What do you think?
Rate this book
Lieutenant Nathan Shapiro #6
Preach No More
In this mystery from the coauthor of the “excellent” Mr. and Mrs. North series, the murder of a holy man has NYC detective Nathan Shapiro praying for a lead (The New Yorker).
Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .
Rev. Jonathan Prentis may have been a man of god, but he certainly didn’t die in a sacred manner. Anyone found dead in an East Village dive bar with an ice pick in his back is certainly no stranger to sin.
The popular preacher—better known as “the Voice”—made a name for himself saving his enthusiastic parishioners, but now it seems like someone was dead set on condemning him to meet his Maker.
Tasked with finding the killer, Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro and his partner, Anthony “Tony” Cook, have a host of suspects to investigate. As they question the Village Brawl’s staff and patrons, as well as the people who participated in the Revivalist prayer sessions Prentis presided over at Madison Square Garden, they realize they have their work cut out for them. It may just take a miracle to solve this case of saint turned sinner . . .
Preach No More is the 6th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan’s finest, but that doesn’t stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . .
Rev. Jonathan Prentis may have been a man of god, but he certainly didn’t die in a sacred manner. Anyone found dead in an East Village dive bar with an ice pick in his back is certainly no stranger to sin.
The popular preacher—better known as “the Voice”—made a name for himself saving his enthusiastic parishioners, but now it seems like someone was dead set on condemning him to meet his Maker.
Tasked with finding the killer, Det. Lt. Nathan Shapiro and his partner, Anthony “Tony” Cook, have a host of suspects to investigate. As they question the Village Brawl’s staff and patrons, as well as the people who participated in the Revivalist prayer sessions Prentis presided over at Madison Square Garden, they realize they have their work cut out for them. It may just take a miracle to solve this case of saint turned sinner . . .
Preach No More is the 6th book in the Nathan Shapiro Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
- GenresMystery
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1970
About the author
Richard Lockridge
130 books25 followersAn American writer of detective fiction, Richard Lockridge's frequent collaborator was his wife Frances Lockridge, who co-wrote the Mr. and Mrs. North mystery series and other popular books.
The couple also published under the shared pseudonym Francis Richards.
The couple also published under the shared pseudonym Francis Richards.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 11, 2021
The Voice, Reverend Jonathan Prentiss, a chosen man of God, has been killed. Late at night, long after his latest revival meeting is over. Not killed in church nor at the site of the meeting nor at his hotel...but killed in a booth at a rather expensive dive called (of all things) the Village Brawl. Killed in one of the dens of iniquity, full of drinking and dancing and lewd music, that he had warned his flock about just hours before. Killed with a glass of bourbon in front of him and an ice pick protruding from his back.
And when Captain Bill Weigand assigns Lieutenant Nathan Shapiro to the case, Nate once again feels like he's out of his depth. This time it's not artists or actors that he doesn't understand...it's Evangelical Christians. What on earth is the captain thinking sending a Jewish lieutenant who's been lucky a few times on a few other cases off to figure out a murder among crusading Christians?
"Satan was his enemy," Higgs said. "By all the godly he was loved." The harsh voice was emphatic, almost peremptory. It seemed improbable to Shapiro that Satan would have used an ice pick. In any event, Satan was outside his jurisdiction.
But when it comes down to it, those crusading Christians are just people and Nate Shapiro has a very good understanding of people and what makes them tick (whether he thinks he does or not).
And he has his choice of suspects. Maybe the Reverend Prentiss's wife found out that her husband liked to sample the sins he preached against--cozying up to women in each city where they held a crusade. Or maybe his brother-in-law (and accountant) was cooking the books of the ministry. Maybe Prentiss found out that his choir leader was getting kickbacks from the choir members--oh, pardon me, was accepting tithes on behalf of the mission that never seemed to make it into the coffers. Perhaps his second in command had grown tired of being kept in the shadow of the great man. Or maybe there's another motive even less obvious. Between Shapiro's understanding of people and the clues that Detective Tony Cook digs up, Shapiro will get lucky in yet another case and prove Weigand right in trusting it to him.
