The Dead Saint

Bishop Lynn Peterson #1

by Marilyn Brown Oden

"An intriguing story of international espionage with just the right amount of inspirational seasoning!" -Fresh Fiction Murder and Conspiracy--From the French Quarter to Eastern Europe to the White House It begins with a single gunshot, and Bishop Lynn Peterson watches in horror as a good friend, who is a member of the New Orleans Saints, collapses on the street. When a medal the player wore—a medal Lynn had promised to return to the man's family—disappears, Lynn is thrust into a suspenseful and fast-moving journey through four assassinations, an attempt on her life, conflicts with a mysterious and ancient society, and a behind-the-scenes conspiracy that reaches all the way to the White House. The turbulent, unstoppable intrigue challenges Lynn mentally, physically, and spiritually as she engages in a desperate battle with an opponent who is just as determined to kill as Lynn is to stop him even though she has no idea where—or who—he will strike next.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Christian, Christian Fiction, Ebooks

480 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Dead Saint" is a political thriller with an anti-war theme. Unfortunately, there's an excess of unnecessary detail that slowed the pace. There were whole scenes that could have been cut and the reader wouldn't have missed them. However, some suspense was created by physical danger to various nice people.

The main characters were interesting. However, the majority of the characters were described in an idealized way or were cliche. Lynn and her husband also seemed too naive and hero-worshiping for their given backgrounds. Lynn also seemed to have a mental illness--something like a split personality--which just struck me as weird. However, she did act intelligently, though realistically, to the unexpectedly dangerous situations she was in.

Though Lynn visited several foreign countries, I didn't get a vivid mental image of the settings or a real feel for the cultures. We got descriptions of a few tourist spots and a generic "war-zone neighborhood." They felt like descriptions you could get off of photographs, though you could tell the author has been through foreign airports.

Lynn was an episcopal bishop whose focus was on social activism for peace and to help the poor. Her theology seemed to consist of frequent centering to find peace, removing "sin" from her vocabulary because it led to feeling guilty, and an occasional prayer to become a better person. She also talked with others about the similarities between religions and how she thinks they're all reaching toward the same God and same goal of self-transformation.

I don't recall any bad language. There was no sex. Overall, the novel wasn't bad, it just wasn't as exciting and engaging as I'd expect of such a plot.


I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.

[Judy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't often give out one star reviews, but I felt I had to. This is a thriller with no thrills. I stopped reading 18 percent of the way through. My guess is that this book is intended to be a tamer version of the genre, without the high body count of say, Lee Child's Jack Reacher books.

The story may not be original, but it's interesting enough. Episcopal bishop Lynn Peterson witnesses the murder of a beloved member of the New Orleans Saints football team and then finds herself drawn into a web of dangerous intrigue that leads all the way to the White House.

To pull off a plot like that, you have to keep the action moving and make your characters genuine and compelling.

Oden does neither. The characters in this novel are cardboard cutouts--a big black football player named Bubba, an evil villain intent on controlling the government, an idealistic woman who is the first female president. And of course Bishop Lynn Peterson, who doesn't seem to have much of a personality at all.

The book is not action packed, but description packed. Mundane events like Lynn having a cup of tea go on for paragraphs when a sentence or two would have covered it. I found myself skipping over whole pages of unnecessary verbage.

But it's the bad writing that clinched the one star for me. Words and phrases are repeated often. And the dialog is stilted and unnatural--"Be serious. This is not a time for badinage," (Badinage? Give me a break) or my favorite "What an honor it is to be invited to ride with the vice president."

I'm sure the forces of good triumph and the Evil Villain comes to a well deserved bad end. But save yourself the trouble and get a book by Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A GREAT book! This author goes to prove that you can write a great story full of suspense, drama, action, mystery and history without the vulgar bad language used today. I enjoyed this book so much and I look forward to reading more of her writings in the future!!

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such a promising description: a woman bishop is seated watching an acquaintance of hers, a New Orleans Saint, walking down a New Orleans street when he is shot dead. She gets involved his solving the mystery of his death. Now wouldn't you think that this would involve some detective work that would unravel a puzzle?

Nope. There was no mystery about it. We know very early on who ordered the hit and more or less why. And it's all conspiracy theory/thriller (and not that thrilling, really, except that people keep getting killed). And it went on FOREVER! A long, tedious and poorly written book all the way around.

