PREY FOR A MIRACLE

On a dark and stormy New Mexico night, Jessica Tannen’s car is forced off the road and her daughter disappears.

Sister Agatha, an uncloistered nun and former investigative reporter (Thief in Retreat, 2005, etc.), hops on her Harley with her former police dog Pax to join the search for Natalie Tannen. They find her hiding in an abandoned church and take her to the monastery for safekeeping. Since revealing that she’s talked to an angel, Natalie’s been stalked by tabloid reporters and desperate people seeking help. The church officials think it’s all just her imagination, but at least some of the nuns believe in Natalie’s angel. While her mother remains in a coma, Natalie stays hidden away, helping the nuns raise money to pay for a new roof for the monastery. As the roofers strip off the old roof, the nuns work night and day to make their famous Cloister Cluster cookies, which are selling like hotcakes. Following her nose for news, Sister Agatha is hoping to help Sheriff Tom Green crack the case. Among the suspects are some of the people who had asked Natalie’s help in vain. Even her long-absent father may be back in the picture. It takes all Sister Agatha’s sleuthing skills and a little help from above to solve this one.

Slim pickings in the mystery department, and definitely not for the faithless.