The Maligned Marine — J.R. Mathis

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.