Shapiro strikes me as the Eeyore of the Lockridge universe. You can almost see the little doom and gloom rain cloud hovering over him He's always sure that he's not right for the job. He's positive (in a negative sort of way) that one of these days "they" (Weigand and all the superior officers) will realize they've made a mistake upgrading a cop who's good with a gun to a Lieutenant in the detective branch. He's quite certain that this time he won't be able to figure it out. You would think that so much pessimism would make for a depressing book, but I quite like Nate Shapiro and am glad that the Lockridges took some breaks from the Norths, Weigand, and Heimrich to introduce his character. Richard Lockridge wrote more about him after Frances died--perhaps because he stopped writing about the Norths.
A pretty straightforward mystery once Shapiro has a chance to talk to all the suspects. But a nice comfortable read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
And when Captain Bill Weigand assigns Lieutenant Nathan Shapiro to the case, Nate once again feels like he's out of his depth. This time it's not artists or actors that he doesn't understand...it's Evangelical Christians. What on earth is the captain thinking sending a Jewish lieutenant who's been lucky a few times on a few other cases off to figure out a murder among crusading Christians?
"Satan was his enemy," Higgs said. "By all the godly he was loved." The harsh voice was emphatic, almost peremptory. It seemed improbable to Shapiro that Satan would have used an ice pick. In any event, Satan was outside his jurisdiction.
But when it comes down to it, those crusading Christians are just people and Nate Shapiro has a very good understanding of people and what makes them tick (whether he thinks he does or not).
And he has his choice of suspects. Maybe the Reverend Prentiss's wife found out that her husband liked to sample the sins he preached against--cozying up to women in each city where they held a crusade. Or maybe his brother-in-law (and accountant) was cooking the books of the ministry. Maybe Prentiss found out that his choir leader was getting kickbacks from the choir members--oh, pardon me, was accepting tithes on behalf of the mission that never seemed to make it into the coffers. Perhaps his second in command had grown tired of being kept in the shadow of the great man. Or maybe there's another motive even less obvious. Between Shapiro's understanding of people and the clues that Detective Tony Cook digs up, Shapiro will get lucky in yet another case and prove Weigand right in trusting it to him.
Shapiro strikes me as the Eeyore of the Lockridge universe. You can almost see the little doom and gloom rain cloud hovering over him He's always sure that he's not right for the job. He's positive (in a negative sort of way) that one of these days "they" (Weigand and all the superior officers) will realize they've made a mistake upgrading a cop who's good with a gun to a Lieutenant in the detective branch. He's quite certain that this time he won't be able to figure it out. You would think that so much pessimism would make for a depressing book, but I quite like Nate Shapiro and am glad that the Lockridges took some breaks from the Norths, Weigand, and Heimrich to introduce his character. Richard Lockridge wrote more about him after Frances died--perhaps because he stopped writing about the Norths.
A pretty straightforward mystery once Shapiro has a chance to talk to all the suspects. But a nice comfortable read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
August 6, 2020
Early Bird Book Deal | Not as deep as I expected | I really thought there was going to be a final twist, not with who the killer was, but with a mistake on their part I kind of like my solution better. This was so simple.
September 2, 2018
More Nate Shapiro; interesting look at the business of pushing religion.
August 6, 2025
Who killed the evangelist? Nathan again feels he is out of his depth with these people and wishes the case was not handed to him. He is Jewish, surely some Christian policeman could do better!
October 12, 2010
Book featuring Lt. Shapiro of the NYC police force. A man known primarily as "the Voice" is killed. He is a man of GOD, a man stamping out sin, he was a man killed in an expensive dive with naked girl picts on the entrance door in the Village of NYC. And so Shapiro goes to sift through the redeemed people who ran the revivalist "mass" prayer sessions across the nation.
The story focuses more on Shapiro and his personal life and views, as it also brings out more of up-and-coming Tony Cook as well. A story with a good mystery and some wonderfully fun passages.
The story focuses more on Shapiro and his personal life and views, as it also brings out more of up-and-coming Tony Cook as well. A story with a good mystery and some wonderfully fun passages.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews