This image is the cover for the book Murdering Ministers, Oliver Swithin Mysteries

Murdering Ministers, Oliver Swithin Mysteries

"Filled with clever repartee, memorable characters, and an ending as satisfying as it is unexpected."—Booklist

What holy terror spiked the sacraments with strychnine?

When a teenage girl disappears from a north London suburb a few days before Christmas, Detective Sergeant Effie Strongitharm puts would-be cult leader and reputed exorcist Nigel Tapster on her list of people to be questioned.

But when Effie witnesses Tapster's agonizing death during a church service, she needs to ask a different question: What holy terror spiked the sacraments with strychnine?

With her mentor Detective Superintendent Mallard battling forced retirement, Effie turns to children's book writer Oliver Swithin to help her in a double quest—to bring the girl home and the murderer to justice in time for Christmas.

But is there a connection between the cases? And what does any of this have to do with a Scotland Yard Commissioner's personal hygiene, a six-year-old Hell's Angel, a guide to beastly behavior featuring Finsbury the Ferret, a touch of Shakespeare, and the return of the mysterious, virtually invisible Underwood Tooth?

Alan Beechey

Poisoned Pen Press