Thief in Retreat: A Sister Agatha Mystery

Sister Agatha is an extern nun for Our Lady of Hope monastery, and as such she connects with the outside world when doing the order's business. She has also gained a reputation as an amateur sleuth, a pasttime she had some preparation for as an investigative reporter before she became a nun. When some religious art begins disappearing from a resort near the monastery, Sister Agatha's archbishop asks her to try to find out who is stealing the works. She goes to the resort on the pretext of sorting out some items that are to be returned to the monastery and encounters an interesting group of artists, a mysterious ghost, and an unfriendly sheriff. The authors take the reader through the requisite red herrings until Sister Agatha finally discovers the truth about the missing articles.

After finishing the "Ella Clah" series I was searching for something to read and it was suggested that I look at the "Sister Agatha" series. I just did not think that the same authors could possibly write two good series at the same time. I was wrong. This is a great series and once again I suggest that you read the series in order. Start with "Bad Faith" and read straight thru to "The Prodigal Nun". There is no way you can go wrong with this series.

As usual the Thurlos do a good job with an engaging mystery.

I'm glad I was able to read Bad Faith first because I felt very comfortable reading this and I enjoyed it as much as the first book.

Sister Agatha stops a robbery in progress by punching the felon in the nose; then rides back to Our Lady of Hope monastery where she will confess to the mother superior that she committed violence against another human being. Before her confession occurs, the archbishop talks to her. He wants her to go to the retreat; a former monastery where religious folk art belonging to the archdiocese is on display. Someone is stealing some of the artifacts and replacing them with forgeries. The Archbishop wants Sister Agatha to recover the church property and catch the thief. Driving her motorcycle and having her guard dog Pax sitting in the sidecar, she goes to the retreat. Almost immediately she finds the murdered body of the art professor who was testing two objects to determine their authenticity. While Sister Agatha is there, more objects go missing, the handyman vanishes and Sister Agatha sees the `ghost' that is haunting the halls at the inn. At her wit's end, Sister Agatha baits a trap and hopes that the killer and thief fall for it. Aimee and David Thurlo have written an exciting amateur sleuth novel showcasing a nun who is deeply religious yet is a witty, inquisitive and a brilliant crime solver. A convention of mystery writers is staying at the retreat, giving readers, an insiders' look at the world of writing and getting published. The mystery is well crafted, the characters are brilliantly developed and the storyline is so fascinating it is impossible to put THIEF IN RETREAT down until the audience finds out who killer is. Harriet Klausner