[So, Gloria, why did you keep reading it? Beats me. I guess I hoped there would be some hope of an interesting plot or explanation for why the mad man behind this mayhem was doing this. What an optimist I am.]

[Loraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marilyn Brown Oden is a new-to-me author whose Christian suspense kept me riveted from start to finish. Book 1 in the Bishop Lynn Peterson suspense series has twists and turns and numerous involved parties that kept the intrigue high throughout. What impressed me the most though was the good Christian thread that played within the storyline and the gems of political wisdom that were so aprospos to today's times.

Bishop Lynn is a Protestant Bishop married to Galen Peterson, a professor of history. I loved their relationship and how they supported one another. When a close friend who plays for the New Orleans Saints is murdered, Lynn finds herself caught up in a game of political intrigue that takes her from the US to the Bosnia-Herzegovina region accompanied by her husband. Twists and turns follow her as she tries to figure out who is behind all the mayhem that is taking place. Fast paced and full of suspense, I had a difficult time putting this one down. I definitely will be reading others in this series.

FAVORITE QUOTES: (Way too many to include them all!)
"Words are mirrors. Listen to a person's language and the patterns of logic behind it. Look for the values and motives the spoken words expose. Watch the eyes, their blinks and movements, and the soul the reveal."

"We don't fully recover from some losses. We just try and get through the rest of our lives the best way we can.

"He is adamant that publicity abets terrorism. Even when a bomb does no damage, news of the attempt itself spreads fear."

"We are in a new day, but government still behave in the old way."

"The phrase religious war is an oxymoron of the unreligious. The faithful mourn war as a contradiction of faith."

[Melissa Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read!!

[Rebecca Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shortly before New Orleans Bishop Lynn Peterson and her husband Galen are due to leave for the Balkans on a peace fact-finding mission, Lynn witnesses the shooting death of a friend, New Orleans Saints kicker, Elias Darwish. It turns out that Darwish has been murdered on orders from a shadowy figure known as "The Patriot" because the football player has been investigating the Patriot's identity. Why Darwish should have any insight or interest in this matter is never
explained.

The Patriot, villain of the story, is a man of enormous wealth with access to the highest levels of government, a person privy to the thoughts of everyone except his nemesis, U.S. President Helena Benedict. The Patriot has amassed his fortune through arms sales, using his privileged information to foment chaos around the globe.

Absurdities abound. The President, who has met the bishop once, on a campaign stop, entrusts her with a secret message to be delivered to a NATO officer because the president's other channels of communication have been compromised. For reasons which make no sense, The Patriot decides to eliminate the bishop and hires a professional sniper (the same one who killed Darwish) to finish her off. Another sniper who, with no discernible motive, takes a dislike to Galen, gets in the act as well. Eventually sniper #2, who's aiming at Galen, notices sniper #1 aiming at Lynn and takes him out, saving Lynn's life. Huh? The remainder of the book lurches along from implausibility to implausibility.

The principal characters are as unrealistic as the plot. The self-effacing and saintly Lynn is "stunning," and Galen, her history professor husband (a.k.a. "Love" - no fewer than 35 times) still retains a "remarkable semblance of his USC quarterback physique." They met while pursuing doctors' degrees at - where else? - Harvard. Enough already. Lynn's most annoying trait is her propensity for bursting into tears. Three years after her daughter's death, Lynn carries on monologues with the dead girl and sometimes feels "tossed about in an eternal sea of grief." The purpose of the non-stop maudlin references is apparently to demonstrate that Lynn can empathize with others who have also lost family members, but the good bishop comes across as needier than those she's counseling.

[Beth Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a suspense/thriller type from Abingdon Press, a "christian" publisher. Sometimes that is enough to make me put it right back down. Not that I am not Christian, but because I don't want to preached at when I am reading for entertainment. Fortunately, this book does not do that. The book is similar in nature to those of Andrew Greeley, who is a Catholic priest, who uses a Catholic priest as his main character. In this book, it is a female bishop who is the lead character here. Her husband is a historian and educator.

The two get wrapped in an international intrigue when a man is killed in a public place in New Orleans. This the man referred to in the title, he is the kicker for the New Orleans Saints. He is secretly working for an international anti-terrorist group. Someone has killed him so that his knowledge can't come to light. This person secretly works on the President of the United States' staff. Bishop Lynn Peterson regularly does peace missions around the world. On her way to Vienna, then Serbia, and then Sarajevo, she becomes pulled into the mystery and nearly becomes the target of an international sniper herself.

