Travellin' Shoes
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4.9 • 7 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
A house fire is extinguished to reveal the body of a choir director. The smell of gasoline points to murder.
Thomas Warrendale was employed by First Baptist Church, where Detective RJ Franklin Jr. is a parishioner. Recovering from a car accident, RJ is on leave from the police force in St. Joseph, Indiana, when this puzzling case calls him back. His insider's knowledge makes him the obvious choice to lead the investigation.
The congregation doubled after Warrendale revamped the music to appeal to a more youthful crowd. RJ's godmother, Mama B, gives the detective an earful about the choir director's non-musical activities. Warrendale was also an accountant and a "fancy pants" seducer. His clients believe the man was stealing from them. Warrendale turns out to be an alias; his real name was Tyrone Warren, once a highly paid CPA in Cleveland. Was Warren in hiding? From his stone-faced wife? A disgruntled client? Now someone is breaking in to the dead choir director's office and the homes of his former clients. Believing the vandal to be the killer, RJ is particularly concerned about the safety of one client, the striking owner of two hair salons.
Book 1 in the RJ Franklin Mystery series. Soul food recipes included.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Early one morning, St. Joseph, Ind., police detective RJ Franklin, the narrator of this promising series debut from Burns (The Plot Is Murder), is out for a jog when he hears sirens and smells smoke. When he sees flames, he runs toward the source, which turns out to be the house of Thomas Warrendale, the choir director of First Baptist Church, which RJ sometimes attends. Inside, Warrendale is found dead; evidence at the scene suggests arson. The First Baptist pastor, Hilton Hamilton, informs RJ that Warrendale, who was a CPA, was looking into the possible embezzlement of church funds. Ella "Mama B" Bethany, a fellow parishioner, tells RJ that Warrendale was involved with several women from the church, but the real shocker comes when RJ learns that his real name was Tyrone Warren and he was married to a woman in Cleveland. RJ finds plenty of suspects, including the church financial secretary and Ty's attractive widow, along the way to the satisfying ending. Burns nicely portrays the close-knit ties among the members of the vibrant church community.
Customer Reviews
Suspenseful
This is one of her best!