What do I think of Tanya Taylor’s book? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.
Someone has murdered the Mother Superior. She’s found by one of the nuns in the convent and that nun before any investigation can be done pulls a knife out of her body. Two other nuns make a survey of the convent. Is anyone else there? Is there any sign of an open window or anything? Nothing.
Naturally, the police are called in who do an investigation of the nuns and interview them all, but there is one person that is known to the detective and apparently to everyone else who does his own investigation. This is Father Joe McCullen. A later event leads to him having a more personal interest in finding out who did the crime.
So who murdered this nun and why would they want to? How was it done? All of these questions are discussed and Father Joe with his position in the community uses his knowledge to get to the bottom of the situation.
At the same time though, he is always a priest. When people are coming to him with concerns they have in the aftermath of what happened, he is right there. When someone needs to go and comfort the nuns and help them work through whatever they are going through with this, he is there again. However, he is not only a priest, but he is a very wise priest. This is a man who lives out his Christian walk and references to that walk are constantly found throughout the book.
At the same time, a Protestant reader can happily enjoy this book. Aside from nuns, I can’t think of anything right off in the book that is really distinctly Catholic. At the same time, I would not have wanted to give up on the book in disgrace if such had been there, but a Protestant reader can find themselves right at home reading this material.
The book is also short as there are just fifteen chapters and I did cheat with one chapter being a couple of pages so I read that in addition to my normal one chapter a day. Because of that, I finished the mystery in two weeks and I did find that I enjoyed it.
I will grant that this is the first one in the series that I have read and so I did find it rather simple to figure out who did the crime and why as the story went on, but seeing how it all worked out was also interesting. The main theme of the book is not to be found in the crime. It’s to be found in the values that the people in the book live by. It is to be found in how a Christian community struggles when one of the worst sins is found in their midst.
If you like a mystery like I do and want to read something that is also family friendly and wholesome, this is a good one. I do know there are other books in the series and I plan to get them as they go on sale, or unless someone feels generous. If you want to get it, you can find it here.
In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)
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