Not too bad for an early attempt at fiction for this writer. There were a few times when I was a little confused about which bad guy was working for which bigger bad guy and who they were after and why. I'm still not sure on a couple of points. But the ending is wrapped in a satisfying manner and most of the mysteries are resolved.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

It begins with a single gunshot, and Bishop Lynn Peterson watches in horror as a good friend, who is a member of the New Orleans Saints, collapses on the street.

When a medal the player wore—a medal Lynn had promised to return to the man's family—disappears, Lynn is thrust into a suspenseful and fast-moving journey through four assassinations, an attempt on her life, conflicts with a mysterious and ancient society, and a behind-the-scenes conspiracy that reaches all the way to the White House.

The turbulent, unstoppable intrigue challenges Lynn mentally, physically, and spiritually as she engages in a desperate battle with an opponent who is just as determined to kill as Lynn is to stop him even though she has no idea where—or who—he will strike next.


The Bishop and her husband travel to Europe--Bosnia, I think, to find the secret behind a top-level administration official who is undermining the presidency. She's gotten a secret message from the President, but her contact is killed before he can act on it, so she has to.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another free Kindle book!
Sometimes there are great books and sometimes there are books that are great for the moment. I'm not sure which this was, but I totally enjoyed this book!!
The characters are 3-dimensional and real, the storyline is not completely predictable (like some mind-candy mysteries), the writing flowed well and even had some words I had to look up (sobriquet, viscera, pusillanimity, pirogue, and puissance).
Perhaps what I enjoyed most, though, is Christian fiction that didn't force faith to be a part of the storyline. The main character is a bishop, so she prays and travels to church conferences with other religious leaders, but there is never a sense of being "preached at". The author shows respect for all religions.
In the Author's Note at the end, she identifies some of the inpiration for a few of her characters - and you can tell that this book was deeply touched by her own experience visiting Bosnia.... perhaps that is why it rings true!
The biggest compliment I can give -- now I want to read her first fiction novel - Crested Butte!

[Craig D · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story starts with a female episcopal bishop sitting at a cafe in New Orleans witnessing her friend -- and kicker for the New Orleans Saints -- murdered in cold blood. Over the course of the next week or so, she and her husband keep getting their noses stuck in an assassin's plot. What ironically began in Louisiana, somehow follows them to Sarajevo and other cities in that war-torn region.

It was a good story. For some reason it moved slowly though -- making it a hard read at times. I always marvel at how sleuths continually find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time but that's how a good mystery unfolds.

Aside from the murders (which is unavoidable in this genre), it was good to read a clean story.

[Lillie · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was plenty of intrigue, but I had a hard time suspending disbelief because there seemed to be too many coincidences and improbable connections. A woman bishop doesn't fit my faith tradition, though I know many denominations have them (the denomination was never named). She was a peace activist who had removed sin from her vocabulary and had an "all roads lead to God" theology. She didn't even pray when she frightened and in danger. Any believer I know, much less a bishop, would pray first. The book was published by a Christian publisher, but it is modern liberal Christianity, not traditional faith.

[Jonele · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book because I kept getting distracted by personal irritations. For instance, the author used very current events (Hurricane Katrina, Osama Bin Laden) with fictional characters (the president was a woman named Benedict, and two football players for the New Orleans Saints). She also had “chapters” that could be a little as a page and a half long. I don’t know why, but those things irritated me. Once she got away from the current events I was better able to lose myself in the book. It was fairly fast paced with a couple of surprises, but I don’t think I would go out of my way to read another of her books.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and found it better than I expected. There were some spots of pontificating about "peace" and "religion," that I wish could have been handled with a more deft touch. Yes, the main character was a female Bishop, but she did get involved in international espionage, so one didn't really want a page here and there about prayers. But it didn't happen all the time, but the tale was a page turner that kept you interested. The author also offered a small tie-in with another book she had written, Crested Butte, which I had read for my book club. I didn't even realize this book was by the same author when I bought it--I think I like this one better.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dead Saint follows Bishop Lynn Peterson as she, like so many in the genre, is sucked unprepared into the world of international espionage.

The book oscillated between a can't-put-it-down thriller and a methodically plodding trudge - it could certainly use some evening-out plot-wise. There were some very refreshing elements, though: An author finally sees that religious people can be complex instead of super-villainish and understands that f*** isn't necessarily a substitute for thinking of the right word.

