 |
| "Oh, yeah, this is going to be a nice little ceremony."" Mac muttered while pushing against the hundred pounds of fur and claws depositing hair and drool on his new shirt and khaki slacks... Refusing to back down, Gnarly wedged his body in between the steering wheel and Mac. "Gnarly, I'm going to kill you!" To save the seat upholstery from Gnarly's sharp claws, Mac threw open the door. The German Shepherd was in such a hurry to get out that he didn't give his master a chance to escape before plowing over Mac to send him out the door and flat on his back on the pavement. Landing on all fours at a full sprint, the dog charged across the parking lot. "Oh, dear Lord!" Archie threw open her dor and ran to the driver's side where Mac was sprawled spread-eagle on the ground. |
A long whine came from the back seat ...Archie Monday, the love of Mac's life, turned around in her seat to look back at Gnarly. His tall ears rested back flat against his head..."Mac, Gnarly's a member of the family and I want him to be here. This is the most important day in our lives and we can't not include him. It'd be like leaving our son at home while we were joined in holy matrimony."
"I did not sire him," Mac said...
Gnarly was up on his hind legs digging at the office door.
"Get off the door!" Mac shouted at him while storming down the hallway to grasp Gnarly by the collar...Gnarly yanked and pulled away from Mac until he got out of his collar and went back to the door. Whimpering, he plopped down onto the floor while gazing from the door back to Mac and then back again...
"Come on, Gnarly," Archie called to him. "Don't you want to see your daddy and me get married?"
"That animal did not come from my loins," Mac said in a low voice...
Noticing that Gnarly's barking and howling had stopped, David asked, Sound of what?"
Abruptly, the double doors flew open and a woman came running in. Her face was stark white and her eyes were filled with shock. Once inside the sanctuary, she stopped. Her mouth hung open while she gazed wide-eyed at each of them...she uttered an ear piercing scream that reached all the way up to the rafters, to bounce and echo through the church. Unable to form the words to communicate the meaning behind her scream, she pointed toward the office wing...
At first, the office appeared like any other...However, there was a big difference where this one was concerned. This office had a man lying in a pool of blood behind his desk...
~~~
A Wedding and a Killing
A Mac Faraday Mystery
By Lauren Carr
This latest book by Lauren Carr turned out to become a personal favorite for 2014 for me...it brought new characters to enjoy, in a setting I am most familiar with, including geographically, and a true-life experience I could totally agree with...
And all that happened just because our main character, Mac Faraday, and his fiancee decided they didn't want to wait to get married... So they had planned a totally secret ceremony with only the pastor and their two witnesses at the Spencer Church...
Only problem? There was a dead body waiting in the church for them... Of course Gnarly knew about it as soon as they entered the parking lot... whether his nose or his canine intuition, he was trying very hard to communicate that there was an emergency. Mac and Archie had only one thing on their mind... becoming man and wife and sleeping together than night!
I admit that Carr has become one of my favorite authors, but, like with other writers on that list, I don't get to keep up as I used to... So by the time I'd missed a couple of books prior to this one, new characters, specifically two, were right there waiting for me, especially, this beauty...
She is a service dog to Chelsea who has become a special friend to the Sheriff. Molly is a service dog--one that I wasn't aware of for those needing health and emotional support! Cool, right?! Chelsea and Molly were together and Molly had been trained to help if Chelsea suffered an epileptic seizure. Guess who was very pleased to have a new friend?
Molly, of course, was there since Chelsea was to be one of the witnesses for the ceremony. So they were both at the church in their respective companion roles when the body was found...
"I don't believe this," Archie whispered to Chelsea [the Sheriff's friend] while watching the reverend and the two members of her staff huddled together--praying for the trustee who was fighting for his life."
"Neither do I." Chelsea stroked the top of Molly's head and Archie sat on the steps leading up to the pulpit where less than an hour before they were preparing for a wedding ceremony. Laying down between them, Gnarly licked Molly's ears. When she didn't seem to properly appreciate his affection, he would whine and paw at the white German shepherd clad in her service dog vest.
A Trustee who had been there in the church to count the money was the man who was attacked and later died... You know what that means! The ceremony could not continue! Everybody in the church was a suspect! And, of course, Mac had to become involved in helping to solve the murder...And he dragged Archie in to assist with her special research and computer skills!
Anybody who has been a church member somewhere knows that, often, if you admit it, there are people there who, ah, shall we say, we are not fond of... Spencer Church was no different... except this church was one with whom Mac's mother had been involved, and Archie had come to have sentimental memories and wanted to be married there...
