Safe From Harm (A Sugar Land Mystery) - Softcover

Evans, Stephanie Jaye

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425253465 ISBN 13: 9780425253465

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2013

Synopsis

In a new mystery featuring Texas minister Walker “Bear” Wells, a teen tragedy hits too close to home…

The ominous text message Bear Wells received from his teenage daughter Jo simply said: “Come home.” The Texas minister never imagined he’d rush back to find her cradling the dead body of her estranged friend Phoebe. While the death rocks Sugar Land, the apparent suicide seems like an open-and-shut case. But nothing is settled in the Wells household, especially for Jo. The deeper she digs into Phoebe’s life, the more she realizes nobody knew her at all.

Bear found it hard enough dealing with Phoebe’s skimpy Goth outfits, painful-looking piercings, and the outrageous scandals she brought to his idyllic Sugar Land congregation, but now it’s his daughter who’s acting out. Jo knows Phoebe caused major problems between her picture-perfect father and stepmom, but she has no idea what’s at stake or whose lives are in jeopardy. Bear’s painfully aware that his last private investigation resulted in a bullet wound, so when Jo sneaks out alone to confront her primary suspect, he’s not only praying that he’ll find her in time—he’s asking forgiveness for what he may have to do to save her.

About this title

About the Author

Stephanie Jaye Evans is the author of Faithful Unto Death and the daughter of a trailblazing Church of Christ minister and the great-granddaughter of a circuit-riding preacher. She and her husband live in Sugar Land, Texas, and have seven grown children and two badly-behaved pugs.

Reviews

After Sugar Land, Texas, preacher Walker Bear Wells’ teenage daughter, Jo, texts her father, telling him to come home, Bear and his wife, Annie Laurie, find Jo cradling the body of her former friend Phoebe Pickersley. The girls had a falling out months ago, so Bear has no idea what Phoebe is doing in Jo’s room, but the police think Jo may be involved in Phoebe’s death. Phoebe was a troubled, unlikable girl, barely tolerated in her stepmother’s home, and she wanted revenge against Jo and her family. When Phoebe’s death is ruled a suicide, Jo doesn’t agree, so she investigates on her own, putting herself in grave danger. Bear enlists the help of local detective James Wanderley and attempts to unravel the mystery. Multiple plot twists, an engaging first-person narration, a cast of genuinely sympathetic characters, and a mystery framed by the details of the life of a minister combine for a satisfying story. --Sue O'Brien

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0425253465
• ISBN 13: 9780425253465
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368