Without a Prayer

by Jonathan Thomas Stratman

Action explodes onto the page when a Fairbanks bank robbery unexpectedly reaches all the way back to ensnare Hardy and Evie! Millions of dollars' worth of negotiable bearer bonds, an unexpected hostage, and a desperate plea for help, draw Hardy, Andy, and their friends into a risky overland expedition. As if that weren't enough, someone puts up a bounty for a bullet delivered to Hardy's head. Can he stop them? And what of Wild Bill Hanson? Sure, he helped defeat the Nazis in Norway. But who is he working for now? Why do his friends keep disappearing? Traveling through the wilderness at forty below, ambushed, betrayed, out-gunned, are Hardy and his friends, Evie, Andy, William and Frank Jacobs, without a prayer?

314 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2019

Reviews

[Claire Favro · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Without a Prayer,” Jonathan Thomas Stratman’s latest Father Hardy novel, delivers another nail-biting adventure in the wilds of Alaska. As in his previous books, Father Hardy virtually straps us on his snowshoes or tosses us some mukluks and a parka and we go dashing off with him to save the day, again. It’s mighty cold and dangerous, even in town, but there are always at least two places to unwind and warm up: the Coffee Cup Café, and Hardy’s own kitchen with its legacy tippy stools, handmade in earlier decades by Athabascan “orphans” from the now-abandoned mission school. The best thing about the Father Hardy books, aside from the who-dun-it puzzles, is the sense of living in 1950’s rural Alaska, down to the taste of mooseburgers, the smell of a long-awaited spring, far-away citified songs on the juke box and the truest of friends in a pinch. Though the moment in time may be frozen, I can assure you the plot twists are NOT!

[Bcoghill Coghill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am back in the slightly askew world of my, specific, childhood.
Father Hardy’s Alaska is more violent but somehow less soured. Perhaps, one character to who just deserts are rendered, near but not at the end of the book.
There is mystery but the author has given us clues. Some will rush through the book to a surprise ending. I prefer to advance theories which may be eliminated as the story unfolds or perhaps my guesses are supported by further events. Either way, that is the way I read.
If I have a complaint, it is not with the story. I wish the author had created more locations. Like a TV show we return to the same chairs in the same house or restaurant or cabin. Perhaps there are, in the genre, a limited number, but a visit to the ice house, one of the segregated cemeteries or the landmark Fairbanks drug store would have been appreciated.
I am looking forward to more Father Hardy mysteries.

[Greg Sales · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love both an adventure and a mystery. Without a Prayer delivers a hefty dose of both. In this book, I followed a familiar cast of characters that I’ve grown to know through earlier books in the Hardy series. In addition to taking me on a wild adventure to solve a mystery, Stratman skillfully weaves together complex and evolving interpersonal relationships among his characters and deals artfully with social issues that, although occurring more than half a century ago in the story, are timely and relevant today. It’s always a thrill to see what hair-raising adventure Farther Hardy and his friends are embroiled in as new books in the series are published. Without a Prayer does not disappoint! I strongly recommend this book, but encourage readers to follow the entire series to extend their reading pleasure.

[Denise M. Rankin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page turner!

Each book has kept me captivated. The storyline is full of adventure, love, tears, and laughter. Not to mention great plot twists until finally the answer comes to who done it! I'm sleep deprived, but its worth it!