I’m so excited! (Honestly? A little bit nervous too.) Today I start my new job. And not just a new job; also a new town. New church. New home. Lots of changes. A fresh start. One that will be good for me after the pain and heartbreak of the past couple years.
I adjusted my scarf as I walked by pretty pink camellias and budding azaleas nestled beside quaint cottages and bungalows on my way to work in Apple Springs, California. This charming, sleepy little town was a far cry from the San Francisco Bay Area where I’d lived and worked for the past two decades. After all the urban noise, congestion, and traffic I was accustomed to, Apple Springs was a tranquil and welcome respite. My new beginning. And Bogie’s (my beloved black Lab) too. Bogie, named after Humphrey Bogart, loves his big, new back yard.
I could see Faith Chapel Episcopal Church in the distance—an older white wooden building with lovely stained glass, and quickened my steps, eager to begin my first day as the church’s new associate pastor. My name is Hope Taylor, and I’m going to be the first woman priest in Faith Chapel’s 160-year history.
Father Christopher, the kindly, seventy-something rector who hired me warned that it won’t be easy. Several of the old-timers, who’ve been attending the historic church all their lives (“cradle Episcopalians”) don’t like the idea of change. They especially don’t like the idea of a woman priest in their small church, but I hope to win them over. . . Kind of the way Bing Crosby did with the elderly Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way, one of my favorite old movies. I’m a huge old movie buff. Love ‘em. You don’t want to play a game of Silver Screen Trivial Pursuit with me. (Unless you like losing.)
As I rounded the corner of a tall hedge, I smacked straight into something hard. Instantly I felt a goose egg forming on my forehead. But that was only the beginning. If I’d known then that I was going to stumble over a dead body in the columbarium chapel my first day on the job and become the prime suspect in a murder, I probably would never have gotten out of bed that morning.
Hope, Faith, & A Corpse by Laura Jensen Walker, Faith Chapel Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: January 2021
Purchase Link
Hope Taylor arrives in Apple Springs to start her new life as the first female pastor of Faith Chapel Episcopal Church. The Northern California town promises a fresh start for the forty-two-year-old widow and Bogie, her scruffy black Labrador. But where is Father Christopher? The kindly old rector who hired Pastor Hope was supposed to meet her upon her arrival, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Hope’s faith springs eternal, so she explores the little white church hoping to find Father Christopher. But when she enters the columbarium, she instead finds church elder Stanley King—his skull crushed by a fallen burial urn.
Hope had made Stanley’s acquaintance before and had struggled to take a charitable view of his character. Stanley was as wicked as he was wealthy, as petty as he was pious. His soul may have been holy, but his behavior was wholly rotten. The last time Hope had seen him, he had shouted drunkenly that she would preach at Faith Chapel over his dead body.
Many of the townsfolk witness the altercation, so Hope finds herself as the prime suspect in Stanley’s murder. With Bogie’s four-footed assistance, Hope is determined to find the real killer and clear her name. . .even if it will require a bit of divine intervention.
About the Author
Laura Jensen Walker has loved mysteries ever since she read Trixie Belden in the fourth grade. A former journalist and the author of several books, including her first cozy, Murder Most Sweet, Laura lives in Northern California with her Renaissance-man husband and their canine-daughter Mellie, the alpha female in the house. Laura, who became a rabid Anglophile while stationed in England with the Air Force, loves to curl up with a cup of PG Tips tea and a good book, watch old movies and English murder mysteries, and sing in the choir of her neighborhood Episcopal church. For more information, please visit her website at laurajensenwalker.com, or connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
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The publisher has generously offered to to give away an ARC (advance reader copy) of Hope, Faith, & A Corpse. To enter, please leave a comment below. One entry per person and the giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends January 14, 2020. Good luck everyone!
All comments are welcomed.
Thanks for introducing Hope to my readers.
Thanks for having me today, Dru!
Hope sounds like a great character. I’d love to find out how she finds the killer. Thanks for the chance.
Thanks, Leeza; I had such a good time creating Hope. Good luck!
I absolutely love 💕 the cute cover on this new book 📚! This is a new author to me, and that is always so exciting to me….can’t wait to read this thrilling new book! Love the cute doggie’s name Bogey for Humphrey Bogart! Thank you so much dear Dru and dear Laura for the chance! Hugs 🤗 🌈🐾📚
Thank you, Beverly! I LOVE the cover too! Crooked Lane Books does the best covers! I’m a huge dog lover, so there are always dogs in my cozies 🙂 (I’m also an old movie buff, so I made Pastor Hope one too.) Good luck!
Sounds divine!
Thanks, Sharon.
Wow, my favorite movie actor of ALL time is Humphrey Bogart— so hooked right there! Thank you the giveaway!
Kimberly, wasn’t he the best? You may enjoy knowing that Pastor Hope quotes a famous Lauren Bacall line to Humphrey Bogart from “To Have and Have Not” to one of her parishioners 🙂
This sounds like a great cozy and what a cute cover! Thank you for the chance to win a copy.
wfnren at aol dot com
I enjoyed her last book, Murder Most Sweet. I’ll have to check out this new one.
Thanks, Alicia! Sweet music to this author’s ears. (Murder Most Sweet was my first cozy and Hope, Faith, & a Corpse is my second.)
Thanks, Wendy. I love the cover too!
Hope sounds like she is a strong woman. The challenges of starting at a new church do not seem to be a big hurdle for her.
Plus, I always enjoy a book that has a dog or cat in it. I would enjoy reading this book.
Thanks, Debbie. Hope is definitely a strong woman. I modeled parts of her on a few different Episcopal priests I’ve met over the years.
Sounds like a must-read fir me!!!
Sounds like a great new series. Looking forward to reading the book.
Thanks, Dianne. Good luck!
New author and series for me, would love to get a copy!
Thanks, Teresa. I always love meeting new readers. Good luck!
Great to meet Hope, I look forward to reading this new book. Thanks for the chance to win.
Thanks. Good luck!
This story sounds fun & I love the cover.
Thanks, Jana. Me too!
**** WINNER ****
Hope, Faith, & A Corpse is Cyn209
Congratulations!