The Good Deacon

by Autumn Crum

For Piper Jackson, she once had it all. A charming husband, two beautiful children, and a happy life. But the life she deemed as perfect was all yanked from her the day her husband died. Forced to move back to her small hometown, Piper must somehow start over and find solace in the wreckage of her life. Charles Brewer appears to be a friendly neighborhood handyman, Deacon, and faithful pillar of the community. But underneath his kind smile there is a dark energy lurking. When Piper meets Charlie, she deems him as a godsend at first. The overly helpful Deacon appears to be eager to help the single mother through her rough patch. Soon, a spike of tension wedges itself between Piper and Charlie when boundaries are crossed and Charlie’s true intentions are exposed. In this heart-stopping psycho-thriller, Piper finds herself in the fight of her life as a predator is on the hunt and has Piper in his sights. With twist and turns this novella will leave readers on the edge of madness until the very end.

Genres: Psychological Thriller

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 29, 2019

About the author

This Florida native currently resides in Jacksonville Florida. Autumn's over active imagination often got her into lot's of trouble growing up. A veracious reader and lover of urban fiction, Autumn's love of writing began at the tender age of seven when her mother gave her a journal for Christmas. Her writing dreams became a reality in April 2014 when she was signed her first publishing contract. Her debut novel RUDEBOY was a FIVE star URBAN FICTION BESTSELLER

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG this book was soooooooooooooo good. Charles was crazy as hell!!!!!!! And that ending damn near took me out!

[Shanelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

My first time reading this author's work and I enjoyed every page of this book. Very well written, great storyline, character development and also attention grabbing. A quick read but the story flowed very nicely giving a mental visual of what is actually going on in the book. Charlie was one sick individual and Piper just couldn't catch a break especially in a small town that doesn't take to outsiders easily. Thankfully she had Yance by her side all the way. That ending had me speechless and wanting more. Overall great read and highly recommend it.

[Dee Cherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
1st read by this author. Storyline held my attention throughout. I thought this was an easy to follow story that gave valuable information about the characters. Piper had a trusting nature that some took advantage. Charlie's hidden secrets and demented mind eventually caused his creepy nature to explode. I did find find Ruby comical at times with her antics. Good ending and read

[Shannon Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mannn what???

This was my first read by this author and I must say I’m already a fan! From start to finish this book was good. That Charlie was something serious, like the man just wouldn’t quit! Poor Piper it seemed like she just couldn’t catch a break! This author did an excellent job with making you feel like you were apart of every scene in the book! I promise I could see this book as a movie! Please don’t take my word for how good this book is.. grab your copy not now but RIGHT NOW. I promise you will not be disappointed at all! I look forward to reading more from this author!

[Shades N Pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know me, you know that im not a thriller reader AT ALL! When my girl @readnliftwithshar told me about this book, I decided to read it and boy did this story take me on a ride. Four months after separating from her husband due to his infidelity, Piper found out that he died and left everything to his lover Mateo. With no job and no money, Piper made the move to Conners, Georgia where she meets Charles Brewer. Her life was never the same after that day. This was a quick and entertaining read. It never slowed down and kept me intrigued from beginning to end. Piper irritated me to the fullest. Her naïveté and desperation led to her missing and brushing off way too many clues of Charles’ instability. Charles was weird, creepy and extremely manipulative. He had that “nice guy” routine and a whole town backing his crazy. I felt the author painted a vivid picture of his warped mind and obsession with Piper. I did want more of a backstory on his mental health and his PTSD from serving in the military. I felt it would have given me a better understanding of his deranged behavior. A lot of it was behavior was cringeworthy but not enough for me to stop reading .The ending left me in a state of complete and utter shock. I absolutely did NOT see that shit coming and I definitely clutched my imaginary pearls. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more thrillers and more from this author.

[Pat Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ungodly Deacon

People with money and power usually get away with a lot until they do something so egregious that it can't be ignored. Mr. Charlie was that person in this book; with his PTSD and other mental issues he became the devil incarnate.
Piper was naive and just too nice in general, but there were townspeople, including Piper's mother, that knew Mr Charlie was demented. Some placed more value on what he could do for them than what he was doing to others. I cringed at the horrible, sickening things he did to Piper and I don't think his punishment was severe enough.
This book was suspenseful, well written and fast paced. Ms. Crum is one of my favorite authors, but I held back on reading this waiting for the sequel to be released. The ending left an opening, but I'm still confused as to whether this is a standalone or not. Either way, great read that I would recommend to anyone who likes thrillers.

[ReadnliftwithShar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This kept my attention!

