The Root of All Evil

Written by Ellery Adams and Elizabeth Lockard

Narrated by Cris Dukehart

Cooper Lee has never been happier. She has terrific friends at Bible study, a great boyfriend in Nathan, and best of all, a new niece or nephew on the way. But storm clouds are gathering when a string of church robberies comes to Hope Street and an art teacher is found dead in what appears to be a robbery gone wrong. With Halloween approaching, Cooper's beginning to think there are far more tricks than treats coming her way.

No sooner do she and her friends step in to help the police unearth a killer than they discover a con artist among their flock. Lost in a morass of confusing clues-and even more confusing signals from Nathan-Cooper's not sure which way to turn. With the stakes so high, she sends up a prayer for some divine guidance, because Cooper knows that sometimes it takes the help of a higher power to bring down the lowest form of evildoer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: May 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781515972532

Ellery Adams

Ellery Adams has written over forty mystery novels and can’t imagine spending a day away from the keyboard. Ms. Adams, a native New Yorker, has had a lifelong love affair with stories, food, rescue animals, and large bodies of water. When not working on her next novel, she reads, bakes, gardens, spoils her three cats, and rearranges her bookshelves. She lives with her husband and two children (aka the Trolls) in Chapel Hill, NC. For reading guides and a list of bibliotherapy titles, please visit ElleryAdamsMysteries.com.

Reviews for The Root of All Evil

[carlathelibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the fourth book in the Hope Street Church series. I have only read the first one so I missed out on some developments along the way, but this book could still be enjoyed without having read the rest. This is a Christian cozy mystery series and I am really enjoying it.

Cooper and her friends from Hope Street Church Bible study group get involved again in another delightful cozy mystery to solve with lots of turns and twists that will keep you guessing. There are a few mysteries going on in the story that involve thefts and the big one that involves a couple of murders. Of course there is also Cooper's life with her job, friends, family and love interest that add another dimension to the story.

Cooper has received a promotion at work that causes her to become involved in trying to find out who is stealing from the company. She is also dealing with her feelings regarding her boyfriend Nathan. She wants the relationship to become more serious and he seems quite happy with it the way it is. Her little sister Ashley is pregnant, but it is a risky pregnancy and she is on complete bed rest which she hates. Cooper helps her to overcome her boredom and angry feelings in a couple of situations and it helps her to get her mind off of some of her issues.

The big mystery starts off with church robberies and escalates when a teacher from the Hope Street Christian Academy is killed in the Pastor's office. The Bible study group helps the pastor cope with the situation as well as doing some investigating on their own. A new police officer begins flirting with Cooper and she starts to question her feelings towards both Nathan and "Will". When there is another murder and someone breaks into her parent's home, Cooper becomes frightened and begs Nathan to meet her at the hospital where her sister is in labour and in danger.

She does not know which way to turn. She knows that she needs help from God to help her to solve this mystery. With everything in chaos can she and her friends catch the killer as well as catch the thief? This is an engaging and fun cozy mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. I highly recommend this book. Also, included are some delightful recipes from Magnolia’s (her mother Maggie) Kitchen.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[cyderry · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cooper feels that her life is definitely progressing along the right path - she has been given a promotion at work, has a steady boyfriend, a loving family, and friends in her Bible group that support each other in so many ways. So when a teacher she met at a school where her Bible group volunteered is murdered, Cooper resolves to find justice for this sweet gentle person. The mysteries are fun to try to solve and the characters just seem to get better and better.

[rhonda1111 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 STARS This is a new Hope Street Church Mystery book. It makes a good cozy mystery, I guessed who the thief at Cooper's work early on. The other mystery of who the killer was blind sided me. I wish there was more of Nathan's character. I don't think I would be so welcoming a thief into my house. They were good examples. There is less scriptures to me in this book but does have some of the Bible discussion. Cooper Lee is the central figure in the Hope Street Church Mysteries. Cooper is single living over her parents garage. She works at a copy machine repair shop. She is up for promotion. She dates Nathan for a year now. She is part of bible class at Hope street Church. Cooper as a thief at work. She meets a teacher at parents conference where they have volunteered to help at refreshments. The teacher gets killed. Also there is a thief who is robbing churches. Plenty of good drama with family, church and work life with Cooper. Cooper and her bible study group jump in trying to find out who killed the teacher. Her boss wants her help to find the thief at work. Edward is the one to find out who the thief robbing the churches is. I have enjoyed reading all 4 books in the Hope Street Church series the last few days. They are clean easy to follow mysteries. They are clean reads. I would not mind if their be more to the series. I was given this ebook to read by Net Galley and Beyond the Page. In return I agreed to give a honest review of The Root of all Evil.