The Mercy and Justice Mysteries Series

Enjoy this Small-Town Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple   I'm Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest in a small-town parish who never expected this . . .   When I came to Myerton to take over as pastor of Saint Clare's Catholic Church, I never expected to run into a woman I loved in college twenty years ago . . .   I never expected that woman to be the police detective who solved my first wife's murder–and saved my life in the process . . .    I never expected to fall in love with her all over again . . .   Most of all, I never, ever expected to receive permission from the Holy Father to marry her . . .    But that's what happened to me.   So after a wonderful wedding and a honeymoon cruise with my new wife, we're looking forward to another week together, just the two of us.   But instead, we have to go back home, to Myerton.    You see, my deacon's been murdered, and I have a hurting flock to tend to.   I'm Helen Parr Greer, Chief of Police in a small-town police department who never expected this . . .    As a police detective in Myerton, I never expected to run into the man who broke my heart twenty years ago . . .   I never expected him to be a Catholic Priest . . .    I never expected him to ask me to solve the murder of his first wife . . .    I never expected to fall in love with him all over again . . .   Most of all, I never, ever expected him to receive permission from the Holy Father to marry me . . .    But that's what happened to me.   So after a wonderful wedding and a honeymoon cruise with my new husband, we're looking forward to another week together, just the two of us.   But instead, we have to go back home, to Myerton.    You see, a man's been murdered, and I have a killer to find . . .   The Honeymoon Homicide is the first novel in the Mercy and Justice Mystery series, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to the Father Tom Mysteries that began with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone. If you enjoy the works of Rhys Dylan, Andrew Mayne, and Mary Stone, you will enjoy this novel.

Enjoy this Small-Town Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple   As a Catholic Priest in a small town, I get along with most of the other clergy in Myerton . . . with one exception.   The Reverend Dexter Huckleberry. Lord help me, I just do not like the man. He gives all of us a bad name. He is a demagogue of the worst kind, wrapping himself in God's word while targeting people because of who they are, how they live, and even where they worship.   He never calls me Father, for example. But I don't take it personally.   And now, he's targeting Steve Austin and the Hoot-n-Holler as a din of iniquity, calling it a 'gay bar' and a gathering place for perverts.   Considering I go there regularly, I take that a little personally . . .   But now he's been murdered, and a friend and fellow vet of Steve's stands accused . . .   . . . and the fallout from that is something I haven't seen coming.   The Reverend Dexter Huckleberry's murder seems open and shut to me . . .   A witness places Steve Austin's friend at his office around the time of the murder. A troubled ex-Marine, he has both the strength and the skill to kill a man. Not only that, he was apparently the last person to see him alive.   But my detective doesn't believe he's guilty. The doctor who saved my life is shielding him from me. Steve's angry with me for placing his friend under arrest. Even Tom's questioning me.   Not only this, but the Mayor's breathing down my neck to make sure this case is closed quickly. I even got a call from the Governor's office!   This case is giving me a huge headache.   And there is another problem . . .    . . . my gut's telling me I'm wrong.   The Maligned Marine is the second novel in the Mercy and Justice Mystery series, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to the Father Tom Mysteries that began with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone.

Father Tom's medical leave is over, and with the beginning of Advent, he's back at his rightful place back at the altar. Everyone is looking forward to the Living Nativity, complete with animals (including a camel) . . . but not Imperial Storm Troopers, if Miriam can keep her co-director Gladys under control. But other than that, the people of Saint Clare's parish and Myerton can look forward to a joyful holiday season full of peace on earth and good will to men.   But unfortunately for Father Tom and Helen, there's not much peace when Miriam breaks her ankle and Helen has to step in to direct the Living Nativity. And the dead body in the barn at the Saint Francis Center has a few words to say about good will to men.   The Nightmare Nativity  is the ninth novel in the Mercy and Justice Mysteries, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to the Father Tom Mysteries that began with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone.  

