The Father Tom Mysteries: Books 4-6

This is a boxset of the first three books in The Father Tom Mysteries. Meet Father Tom Greer and Detective Helen Parr, former lovers reunited after twenty years, as they solve crimes old and new--and explore the profound mysteries of the human heart.

 

The Buried Bride (Book 4)--With the Archbishop's blessing, Helen and I are spending Lent building a relationship built on love--but without physical intimacy.

 

And yes, it's as hard as it sounds.

 

But this penitential season, I have other work to do. I need to rebuild my relationship with the families of St. Clare's after neglecting my duties as their shepherd. I must confess my sins to them, and ask their forgiveness.

 

With these two tasks, I expected this Lent to be the longest of my life.

 

But I didn't expect to be fighting to stay out of prison.

 

The Defining Decision  (Book 5)--After the astonishing news from the Archbishop, Helen and I are looking forward to possibly having a life together as husband and wife.

 

That is, if the Holy Father grants me permission.

 

While awaiting word from the Vatican, we're getting to know each other more deeply. Going out on dates, spending time together, talking about what our life together will be like if we're allowed to marry. All of this under Anna's watchful eye, and being very careful to keep things secret.

 

But then Gladys runs over the President of Myer College's chief of staff. What looks like a tragic accident takes a bizarre turn when drugs are found in his system.

 

Is the young genius I consider a daughter guilty of murder, or is she being set up by someone from her past?

 

The Silent Shooter (Book 6)--The Pope's decision to allow us to marry captures the imagination of the entire world. Finally, after having to hide our relationship from all but a few close friends, we can openly proclaim our love for each other, and celebrate with our parish family our future lives together.

 

But not everyone, it seems, is happy with our plans. 

 

First come the letters, threatening Helen with divine justice if she persists in her plans. 

 

Then, on live television, someone takes a shot at us. 

 

It soon becomes apparent that someone's decided to stop us at any cost.

 

But Helen  already knows who wants her dead. It's someone from her past as a Detective in Washington, D.C. A serial killer who sees himself acting as God's instrument to kill impure women.

 

With little to go on besides the letters of a lunatic and a possible connection between the killer and a fanatic priest with his own agenda, we're in a race against time to find a killer--before the killer finds us first.

 

Susan Mathis was born in and grew up in an extremely small town in Alachua County, Florida where her family has lived for more than 100 years. When Susan was still very young, James (J.R) Mathis was born in a somewhat bigger small town about 100 miles south of where she lived. Within a decade, James' small town would become part of Orlando, the biggest tourist destination in the United States. He was not amused. That is how, while Susan was running barefoot, swimming in lakes full of alligators and feeding chickens, James was sitting in his bedroom reading books faster than his father could bring them home from the library.

Were James and Susan to write their love story, it would definitely be an enemies-to-lovers trope. They met in the library where he was working. He found her demands for books that he had to pull and bring to her so unreasonable that he actually turned her into the head librarian. She in turn was so anxious to drive him away that when some friends secretly set them up she laid out an entire speech about how miserable her life was (she is typically very upbeat). Little did she suspect that he had a passionate attraction to misery and they were married just over a year later.

Fast forward 26 years, three children, four grandchildren and 20 years of James working for the Federal government. He was diagnosed with a highly treatable but still very scary form of cancer. As so often happens, this brush with mortality inspired him to do something he'd always wanted to do, write a novel. After the publication of the second Father Tom Mystery, Susan joined him as coauthor. As far as the Mathises are concerned, writing together is the most fun a couple can have sitting at a computer.