Bad Samaritan: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Charlie Peace - Softcover

Barnard, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1439155267 ISBN 13: 9781439155264

Publisher: Scribner, 2009

Synopsis

It's bound to be a problem when a vicar's wife loses her faith. In a Robert Barnard novel it can be a source of amusement, dismay, contemplation, and even murder. The hideous neo-Gothic parish church of St. Saviour's may or may not be typical of the Church of England, but clergy wife Rosemary Sheffield definitely does not fit the usual mold. While walking in the park one day, she loses her faith. It just lifts away from her, leaving her feeling free and liberated. Should a woman who loses her faith continue to take an active role in church activities? Rosemary's not about to abdicate her position of power in the Mothers' Union to gossipy Florrie Harridance, not even when Florrie spreads rumors about Rosemary's supposed holiday fling, when she may have been too friendly with a young waiter named Stanko. Rosemary quickly squelches the gossip, but nasty rumors threaten to return when Stanko, a mysterious refugee from the former Yugoslavia, turns up one day at the vicarage, begging for Rosemary's help. In assisting Stanko, Rosemary opens herself and her family to all sorts of unwelcome attentions from inquisitive parishioners. Even her long-suffering husband, Paul, must wonder who Stanko is and what is the nature of Rosemary's involvement with him.

About this title

Product Description:

The Bad Samaritan With a satirical eye toward the modern-day Church of England, Barnard once again delivers a delightful mix of enigma and suspense. A storm of controversy erupts when Rosemary Sheffield--the vicar's wife--suddenly announces that she no believes in God. "Barnard at his cozy, comic best".--The Hartford Courant. Full description

From the Back Cover:

When Rosemary Sheffield suddenly loses her religious faith it is not merely a personal matter for she is the wife of a vicar. And when, on a brief holiday to think things through, she forms a sad but affectionate relationship with a young refugee from the former Yugoslavia, she ensures that the knives will be out for her husband's parish back home in Leeds. For charity is not the order of the day among the parishioners of St Saviour's.

When a body is found after a church fete it is up to DC Charlie Peace and his boss to discover whether Rosemary's spiritual crisis has led to murder, or is it more worldly concerns that lie at the root of the crime...?

‘He plots a mystery as well as any writer alive’
TIME MAGAZINE

‘Robert Barnard is always original, never repeats himself and has a delectable wit’
JESSICA MANN, 'Daily Telegraph'

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1439155267
• ISBN 13: 9781439155264
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240