Published: July 28th, 2015
James Lilliefors's unlikely detective duo, Pastor Luke Bowers and homicide investigator Amy Hunter, return in a new murder mystery set in Maryland's picturesque Tidewater County
Tourists like Susan Champlain pass through the Chesapeake Bay region every year. But when Susan pays Pastor Luke Bowers a visit, he's disturbed by what she shares with him. Her husband has a short temper, she says, and recently threatened to make her "disappear" because of a photo Susan took on her phone.
Luke is concerned enough to tip off Tidewater County's chief homicide investigator, Amy Hunter. That night, Susan's body is found at the foot of the Widow's Point bluff. Hunter soon discovers Susan left behind clues that may connect her fate to a series of killings in the Northeast, a powerful criminal enterprise, and to a missing Rembrandt masterpiece, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee.
Whoever is behind the killings has created a storm of deception and betrayal, a deliberate "tempest" designed to obscure the truth. Now Hunter and Bowers must join forces to trace the dangerous secret glimpsed in Susan's photo. But will they be the next targets on a killer's deadly agenda . . . ?
GUEST POST
Ten of My Favorite Books (in no particular order)
by James Lilliefors
Too Much Happiness. Alice Munroe. Ten beautifully told tales that illuminate the complexity of human lives. Written with simple, stunning clarity, these stories are full of wisdom, pitch-perfect dialogue, and unforgettable characters.
John Adams by David McCullough. Although his domain is non-fiction, David McCullough is one of our best storytellers, and John Adams provides him perfect subject-matter. Thoroughly researched and richly detailed, this book captures the interior life of America’s second president.
The Honourable Schoolboy by John LeCarre. The second of LeCarre’s Karla/Smiley trilogy, this is a masterpiece of espionage writing, a darkly intricate story told with intelligence and humor. As with all of Le Carre’s books, though, it’s the deeply flawed, endlessly interesting characters more than the plot that make it such a great read.
The Bible. There’s a reason these stories are still so widely read and often quoted. It is a book (66 books, actually) well worth going to every day.
Lost Horizon. James Hilton. A magical novel of hope and faith written between the World Wars that still speaks with a clear and insistent voice today.
Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman. A series of 30 mind-bending meditations on the nature of time. This beguiling, thought-provoking book imagines Einstein’s dreams during several months in 1905 – when he was a Swiss patent clerk working on his peculiar theory of relativity.
The New Yorker Stories by Ann Beattie. In these often poignant stories, originally published between 1974 and 1986, Ann Beattie creates her own sparse but nuanced music, which is strange, sad, bittersweet, funny, and lingers long after you turn the page.
American Pastoral by Philip Roth. This powerful, beautifully crafted novel takes a trenchant look at the dreams and realities of American life in the 1960s. Brimming with compassion and wit, the book features some of Roth’s most vivid characters. It’s my favorite of his many terrific novels.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This short book, published to little fanfare in 1925, casts a tragic but lyrical light on the American Dream. The book has a mysterious, enduring appeal, as does the title character. So we beat on …
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Although her mysteries may seem dated, and their plots convoluted, that’s also part of the fun of Agatha Christie. Christie had a genius for creating confounding plot puzzles that turned on human behavior. I read her books growing up and still enjoy them as vacation reading. This novel, one of her best, is famous for its “twist” ending.
About the author:
James Lilliefors is the author of the geopolitical thriller novels The Levianthan Effect and Viral. A journalist and novelist who grew up near Washington DC, Lilliefors is also the author of three nonfiction books.
James Lilliefors is author of the Amy Hunter/Luke Bowers mystery series (HarperCollins/Witness). The first book in the series was The Psalmist (2014). The second, The Tempest, was published in July 2015. Lilliefors has also contributed to several art books and written about art for Art and Antiques, ARTnews, The Miami Herald and other publications.
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