Dead on Sunday

Another of Orde's intriguing puzzles. A Satan-hating, obnoxiously in-your-face minister has done the world a courtesy and died. His having been murdered, however, makes people uneasy -- his saddened mother, his half-brother, and viewpoint-character Jason Lynx. The author's usual fascinating characters, sense of place, observations on those for whom theirs is the only permitted point of view, with all others to be smitten. To solve the riddle yourself, read the Biblical reference. To be surprised, wait with Jason to untie it. Orde's usual excellence.

If you like B.J. Oliphant's Shirley McClintock series, you'll also enjoy A.J. Orde's Jason Lynx mysteries. Oliphant and Orde are both pseudonyms of talented SF/fantasy author Sheri S. Tepper. "Dead on Sunday," set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, involves the killing of an inept, mentally unbalanced, decidedly uncharismatic preacher whose interpretation of certain parts of Scripture is chillingly literal. Well-written and thought-provoking, this series features intelligent, complex and opinionated main characters. And I really liked the delightful animals: the 120-pound Kuvasz dog, Bela; the 20-pound Maine coon cat, Schnitz; and the latter's 30-pound father, Critter.

Jason Lynx is asked by his old friend Bruce to investigate the murder of his half-brother, the Rev. Ernie Quivada, a fundamentalist minister in Santa Fe, N. M. The dead man left behind an artist wife, an estranged daughter, two frightening, fundamentalist grandparents, a houseful of free loaders, and few kind memories. This book has also been published as "Dead On Sunday." A. J. Orde also writes fantasy under the name Sheri Tepper. She brings a strong feminist sensibility to her writing that has often left me very angry at "Men", and I love it. Her writing always leaves you knowing the characters and understanding their motivations. I'm afraid I can easily consume a Jason Lynx story in one sitting. The problem comes in finding the books, many are out of print.