“Babe, this might be the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” my husband said after he swallowed the last shovel-sized bite of some sort of casserole at the customary meet-the-new-pastor church potluck. “You have to get the recipe.”

I nodded as he turned to the first deacon’s wife and asked who made the dish. Her face fell when he praised something other than her chicken, which I’d have to remedy later. Getting off on the wrong foot with the first deacon’s family would make our lives harder for our time here in Whitney Falls, and we had to make this church—and this town—stick.

She looked around and pointed to a willowy young woman who hadn’t moved from the wall she seemed determined to fade into since we walked into the fellowship hall, even though she looked like she could use a heaping plate more than anyone here. “There she is, Pastor Tim—I don’t know her name, but she brought that. Started as the checkout girl at the Pick and Go just a few weeks ago. Doesn’t say much, but I hear she’s real good at math. Good to know she can cook, though it don’t look like she eats.” She laughed and patted her ample hips.

Tim asked the first deacon’s wife—whose name I needed to learn by next Sunday—to bring the girl over. Her face pinched for a blink before she stood up and went to retrieve the young woman, whose eyes got wider with every step toward us.

Tim nearly finished the rest of his food in the time it took them to cross the room. Wiping his mouth before he smiled, he pointed to his plate when the deacon’s wife stopped in front of us, practically flinging the bony cashier into the table.

“You’re just a regular little Martha, now, aren’t you? Or are you too young to remember the Martha Stewart show from TV?” My husband grinned and extended his hand to the young woman, who shook it quickly, blinking twice before she smiled shyly and said Martha was her actual name.

“It sure suits you, this casserole is the best thing I’ve eaten in a long while,” Tim said as she nodded like she agreed. “And I’d consider it a personal favor if you’d share your recipe with my wife, Mary.”

“My Granny’s burrito casserole was always a hit at parties. Nice to know I came close to making her proud. Thank you.” She pushed her hair out of her face and I couldn’t help noticing that she’d be lovely with just a little effort and a few drops of makeup. “The recipe isn’t exactly written down, but I’ll figure something out. Nice to meet you.”

“Very nice to meet you, indeed, Martha,” Tim said as I smiled. “I’ve never even heard of burrito casserole before, and now I feel as though I’ve spent my entire life being deprived.”

Martha smiled and shook her head before she moved to let the folks in the line forming behind her have a minute to chat with us.

The first deacon’s wife had said she was new in town. I watched her melt back into the wall and wondered what had brought her here.

But that thought, along with the request for the casserole recipe, was lost in a sea of new people at church and never ending boxes at home, and trying harder than ever to avoid my past mistakes.

I had enough recipes. I needed friends in Whitney Falls. The right kind of friends.

And I needed them quick.

The Pastor’s Wife
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Release: June 2025
Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Purchase Link

“Welcome to Church!” Pastor Tim flashes his brilliant white teeth around the congregation. He doesn’t notice me, but I can see that every woman is hypnotized. Except one. His wife. I watch as worry clouds her violet eyes. She’s hiding something. And I’m going to find out what…

Whitney Falls was supposed to be the perfect place for me to disappear, with its quiet leafy streets and tulip-lined gardens. I didn’t intend to make any new friends. But when the pastor’s wife saves me from an accident, I can’t help but fall into her orbit.

Soon enough, I become a regular at church, and the pastor and his wife welcome me into their home with open arms. But the more time I spend with them, the more I begin to feel something isn’t right. It’s not just that Mary looks uncomfortable when Tim kisses her and that he controls what she eats. It’s more than that. It’s the strange black car that I’ve seen watching me each time I visit. The fact that Mary and Tim won’t talk about where they came from before they moved to this small town.

And when I creep through their house in the small hours of a late October morning to see what I can find, I discover something that sends a shiver down my spine… something that makes me wonder whether our first meeting was an accident at all.

Everyone thinks the pastor and his wife are saints. Now, I’m sure that they’re the worst kind of sinners. But they don’t know who I really am. Or what I could do with the terrible secret they want to keep safe…

About the author
LynDee Walker writes about strong women who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Her books have appeared on finalist lists for the Agatha and Thriller awards—and once, on a major national bestsellers list smack in between two of her writing heroes. An award winning journalist, LynDee has covered everything from ribbon cuttings and high school football to capital murder trials and high level police corruption. She’s the author of 20 novels in three series, as well as the forthcoming summer 2025 psychological thriller The Pastor’s Wife, so she’s usually writing when she’s not juggling laundry and children’s sports schedules. Find her online at lyndeewalker.com, or on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads at lyndeewalkerbooks.