What do you think?
Rate this book
Nick Bertetto Mystery #1
Second Advent
When Nick Bertetto, a stay-at-home dad and former investigative reporter, is asked to return to his hometown of Clinton, Indiana to investigate the death of the town patriarch, he views it as a chance to spend some time with his dad and pal around his old Italian-American stomping grounds.
It isn’t long before his attitude changes. The alleged suicide is quite probably murder, and members of the patriarch’s family are drawing battle lines over the will. But Nick is most disturbed that the old family priest who summoned him and the patriarch’s granddaughter who wants him to prove it was murder, had the most to gain from the death.
The priest and the granddaughter run an organization called “Children of the Second Advent,” to which half of the estate was left. ‘Second Advent’ promotes the messages of the Virgin Mary to a local visionary, who claims Mary appears to her pregnant, signaling the second coming of Christ. Nick’s own romantic past with the visionary complicates his investigation. The two were once lovers.
Nor is the visionary the only telegenic religious figure in the community. A faith-healing minister has set up shop in Clinton and expanded his peculiar evangelism throughout the Wabash Valley area. His church is at odds with ‘Second Advent,’ and he seems to have special influence with the Clinton police.
Farmers angry about the patriarch's plan to sell farmland adjoining their farms to a coal company also emerge as suspects. The patriarch owned the mineral rights to their farms.
Soon there are several lives in jeopardy, and all Nick wants to do is stop sorting suspects and go back to sorting laundry. Out of leads and nearly out of time, he must find a way to join the suspects as they converge on the one place where all pretenses will be dropped, all secrets revealed, and a miracle is prophesied—the birthplace of ‘Second Advent.’
It isn’t long before his attitude changes. The alleged suicide is quite probably murder, and members of the patriarch’s family are drawing battle lines over the will. But Nick is most disturbed that the old family priest who summoned him and the patriarch’s granddaughter who wants him to prove it was murder, had the most to gain from the death.
The priest and the granddaughter run an organization called “Children of the Second Advent,” to which half of the estate was left. ‘Second Advent’ promotes the messages of the Virgin Mary to a local visionary, who claims Mary appears to her pregnant, signaling the second coming of Christ. Nick’s own romantic past with the visionary complicates his investigation. The two were once lovers.
Nor is the visionary the only telegenic religious figure in the community. A faith-healing minister has set up shop in Clinton and expanded his peculiar evangelism throughout the Wabash Valley area. His church is at odds with ‘Second Advent,’ and he seems to have special influence with the Clinton police.
Farmers angry about the patriarch's plan to sell farmland adjoining their farms to a coal company also emerge as suspects. The patriarch owned the mineral rights to their farms.
Soon there are several lives in jeopardy, and all Nick wants to do is stop sorting suspects and go back to sorting laundry. Out of leads and nearly out of time, he must find a way to join the suspects as they converge on the one place where all pretenses will be dropped, all secrets revealed, and a miracle is prophesied—the birthplace of ‘Second Advent.’
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2002
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Tony Perona
9 books2 followers Tony Perona is a former General Motors advertising/public relations manager who became the first man at GM to take the corporation’s two-year leave-of-absence policy to care for his children. While at home he kept up his writing by becoming a newspaper correspondent and columnist. When the company could not reinstate him, he opened his own business, Tony Perona Writing, to service the writing, marketing, and public relations needs of other companies. Perona’s first novel, Second Advent, was labeled a “distinctive first novel” by Publishers Weekly and termed a “winning first novel” by Mystery Scene magazine. The follow-up, Angels Whisper, was cited as “the second in a series to watch” by Booklist. Saintly Remains is the third in the series about stay-at-home dad/freelance reporter Nick Bertetto. Perona also served as co-editor for the mystery anthology Racing Can Be Murder, a series of nineteen short stories revolving around the Indianapolis 500 race. It was a finalist for the 2008 Indiana Book of the Year, fiction division.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 12, 2024
Second Advent (Nick Bertetto Mystery #1) by Tony Perona
First published in 2002
brief summary -
“Second Advent” by Tony Perona is a mystery novel that combines murder, visions of a pregnant Virgin Mary, a charismatic preacher, body-building enthusiasts, battling beneficiaries, and a reluctant investigative reporter.
When the beloved patriarch of investigative reporter Nick Bertetto’s hometown commits suicide, Nick decides to take a closer look. As he delves into the case, he uncovers a dark picture of fanaticism, con artists, cult religion, and cold hard cash. The investigation leads him closer to a killer.
My thoughts -
A satisfying mystery, but a tad implausible and a little too much hype and hysteria. Still, better than most, so a solid 3 stars consonant with my review ratings.
First published in 2002
brief summary -
“Second Advent” by Tony Perona is a mystery novel that combines murder, visions of a pregnant Virgin Mary, a charismatic preacher, body-building enthusiasts, battling beneficiaries, and a reluctant investigative reporter.
When the beloved patriarch of investigative reporter Nick Bertetto’s hometown commits suicide, Nick decides to take a closer look. As he delves into the case, he uncovers a dark picture of fanaticism, con artists, cult religion, and cold hard cash. The investigation leads him closer to a killer.
My thoughts -
A satisfying mystery, but a tad implausible and a little too much hype and hysteria. Still, better than most, so a solid 3 stars consonant with my review ratings.
April 26, 2018
Really good mystery/drama. Simple read to enjoy during breaks at work.
June 14, 2023
great mystery
Good balance of whodunit with lots of twists and character enmeshment that kept the pages turning. I am looking forward to the next in the series.
Good balance of whodunit with lots of twists and character enmeshment that kept the pages turning. I am looking forward to the next in the series.
December 15, 2011
out of the three Tony Perona books I read, this one "Second Advent" was my favorite --- why? it flowed more smoothly than the others. And I didn't guess the solution to the mystery until more than halfway through the book, so it kept me guessing. I didn't like all the religious stuff , but it wasn't preachy and the religious story line was effective because it kept the reader guessing ---- on the surface many of us don't believe in the bleeding statues and the apparitions that miraculously appear to certain people --- but then down deep, many of us aren't really sure because there seems a lot of unexplained things happening. That's what premise this book plays on, and I have to admit, it kept me reading. There seemed to be more variety to the places and people that the investigative reporter covered here. I DID miss the character of his wife (she never made a physical appearance here) but dad took on more prominence and I liked that character a lot. On the whole, I'd recommend this.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews