Master-planned community Sugar Land, TX is the perfect
upscale residence, at least to the naked eye. But there
are
problems here as there are in less sculptured locales,
problems that rise to the surface with the murder of a man
whose body is found on the community's golf course with his
head bashed in.
Walker "Bear" Wells is one of the community's ministers who
gets drawn into the murder mystery by the victim's family
as
well as his own. The victim was an acquaintance of his,
the
victim's wife is a friend and his daughter has ties to the
victim's son. To insure that his daughter doesn't get
dragged down by this ugly business, he has to investigate
what he learns, to the dismay of the police detective
tasked
with finding a killer.
What makes FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH so entertaining is Bear
Wells. Bear might be a clergyman but Bear is also an
imperfect man. As the storyteller, Bear is sarcastic and
snarky, and not above sticking his foot in his mouth. His
faith is challenged by his rocky relationship with his
daughter as much as it is by providing spiritual support to
the victim's family and wanting to present himself in a
good
light for the detective investigating the case who doesn't
have much use for Wells or his religion.
Evans writes in a manner that is respectful of Christianity
but does not cater to Christian pretense. Her voice is
fresh and original and she skillfully unfolds this based-on-
a-true-story murder mystery in a way that keeps the reader
both guessing and turning pages. FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH is an
amazing literary debut, suggesting that Evans has the
makings of a long and successful writing career.
Everything looks perfect in Sugar Land, Texas. But it’s
not.
No one knows that better than Walker “Bear”
Wells, a former college football player now serving as a
minister in this upscale Texas town, where famous athletes
mix with ranchers and the local parish priest wants to arm
wrestle. It’s a beautiful master-planned community, but
people can’t be held to neighborhood restrictions, and Bear
deals daily with emotional and spiritual problems, in both
his flock and his own family.
But never murder. Not
until a man is found dead on the nearby golf course, his
skull crushed.
Bear has no interest in playing
detective. His job is praying for the dead, not searching
for their killers. But every time he turns around, another
facet of the investigation tangles with his own life…like
the fact that the murdered man’s son—and a main suspect—is
currently dating his own rebellious teenage daughter.
He made a promise to do the right thing. But
keeping promises may be what led to murder...
