The Rector by Michael Hicks Thompson is one humdinger of a murder mystery! Mississippi in the 1950s and a church setting to boot. The characters are marvelously portrayed, with the expected drawl and idioms as well as depictions of a small town of this era...a sheriff who hides on the church floor to hear a confession, a meat cleaver-toting woman, a rector who may not be a rector and the bed and breakfast owner (Sherlock Holmes herself!) with her gaggle of Bible study friends. There's gossip, secrets galore, compassion, and close friendships and with being a murder mystery, evil, greed, and jealousy abound as well. "The Delta was swarming with boll weevils and all sorts of evil." The story line moves quickly and is action packed from the death on page one to the surprising climactic finish. The author tops it off with a little humor ("I needed a plan. But first, I needed some sherry.") and threads throughout the story a strong Christian theme, or as one character puts it, theological interludes. With these 'interludes' Thompson reminds the reader that God is a personal Deity and faith in Christ alone is the key to a relationship with this God of justice and love. A captivating first book in the Solo Ladies Bible Study series.
I received a copy of this book through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Title: The Rector: A Christian Murder Mystery (The Solo Ladies Bible Study #1)
Author: Michael Hicks Thompson
Pages: 370
Year: 2016
Publisher: Shepherd King Publishing LLC
My rating is 5 stars.
The joy of reading a story by a new author at times defies description and here is such a case in point! I love mysteries, especially those that have me thinking about clues and trying to deduce who the culprit or culprits may be. Sometimes I just enjoy the adventure of the mystery along with the tension that builds at times subtly till the conclusion.
Michael Thompson has written a wonderful mystery that really engaged my whole being and more so with each page I turned. There were clues that weren’t clues, but were used to throw me off course and other times he would reveal something I never saw coming! The author’s main character is a lady named Martha who writes and publishes her own local newspaper as well as running a local boardinghouse in her home.
What seems like a really neat man who cares about his parish, Pastor Cain, boards at Martha’s place for a while. However, events come about where he leaves the community and the bishop sends another pastor to look after the small flock. Now, at first glance, a reader might be fooled into thinking it isn’t very exciting or perhaps just an average mystery novel. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth let me assure you!
I became enthralled into the slowly woven web craftily put forth by the author that centers on a church which seems to have a problem. However, the problem it has might surprise you or maybe not. Either way the excitement builds chapter by chapter until the conclusion has you turning pages faster than ever to see what happens next!
The novel is filled with various themes, and at the end of the book is a list of books Michael suggests for further reading and some of them are very good, having read them myself. So, if you’re looking for a suspense-filled, cleanly written, engaging novel, look no further! If you know of others who would just love to read, discuss or perhaps a book club looking for its next book, share this one! Then, seat yourself down for a wonderful, exciting time lost in the pages of a thriller!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” ( )

This was such a fun read for me. I love mysteries and when you add a bit of southern charm, well I'm set for the evening. The book is fast paced and oh my the characters are great. I loved Martha McRae and her sweet And friendly southern charm. She lives in a quaint little town in Mississippi where everyone is friendly. The book reminded me of the show "Murder She Wrote." The main character was a sweet woman but she really had a knack for solving mysteries, like Martha does.

The town has a great little diner where the locals eat at. I could picture families eating and waitresses bustling around taking orders. The atmosphere was light as everyone was enjoying their meal. Suddenly the rector dies right in front of everyone. That will definitely spoil a meal for the townspeople. As Martha starts to dig into the death, it seems the town has some secrets . What are these secrets? Will it lead to the killer?

The plot is well developed and keeps readers on their toes. I wonder why a new rector suddenly shows up in town? Does anyone know him? News travels fast , I guess when a murder happens. Did the newspaper put an ad in the paper, " Local Rector dies, looking for a replacement." I mean the new rector was there before the body was even cold it seems. I loved how the author sprinkled scriptures throughout the story which encouraged the characters. I'm excited to know that there will be more in this well written, funny and exciting mystery series.

I received a copy of this book from The BookClub Network for an honest review. ( )