Divine Mystery Books In Order
- Crooked Heart (2002)
- Thieves Break in (2004)
- Familiar Friend (2006)
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Cristina Sumners Books Overview
Crooked Heart
From a luminous new voice in suspense fiction comes this wise, witty, and uplifting novel a mystery with heart that will illuminate more than just whodunit and why. In her stunning debut, Cristina Sumners, an Episcopalian priest brings to life an unforgettable town, a less than perfect crime, and two flawed souls hoping to solve the mysteries of life, death…
and possibly even love. Life isn t easy for Tom Holder. Middle aged, appallingly married, and bored out of his wits, Tom is Chief of Police in Harton an idyllic New Jersey town where, in spite of its eccentric cast of characters, nothing ever seems to happen. His dreary routine is brightened only by his visits to St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, where he can be sure of seeing the clever Reverend Kathryn Koerney, with whom he is secretly and hopelessly smitten. Tom is quietly wishing for a nice, interesting crime, if only to have something to discuss with the lady priest, who seems almost as confused by their nonrelationship as he is. He s about to get all that and a whole lot more than he bargained for. When an affluent housewife is reported missing by her clearly hostile husband, Tom not only has a bona fide murder mystery on his hands, he has a perfect excuse to enlist Kathryn s help. The only person who may know what happened to Grace Kimbrough is a feverish child, and Tom past master at nosy neighbors, flirtatious shut ins, and the usual small town neurotics has precious little experience with children. Now, with a second woman missing, Tom s and Kathryn s sense of urgency to learn the truth about the disappearances and about their feelings for each other deepens. Together Tom and Kathryn will unravel more than just the secrets holding together the seemingly peaceful town, secrets that may conceal a crime of passion, jealousy, and rage. They will probe the mysteries of their own all too fallible, all too human hearts. And the miracles that might, just might, occur even after a lifetime of playing it too safe. From the Hardcover edition.
Thieves Break in
The Reverend Kathryn Koerney is looking forward to guiding a group of her New Jersey parishioners through historical Oxford, England. She’s also eager to visit her cousin, Richard, who works for a baronet at Datchworth Castle. But just before she departs, Kathryn gets word that Richard has fallen to his death from a castle tower. The police are calling it murder yet they don’t have a single lead. Fortunately, her friend, Chief of Police Tom Holder, is anxious to accompany her to the scene and lend his expertise. Secretly smitten with the divine lady priest, there’s nothing the crime deprived, unhappily married cop would like more than to conduct an investigation with her by his side. But his enthusiasm quickly fades when a certain marquis captures Kathryn’s attention. Datchworth has a wealth of secret treasures and dark secrets. And when Kathryn stumbles upon what could be the most sensational find of the century, Tom and Kathryn are caught in a web of greed and madness that will require all their courage and faith not just to save their friendship, but their lives.
Familiar Friend
Everyone agrees that Mason Blaine had a lot of enemies. But one of them hated the chairman of the university’s Spanish Department enough to kill him and then stick a knife in his back. The Reverend Kathryn Koerney is no stranger to the sins of man, but this shocking example of overkill in small town New Jersey has even her puzzled. Now, with Harton police chief Tom Holder, she finds herself hunting a killer through the cloistered world of academia an unexpected hotbed of adultery, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. For Blaine s murder is only the bait in a carefully disguised trap set for the real victim. And with their personal and professional lives on the line, Kathryn and Tom can only pray they aren t looking the other way when death strikes again.
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