Enjoy this Small-Town Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple.   After almost two months away, I'm so glad to be back to work at Saint Clare's.   True, I'm not back to celebrating Mass on a regular basis. But I'm in the office and able to help the people of my parish. I was expecting them to come to me with their problems. But I wasn't expecting them to come offering to help me.   So when Martin Maycord proposes a weekend retreat at a mountain lodge owned by a friend of his as a way to help Steve and Bridget Austin get caught up with preparations to have their marriage sacramentalized in the Church, I'm more than eager to accept.   Helen and I go off with our friends, expecting a nice weekend in the mountains.   We don't expect having to investigate a murder.   What's worse, one of our friends is the prime suspect.   But what's even worse, I know something about the whole thing, and I can't tell Helen . . .    After almost two months away, I'm so glad to be back to work as Chief of Police.   It's been rough being away from my people, and I know I have a long way to go to rebuild their trust, but I'm committed to doing just that.   But when the opportunity comes up for me to accompany Tom on the retreat organized by Martin Maycord, I just can't turn it down. Especially since it gives me the opportunity to help one of my favorite officers.   So Tom and I go off with our friends, expecting to relax while Tom helps Steve and Bridget prepare for their marriage in the church.    I didn't expect to wind up investigating a murder.   What's worse, one of our friends is the prime suspect.   But what's even worse, Tom knows something about the whole thing, and can't tell me . . .    The Revealing Retreat  is the eighth novel in the Mercy and Justice Mysteries, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to the Father Tom Mysteries that began with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone.

Abraham Asher drops dead of an apparent heart attack at the end of the Myerton Softball League's All-Star Game. When Helen receives evidence he was poisoned, she begins to hunt for a killer.

There are few things worse than the loss of a child.   When Sally Mayfield, Vincent Trent's fiance, has a miscarriage, their grief is palpable. As a priest, it's my job to comfort in times of loss like this.   But Sally didn't simply have a miscarriage. Blood tests find an abortion-inducing drug in her system. Vincent is hurt and angry. Sally swears she didn't take anything, and claims someone must have given her the drug without her knowledge or consent. Not only that, she points the finger at the one person she can think of who hated her baby so much.   Her own mother, Samantha.   Under the fetal homicide law, the death of Sally's unborn baby at fourteen weeks isn't murder. But the stabbing death of her mother definitely is.    Now, the grief-stricken father stands accused. Everyone who knows Vincent says he couldn't possibly be guilty.   I firmly believe that he's innocent.   But I've been wrong before . . .    There are few things worse than the loss of a child.   When she loses her baby and an abortion-inducing drug is found in her system, Sally points the finger at her mother, Samantha.   After Sally secretly records her mom admitting to slipping her the drug without her knowledge or consent, I have no choice but to arrest her. In doing so, I ignite a controversy that threatens to divide our small community–a controversy fanned by Samantha herself, who twists the facts to her own advantage.    It doesn't help that the woman's an old friend of my boss, the Mayor.   The case against Samantha falls apart due to lack of evidence. Soon after, she's found dead in her home, stabbed to death. Vincent Trent is identified as the young man seen running from the scene. I have no choice but to arrest him.   The evidence is circumstantial, but damning. In my heart, I know he's innocent.   But proving that is another story . . . The Heavy Hearts is book ten in The Mercy and Justice Mysteries, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to The Father Tom Mysteries that begins with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone.  

Enjoy this Small Town Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple   After months of looking, Helen and I think we've finally found our cabin hideaway.   It has everything we've been looking for. There's a wrap-around porch complete with swing. The view from the back is, in a word, breathtaking. The master suite is huge, complete with a bathroom that looks like it was plucked from an exclusive spa resort and a stone fireplace. The upstairs has a fantastic kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances and cabinets and a living room with another stone fireplace.   It has everything we've been looking for.   If it just weren't for the dead body . . .   We loved the cabin as soon as we laid eyes on it. Then, we found the body.   The victim is a famous speaker who runs a ministry teaching women how to be 'perfect Christian wives and mothers.' It was also her cabin, just put up for sale by her husband.    At first glance, it looks like the poor woman was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the more we investigate, the less certain we are.   Dan and I pursue one suspect after another. But each have alibis. We're at a loss to figure this out.   Then we find the woman had a secret . . . and her secret may have gotten her killed.   The Cabin Corpse is book 11 in the Mercy and Justice Mysteries, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to the Father Tom Mysteries that began with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone.

