Book Review: The Mother's Day Murder

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Mother's Day Murder     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Lee Harris
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Religious Fiction   Holiday
Series: Chris Bennett # 12
Fawcett, Apr 2000, $6.50, 272 pp.

In Oakwood, Chris Bennett enjoys life thanks to her devoted husband and their infant son. No one meeting Chris would ever believe she was once a Franciscan nun, but that was her vocation for many years. Chris keeps in touch with the nuns at St. Stephen’s, especially the Mother Superior Sister Joseph.

A novice comes to see Chris. The young woman says that she is Sister Joseph’s child given up for adoption over two decades ago. Chris does not believe Tina. However, before Chris can persuade Tina she is wrong, the novice is killed. It turns out that the deceased is really Randy Collins, a college student on a quest to discover the identities of her birth parents. Sister Joseph becomes the most viable suspect in the eyes of the authorities, a situation that Chris intends to prove otherwise by discovering who the real killer is.

After twelve novels, most series would feel worn out, but in the capable hands of Lee Harris each book seem fresher and better than the proceeding one. THE MOTHER’S DAY MURDER is a vibrant tale about an ordinary person who willingly goes to extraordinary lengths to help out a friend. Chris thinks of herself as a simple woman but her actions make her a heroine to be admired. This sleuth novel is one of the best works in this amateur sleuth series.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner