False Witness (Sister Agatha Mysteries)
The pallid fourth Sister Agatha mystery from the Thurlo husband-and-wife team (after 2006'sPrey for a Miracle) piles on New Mexico smalltown color, but lacks a challenging puzzle. Agatha is an extern-authorized to interact with the outside world-for Our Lady of Hope Monastery, a small community on the cusp of financial ruin. When a drunk driver crashes his SUV into its security gate, the nuns must scramble to find the funds for repairs. Meanwhile, a hacker is disrupting the computer work the community relies upon for much of its income, and the adjacent vineyard may be sold to a developer. Salvation seems at hand when dying millionaire John Guttierez, aware of Agatha's reputation as an amateur investigator, offers her a lucrative payday if she succeeds in tracing his estranged niece. The descriptions of monastic life are compelling, but too-pat miracles and too-simple mysteries will disappoint all but the most devoted series fans.(Oct.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.