Hope, Faith & a Corpse

Hope, Faith & a Corpse

In the tradition of M. C. Beaton, Hope Taylor, pastor of a small-town California church, tries to find out who sent a church elder to Heaven.

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About the Book

Hope Taylor arrives in Apple Springs to start her new life as the first female pastor of Faith Chapel Episcopal Church. The northern California town’s quaint cottages, bungalows, and shops promise a fresh start for the 42-year-old widow and Bogie, her scruffy black Labrador. But where is Father Christopher? The kindly old rector who hired Pastor Hope was supposed to meet her upon her arrival, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Hope’s faith springs eternal, so she explores the little white church hoping to find Father Christopher. But when she enters the columbarium, she instead finds church elder Stanley King–his skull crushed by a fallen burial urn.

Hope had made Stanley’s acquaintance before, and had struggled to take a charitable view of his character. Stanley was as wicked as he was wealthy, as petty as he was pious. His soul may have been holy, but his behavior was wholly rotten. The last time Hope had seen him, he had shouted drunkenly that she would preach at Faith Chapel over his dead body.

Many of the townsfolk witnessed the altercation, so Hope finds herself as the prime suspect in Stanley’s murder. With Bogie’s four-footed assistance, Hope is determined to find the real killer and clear her name…even if it will require a bit of divine intervention.

 

A Fresh Fiction Fresh Pick (January 25, 2021)!

Details
Author: Laura Jensen Walker
Series: A Faith Chapel Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mysteries
Tag: Featured Books
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Year: 2021
ASIN: B0871KRPKG
ISBN: 9781643855042
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Laura Jensen Walker

I’ve loved words ever since I read 103 books in Miss Vopelensky’s first-grade class. That’s when I first dreamed of becoming a writer. My dream came true many years later when my first book was published at the age of forty.

I took a decade-long sabbatical from publishing to work for the State of California, but now I’m happily “retired” from the 9-to-5 and writing full-time again. I write in several genres—an author pal dubbed me a genre butterfly. What can I say? The ideas come fast and furious from all directions and when the muse speaks, I listen.

In 2020, my first mystery, the Amazon bestselling, Agatha-nominated Murder Most Sweet released, followed in quick succession by Deadly Delights and Hope, Faith & a Corpse. The Lefty-nominated Death of a Flying Nightingale, set in WWII England, is my historical fiction debut. This book shines a spotlight on an overlooked group of women heroes—The Flying Nightingales—who risked their lives flying into combat zones to evacuate the wounded. I had the great privilege of interviewing the last remaining Flying Nightingale for my foray into historical fiction.

My latest lighthearted mystery, The Alphabet Sleuths features four women of a certain age, and has been described as The Thursday Murder Club meets The Golden Girls. I’m thrilled to say that my second WWII historical, The Postmistress of Puddlington, released in August 2026, and The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch, my women’s fiction debut, comes out in October. Meanwhile, I’m juggling several new book ideas—more to come!

Laura is represented by Vicky Weber at Creative Media Agency.

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