Oh my goodness! I was thoroughly entertained with this one and legit finished it in under 2 hrs!! Charlie was something else!!!! Man, he legit was crazy and obsessed with Piper! I really liked that this story was a psychological thriller, I don’t read a ton of books in this genre but I am definitely going to give books like this a chance. Piper went through a lot and the whole town was team Charlie—idk what he had on everyone but everyone was on his side! Definitely a must read book!

[Michelle Rawls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy is as Crazy Does

This was my first read from Autumn Crum but it definitely won’t be my last. She has written a thriller that keeps you turning the page. The deacon was definitely crazy and kept you wondering what was going through his mind. This book kept my interest and was good from beginning to end. Kudos to Author Crum. This is definitely a must read.

Happy Reading,


The Official Dcbookreviewer

[LoveLee Kourage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I WAS READY FROM PIPER STOP AT DEACON KRAZY BBQ STAND I JUST KNEW MORE WAS DEFINITELY TO COME AND THIS AUTHORESS DIDN'T HOLD BAQ AT ALL IT WAS LIKE A MOVIE UNFOLDING AND YOU DIDN'T TRULY KNOW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT ALL THE WAY TO THE END I WASN'T PREPARED FOR THAT LETTER IN THE END.. I LOVED YANCE FOR PIPER .. THE FOLKS OF CONNER WAS SOMETHING ELSE I WONDER HOW THEY FEELING NOW... I PROMISE YOU WILLN'T BE DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS READ NOR REST OF THE GOOD SERIES AS THEY DROP..

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

WARNING DISTURBING BEHAVIOR AHEAD !! 😬😬😬

Mental Illness left untreated, is a disaster waiting to happen. Mr Charlie is a older man, who wants Piper. Piper is a down on her luck single mom. Mr Charlie will do anything and everything to make
Piper his wife. This is clear account as to what can happen , when all warning signs are ignored and obsessive compulsive behavior takes over. I rate this book 4 stars, and would definitely recommend it.

[Fatima Munroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

This story had me on the edge of my seat! Charlie attempting to advantage of Piper’s vulnerability was disgusting to say the least. Thirty years married to a man and Ruby didn’t know he hated her? Yancy had me wondering when he was gonna get it together, but when he did he came through. I was over here yelling at the church folks too, how dare they judge Piper based off of a crazy deacon’s accusation! That ending though! Autumn had me clutching my pearls! Great read!

[Tywanda Brown-Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Mr. Charlie was a trip lol. This was a great quick read. All the characters were well developed and relatable. The storyline was also well developed. Little to no grammatical errors. Overall a great read!

I disliked most of all the characters except Yance, Jamie Lynn and Piper. I felt like her mother could’ve help more.

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Wow

Autumn Crum introduced readers to Charlie Brewer, a food truck owner, church deacon, army vet and all around nice guy. Until Piper comes to town. All hell breaks lose.

I could not put this story down - I laughed, I yelled and I shook my head. Great story.
#cillasbookmaniacs

[Jacqueline Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time reading this author

This was a very good read. Interesting book from beginning to end. That Charlie was crazy for real. I like how he called his wife a fat funky bitch in his head. He was truly obsessed with Piper

[Name Terris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crazy Deacon

OMG!!! This man was delusional !!! You never know a persons interest but when warned you may want to take head !!! This author had me from page one !!! Can’t wait to read more of her books!!!

[Laverne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, great writing, kept me in there, just enjoyed the suspense & the outcome. Will be reading more of this author's work.

[Valisha Carruthers A Carruthers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Church folk

Woooo Chile! Mr Charlie lawd who sent him lol. This was by far one of the best books on chuch folk keep up drama mess and are straight crazy.

[🌻Gracefully Whole🌻 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deacon Crazy!

Great read. The ending has me questioning if Deacon was able to do more than was revealed in the story. 🤔

[Tekisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!! Excellent story line. That ending had me speechless. I hope there is a part 2.

[Charisse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick easy read

Story gets better as it goes on. Surprise ending! You will definitely enjoy it. Hope the author has more like this.

[dana broadway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome thriller

I can’t believe all the crazy things Mr. Charlie did. It was a very thorough, easy read. I can’t wait to read the next book by this author.

[Marci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby

That dang deacon was a hot ass mess. Omg this was a good read. Hope to read more from this author

[Taylor Landon-Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read

Interesting storyline kept me wanting to read more. I was too finish it in a day looking forward to reading the sequel

[V Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read and had me on the edge of my seat! Poor Piper! Mr. Charlie was something else! I loved the ending and hope there is a part two!

[Angela S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

I really enjoyed this psychological suspense story. It was a quick read but the characters had a real life feel. Thanks for sharing with us.