In all, worth a read.

[Mike Barker · Rating 1 out of 5]

What if Jan Karon (of Mitford tales fame) tried to write a murder thriller? This would be the result. It was not all that great. Too much schmaltz in the first 3/4 and not enough intrigue in the last. Everything turns out just as one hopes it will and everyone is happy or happily killed off. Oden and her characters all want to see only the best in people and that prevents things from being terribly interesting. It was never intense and I felt I could drop off reading it and know exactly how things were going to play out.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Episcopal Bishop from New Orleans gets involved in an international conspiracy when the kicker for the New Orleans Saints and a good friend is shot down on the street where she witnessed it. A note from the President she is asked to deliver to a US Army Major while on a peace mission to the war torn areas of Bosnia and Macedonia gets her deeper into a web of assassinations and plots. It was a good tight story, A little too churchy for me, but consistent with the overall tone of the book. All in all a good read.

[M Christopher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rarely have I given up on a book so quickly. I wish I had taken a moment in the bookstore to open it and read the first few pages. But, it was recommended in one of the journals I read (and I wish I remembered which one), so I just dropped it in my basket. Interesting premise but absolutely dreadful writing. Short, choppy, declarative sentences. Misused words. Vague pronouns. Ick. It's written for those with low reading levels and short attention spans. My nominee this year for the Bulwer-Lytton prize. Avoid.

[Larry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Characters were idealized, the writing is good but sometimes pretentious, and I found myself skimming over overly-detailed descriptions of stuff that didn't really matter. I appreciate, and even agree with, the religious views presented, and actually found some quotable passages. But for those who compare Oden to Clancy, Ludlum, and other great thriller writers--get a grip. She's no where close to being in their class.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

When my friend suggested this book I was excited because I thought it took place in New Orleans. One of my favorite cities. However, that setting is brief. It takes place mostly in the Balkans. I did like the book,the plot was intricate and detailed enough to keep my intterest to the end. I did find some of the anti-war theme a little preachy in places and found the narrative a little boring here and there,but overall a decent read.

[Joel Ungar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read. I for one am a fan of short chapters because it makes it easier to put a book down when you need to.

No extraordinary characters. Book got a little like a bad Seinfeld episode at the end where too many things come together at the end and it seems a bit forced.

I read this because it was in the Top 100 Free for the Kindle. If you read it on the Kindle, the formatting is off a bit here and there.

[Joslins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A free ebook from Christianbook.com. As another reviewer has said, this is a political thriller with anti-war overtones. The Saint who died was a New Orleans Saint football player and his death was the result of and caused other international intrigue. Was a good read and I liked the Christian outlook.

[Audrey Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a thriller, mystery that traveled the world in high politics, military, religion and even pro sports. She did a good job of intertwining all the people, places and plots to keep me fascinated and guessing till the end.
I'm also glad that bad doesn't always mean heartless and good doesn't mean incorruptible...interesting read!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally, a clean book... That alone was a benefit. As for the story, the first 2/3 of the book was a slow read. The story worthy of continuing, but definately not an "I can't put it down book". The last 1/3 was really the "meat" of the book. Ending was predictable, but that's okay...sometimes I need a bit of predictabiliy.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

c2011. This is Christian literature. Well written but nothing original or exciting with the characters or the plot." Words are mirrors. Listen to a person's language and the patterns of logic behind it. Look for the values and motives the spoken words expose. Watch the eyes, their blinks and movements, and the soul they reveal."

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written thriller...good characterization and fast twisty plot lines. The Bosnia, New Orleans Saints, POTUS connections, while pretty far fetched worked! I look forward yo more work by this author.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. It was a fun book to read with all the twists and intrigue. I was surprised by the ending. There were a few sub plots that were never answered but left to imagination. I will look for more books by the author.

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got halfway through before quitting. And that's with a three week break to read other books, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this didn't interest me. I didn't care for or about any of the characters and the "thriller" plot is less than thrilling.

[Donna Foston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good concept: a murder mystery with intrigue, suspense, international travel, politics and religion. Very engrossing at times and some nice twists and turns, but too much description made it unnecessarily long.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite being from a religious publishing house, this was a well written, complex adventure story, focused on conflict in the Balkans, with the hero being a Bishop from New Orleans.