But one woman... Ok, that's all I have to say, because, there's always one woman who believes she is the reason the church continues to exist...my last church had one, and I left there... So you can understand how this became a favorite... But there were many more intriguing characters, several of which had a secret background that also turned out to be a heartwarming story for me... And let's not forget the men who were self-righteous or allow their lustful feelings to dominate even in a church... And, of course, the pastor, who happened to be a female... Was she accepted by the church leaders or was there a woman-hater in the congregation that believed a woman had no place in the pulpit... Then she had to act in self-defense... LOL
I'd better stop--my ideas for consideration just may have gone beyond this particular book! But, still, you should always realize that every church includes people who live like every single one of us, with out own individual needs and desires...and fears.
Carr has done an excellent job of putting readers directly into this setting and she has done it with humor, empathy, sympathy and love. She sees our faults inside and outside of our various beliefs and sets us down to consider who and why among us could be capable of murder...or other criminal actions. With of course, our regular great characters, including Mac, that sorts through all the danger, the pain and fears, and ferrets out exactly what happens... Certainly do love this series, but this one was just funny enough and full of memories to touch my heart. Along with Gnarly and, now, Molly...well, it's a combination that is hard to beat! Kudos to the author!
Check this one out, for sure!
GABixlerReviews
Lauren Carr is the best-selling author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. A Wedding and a Killing is the eighth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series...
Gnarly, I believe, is giving her a kiss for this latest book...
And all that happened just because our main character, Mac Faraday, and his fiancee decided they didn't want to wait to get married... So they had planned a totally secret ceremony with only the pastor and their two witnesses at the Spencer Church...
Only problem? There was a dead body waiting in the church for them... Of course Gnarly knew about it as soon as they entered the parking lot... whether his nose or his canine intuition, he was trying very hard to communicate that there was an emergency. Mac and Archie had only one thing on their mind... becoming man and wife and sleeping together than night!
 |
| "Actually I guess I should believe it," Archie said. "I mean, with the life Mac and I lead, how could there not be a murder at our wedding?" She sighed, "I feel terrible." ~~~ |
She is a service dog to Chelsea who has become a special friend to the Sheriff. Molly is a service dog--one that I wasn't aware of for those needing health and emotional support! Cool, right?! Chelsea and Molly were together and Molly had been trained to help if Chelsea suffered an epileptic seizure. Guess who was very pleased to have a new friend?
"I don't believe this," Archie whispered to Chelsea [the Sheriff's friend] while watching the reverend and the two members of her staff huddled together--praying for the trustee who was fighting for his life."
"Neither do I." Chelsea stroked the top of Molly's head and Archie sat on the steps leading up to the pulpit where less than an hour before they were preparing for a wedding ceremony. Laying down between them, Gnarly licked Molly's ears. When she didn't seem to properly appreciate his affection, he would whine and paw at the white German shepherd clad in her service dog vest.
A Trustee who had been there in the church to count the money was the man who was attacked and later died... You know what that means! The ceremony could not continue! Everybody in the church was a suspect! And, of course, Mac had to become involved in helping to solve the murder...And he dragged Archie in to assist with her special research and computer skills!
Anybody who has been a church member somewhere knows that, often, if you admit it, there are people there who, ah, shall we say, we are not fond of... Spencer Church was no different... except this church was one with whom Mac's mother had been involved, and Archie had come to have sentimental memories and wanted to be married there...But one woman... Ok, that's all I have to say, because, there's always one woman who believes she is the reason the church continues to exist...my last church had one, and I left there... So you can understand how this became a favorite... But there were many more intriguing characters, several of which had a secret background that also turned out to be a heartwarming story for me... And let's not forget the men who were self-righteous or allow their lustful feelings to dominate even in a church... And, of course, the pastor, who happened to be a female... Was she accepted by the church leaders or was there a woman-hater in the congregation that believed a woman had no place in the pulpit... Then she had to act in self-defense... LOL
I'd better stop--my ideas for consideration just may have gone beyond this particular book! But, still, you should always realize that every church includes people who live like every single one of us, with out own individual needs and desires...and fears.
 |
| "I'm almost ready. Why don't you go bother Molly and let me get my out-of-office reply set up for my email?" ...Molly's bushy tail slapped her bed when she wagged it in response to is attention. Trained to detect oncoming epileptic seizures for her mistress, Molly was Chelsea's constant companion..." ~~~ |
Check this one out, for sure!
GABixlerReviews
Lauren Carr is the best-selling author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. A Wedding and a Killing is the eighth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series...
Gnarly, I believe, is giving her a kiss for this latest book...
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