A Very Private Grave Donna Fletcher Crow Paperback, 384 pp., $14.99 Monarch Books (September 30, 2010)
Felicity Howard, a young American studying for the Anglican priesthood, is devastated when she finds her beloved Fr. Dominic bludgeoned to death and Fr. Antony, her church history lecturer, soaked in his blood. Following the cryptic clues contained in a poem the dead man had pressed upon her minutes before his death, she and Fr. Antony, who is wanted for questioning by the police, flee the monastery to seek more information about Fr. Dominic and end up in the holy island of Lindisfarne, former home of Saint Cuthbert. Their quest leads them into a dark puzzle… and considerable danger.
On New Year’s Eve, 1989, Father Perry Burns is sitting in his study, accompanied by a mysterious stranger. Perry has just received a letter from his former sweetheart, whom he jilted years earlier after making a terrible decision. He joined the priesthood to hide from his emotions, but now he finds himself recalling, almost reliving, his checkered past. Will the mysterious stranger win the fight for Father Burns’ soul, or will the struggling priest return to Baltimore to be with the woman he loves?
The Book of the Shepherd Joann Davis Hardcover, 208 pp., $19.99 HarperStudio (October 27, 2009)
In this fable inspired by the St. Francis Peace Prayer, Davis re-imagines the prayer and renames it the Law of Substitution. She creates a shepherd, a former slave and a young boy and sends them on an adventure that will test each of them in turn, meeting apocryphal figures like the Storyteller, the Apothecary, a Blind Man, and a Stranger whose stories, skills, and intentions help prepare the three for their final test. They will rely on each other in critical ways, learning first-hand about character, courage, and the priceless gifts that come with reckless generosity.