PROPHETIC REDEMPTION

Headworth’s Christian murder mystery follows a (possibly) possessed cop.

This investigative thriller set in rural Michigan tracks police officer Paul Bennett’s attempts to unravel the murder of his best friend and mentor, Charlie Spence. Charlie is a legendary cop with a tragic past who once worked in Detroit; one night, he disappears during a shift. Paul discovers him flayed, near death, and whispering cryptic final words (“Trust no one”), and he quickly becomes entangled in a web of deception and spiritual warfare. As he investigates, Paul starts experiencing memory lapses, strange visions, and signs of a darker force at play. A posthumous letter and a CD from Charlie urge him to continue investigating. Further clues suggest that Charlie’s family was murdered by a massive drug cartel. Paul suffers from unexplained injuries and finds himself traveling to Detroit during blackouts, leading him to believe that he’s an unwilling vessel in a divine—or diabolical—mission. The line between the physical and the spiritual blurs as Paul navigates corruption, grief, and various revelations, all while protecting his family, deepening his faith, and honoring his fallen friend. Headworth’s writing is direct and immersive (though sometimes clunky), blending the tropes of procedural crime fiction with spiritual allegory. Emphasizing redemption through faith, the narrative focuses on the tension between religious tradition and the mysterious ways God acts through flawed humans. The author effectively captures the protagonist’s psychological turmoil and spiritual growth. The novel’s mix of crime drama and Christian messaging is compelling, but the story suffers from uneven pacing due to its extensive theological digressions. Still, the narrative works on a basic level as both a mystery and a meditation on faith and purpose; the supernatural elements related to Paul’s possible possession or divine empowerment add complexity to an otherwise relatively generic genre story and intensify questions about the nature of redemption and prophecy in modern times.

A thoughtful exploration of friendship, grief, and divine justice.