Cindy soon learned this body wasn’t the first murder of the day. A few hours earlier, police had found another victim and it appeared highly probable that these two deaths were linked. Within days, more bodies were discovered and it quickly became apparent there was a serial killer in town—one who had killed before in other towns and in much the same way.
Surprisingly, Cindy kept finding herself near the victims. Was she a target or the audience? With numerous questions and a killer who left behind little evidence, authorities were baffled, and the bodies kept turning up. Eventually, feeling divinely led to help, Cindy and the Rabbi from the synagogue adjacent to the church, began to see how the pieces fit together, but could they locate the killer before his final production? In a mystery full of mystery, The Lord Is My Shepherd is both inventive and highly entertaining.
I love a good serial killer novel, and this is a nice one. It’s a bit different than others in this genre in that it doesn’t focus its attention on the method of killing as much as the process and production of the murders. It was a good change and kept the ick factor down while maintaining a good level of suspense. Though it has a high body count, because the gore is low this is a great choice for those who like a good serial killer mystery, but not a lot of blood.
The themes and motives of the murderer were excellent. I completely enjoyed this portion of the book and felt it was the highlight. The plot was well planned and worked perfectly with the characters. I struggled a bit with the apparent competent ignorance of the detectives working the case. I’m not sure how they could have missed some of the connections they did, but apparently their official computer database was not as comprehensive or useful as the internet. Additionally, the killer is revealed much earlier than I would have liked, but given the rest of the mystery surrounding this story there was still plenty to enjoy.
An aspect of this book which Viguié beautifully incorporated was the Jewish Rabbi, Jeremiah and Passover week. I adore Jewish history and traditions included in novels. They tend to add a wonderful richness to stories and bring the Christian faith back to its roots. While I thoroughly loved what was included, a nice addition would have been if the elements of the Passover meal would have been related to the Christian faith. This would have been a nice way to include Christian themes in a noninvasive manner. I liked the point of view in which most of the spiritual aspects were presented. Using Jeremiah as the primary voice for spiritual insight was quite effective. It highlighted the quest and the mystery of understanding God and his purpose that many religions share. Viguié did an excellent job in this area, easily blending faith with fiction without interrupting the story.
This book had many likable characters and I enjoyed getting to know them. I’m glad this is the first book in a series because I felt like I only got a brief introduction to each one. They are at times surprising and at other times frustrating, but are always easy to relate to. This book handled the church aspect very well. The characters did not act fake in their interactions or with their feelings. I appreciated that as a reader I wasn’t inundated with trite words of comfort and recycled lectures. Viguié did a great job in making the church feel like a church, complete with bickering and internal rivalries. It might not be how it should be, but definitely reflects what often does happen.
The Lord Is My Shepherd is a very good serial killer mystery. Its strength was not in the gore and creative ways to kill, but rather in the presentation and the motivation. The discovery of the identity of the killer was a bit anticlimactic, but the mystery surrounding his background made for a fascinating and entertaining story. I’m already looking forward to the next book in The Psalm 23 Mysteries series.
Review copy provided courtesy of Abingdon Press
