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After a former minister dies suddenly upon his return to Emerald Springs, his memorial service is cut just as short. Aggie Sloan-Wilcox, wide of the current minister, knows why. The poor old guy was murdered. But who in this bucolic village could be capable of such a crime?
porchild
Posted February 8, 2013
Continuing right along with the rest of the series, this one lets us know that everyone is human, retiremnent can be rough, and best friends have secrets! Being a minister's wife is not a cushy job!!!! Enjoy the mystery, because it catches you in the end!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Welcome to Emerald Springs, Ohio. Home of the Consolidated Community Church or slanged the Triple C by the current minister's wife Aggie Sloan-Wilcox who's not only known by that title, no she has other hobbies that keep her (in)famous, like, having her own opinions and life aside from being married to her husband Ed the minister, like not behaving like a proper minister's wife should (according to upstanding congretory opinions), or like seemingly always being in the vicinity when a murder just so happens to occur. Yep that's Aggie, and this episode of the life and times of the Wilcox family is no different, when getting ready for the church's 150th Anniversary a past pastor just happens to drop dead. From all angles it appears to be natural causes, from all angles that is except one, yup, he was murdered and Aggie is bound and determined to find the culprit. Now if she could only learn to be a proper minster's wife, she'd be perfect.
Ms. Richards is one of those amazing storytellers that can make her readers visualize the journey that she's taking them on and that will become obvious as she gives us a view of this small American community that appears without villainy and yet people don't murder themselves do they. She'll take us on this trip with dialogue filled with irreverent humor and narrative that will keep her readers glued to the novel to find the culprit and solve the crime. Her characters vary from the mundane to ridiculous and they will in turn charm and alarm you but will all fit nicely in the story and become important to the final The End. Her main protagonist Aggie wears many hats and Ms. Richards shows her confident and doubtful at the same time, yes she makes her very human as she goes through her days as a mother, wife, friend and detective but through it all she always comes through very genuine, someone I would personally love to know and interact with. She also in between solving crimes shows us the day to day problems that we all have and in turn make us laugh at ourselves as we laugh with Aggie.
If you make a list of must reads, this one has to be on it, if you love series put this one on your TBR pile, if you love contemporary mysteries or cozy mysteries this should be top choice. Be prepared to laugh in the next breath after you gasp in the next breath after you wipe your tears in this nail biting one minute, laugh out loud the next minute who-done-it. This novel stands well on it's own, but the series is chronological and so I would suggest reading them all. If you're a fan of Hank Phillipi Ryan or Diane Mott-Davidson you will love this series.
Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
Division of Penguin Publishing
5th Book in the Ministry Is Murder Series
Release Date October 5, 2010
Aggie Sloan-Wilcox is the wife of minister Ed Wilcox of the Consolidated Community Church of Emerald Springs, and she somehow keeps finding herself trying to do good deeds for others but ends up investigating murders.
In this installment of the series, Goodwin "Win" Dorchester, a former pastor of the church comes back to enjoy his retirement in Emerald Springs. But his retirement ends abruptly when dies suddenly after a party celebrating his return.
Just as the mourners from his funeral are about to leave to go to the cemetery, the service is cut short because the coroner's office has requested an autopsy, feeling his death was not by natural causes but murder. His wife Hildy, minister's wife extraordinaire, is outraged. Then to top it off the police feel Hildy is a prime suspect.
Aggie is knows Hildy is a busybody and sticks her nose in where it doesn't belong often, but she is no killer. With a little investigation Aggie comes up with quite a list of other people who may have killed the former pastor, but she also learned some secrets that "Win" had been keeping. Secrets that could lead to more people dying. Aggie needs to get to the truth and get to it quickly.
I LIKED IT!!!!
This entire series has been delightful. The small hometown setting should resonant well with all readers. With a back story of church and ministry these stories are not at all "preachy", they are pure entertainment. The characters are like any you would meet in any church, anywhere in the country. You may even draw comparisons with members or pastors or their wives to those of your own church or community. The plots are well developed and are true cozy mysteries that will keep you pleasantly occupied from the first page until the last and then awaiting the next story to the series.
It was interesting to read the author's biography, as she is herself a preacher's wife though these stories are in no way are autobiographical, thank God, especially with the high murder total in this fictional small town. She is also the author of The Shenandoah Album Novels and several other novels. Check out the slide show below for more stories by Emilie Richards.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime, a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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Overview
After a former minister dies suddenly upon his return to Emerald Springs, his memorial service is cut just as short. Aggie Sloan-Wilcox, wide of the current minister, knows why. The poor old guy was murdered. But who in this bucolic village could be capable of such a crime?