Enjoy this Small-Town Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple   To honor the town's first responders, the Myerton Business Owner's Association has decided to sponsor an all-expense paid trip to a Jamaican resort. Dan Conway is the lucky winner, and with Father Tom, Helen, and others taking charge of the Conway children, he and Miriam jet off to the Caribbean for one last vacation before their sixth child arrives.   No sooner have the couple left than the body of a multilevel marketing representative  is found in the backyard of the home of the host of the weekly meeting of Rosary Mom's. Fortunately, Helen is on the scene, attending the meeting with Father Tom and the Conway children in tow.   Unfortunately, Catherine Conway helps Helen find the body, bringing her the unfortunate woman's red shoe.   With the help of Father Tom, Junior Detective Conway, and two bored moms, Helen investigates who in the woman's life would have wanted her dead . . . and why. The Rosary Revenge is the twelfth novel in the Mercy and Justice Mystery series, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to the Father Tom Mysteries that began with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone.

Enjoy this Small-Town Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple   The Myerton High School Mules football team are coming off their first winning season in years and looking forward to an even better one. The team is in great shape, and under their second year coach they're really coming together as a team.   But all is not well with some of the players. Several of them were involved in incidents where the police were called. A couple of players were arrested for petty theft. Overall, members of the team are bigger and more aggressive than anyone remembers them being.   All of this has Helen concerned. But what concerns her more is the peculiar behavior of her chief detective, Dan Conway. He seems distracted, and has gone out of his way to downplay the incidents involving members of the football team.   During all of this, Doctor Martin Maycord finds evidence of a potentially dangerous new drug being used by Myerton's young people. Helen asks Dan to look into it.   Then Martin is hit by a car in front of the hospital. What happens next not only threatens the future of the football team, but Helen's relationship with Dan.   The Detective's Dilemma is the thirteenth novel in the Mercy and Justice Mystery series, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to the Father Tom Mysteries that began with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone.    

Enjoy this Contemporary Small Town Sleuthing Couple Murder Mystery   Gina Sprague is a popular member of Saint Clare's Carlo Acutis Society. She's bright, funny, kind, generous, and takes her faith seriously.   She's also been very unlucky in love . . .   Out of desperation, she joins a dating app for Catholic young men and women. There, after years of looking, she finds her Prince Charming.   Malcolm Whittaker. He's a successful man in his early thirties. Bright, handsome, and takes his faith seriously.   A match made in heaven . . . with a little help from cyberspace. They get engaged, and even meet with Father Tom about preparing for their marriage.   Then, Gina's found brutally murdered. What's worse, Malcolm finds his fiance's body. He's grief stricken, almost unconsolable, but the Acutis Society–in fact, the entire community–rallies around to support him. Because he was miles away at the time she was murdered, Helen and Dan quickly clear him as a suspect.   But Gladys is convinced Malcolm did it, and begins her own investigation. Unfortunately, the new mom's been struggling caring for the triplets, and everyone thinks she's suffering from delusions brought on by severe postpartum depression.   Everyone, that is, except Father Tom . . .  The Murdered Match is the sixteenth novel in The Mercy and Justice Mysteries, a contemporary small town mystery series. The series is a sequel to The Father Tom Mysteries that began with The Penitent Priest and includes the same cast of characters. It features Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest who is also an amateur sleuth in the tradition of Father Brown, and his wife Helen Greer, female Chief of Police and detective in the tradition of Kinsey Millhone.