A Deadly Mission

Olympia Brown Mystery #1

by Judith Campbell

When College Chaplain, Olympia Brown, discovers one of her freshman is being recruited by a shadowy religious cult, she and colleague, Father Jim Sawicki, join forces to infiltrate the group and rescue the girl before she falls victim to a fatal so-called accident. Over the summer, while Olympia is restoring her haunted New England farmhouse, another student with connections to that same group dies in a suspicious drowning accident. Determined to learn more, Olympia persuades her son, Malcolm, to investigate a rally organized by these people. Unfortunately, he is discovered, and cult members go on a deadly offensive to protect their secrets and prevent further interference from Rev. Dr. Olympia Brown.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

291 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2010

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little mystery about a Unitarian Universalist minister working with her sidekick who happens to be a priest. Had the pleasure of meeting this author this past summer.

[Craig Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judith Campbell's work needs work (this was her first novel). Though the protagonist is a middle-aged Unitarian Universalist chaplain/teacher at a college in the Boston area, it looks like and reads like a young adult novel. Professor Olympia Brown has just moved into a very old house that appears to have a ghost. With her comrade in arms, is a gay priest she gets caught up in the mysterious deaths of students at her own and other local schools. The deceased were also members of a religious fellowship / cult that does good public works.

The book starts slowly, has decent characters and the pace toward the middle. Then as it builds to a climax, it ends way too quickly and cleanly. Everything resolved, no problem. Curtain down.

Maybe in her second book she will maintain the pace.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book on my kindle because the author is a UU minister..so the detective is also a UU minister. I think this series is going to be like a good pair of houseshoes, very comfy and easy. I was a little disappointed in the absence of philosophical discourse, but the protagonist was very familiar to me...teacher, lives alone, has two cats rather than a poodle..Several plotlines within the series...Her house has a ghost, she gave a daughter up for adoption many years ago, and a British lover...all will be continued in the next book...the mystery was about a Christian cult with some unexplained deaths...Enjoyed it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, I learned about the first of this series in UU World Magazine. The author is a UU minister and the "detective" in this mystery is a UU minister and professor at a small women's college in Boston. Her partner in solving crime is a Catholic priest. This first book involves a cult and becomes an issue when a college student who is a member dies.

[Sarah Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. Once I started reading it I could not put it down. Will read the rest of the series. T

[Florence Witt]

Not clean

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reverend Olympia Brown becomes involved with trying to help her student to feel at home on campus. The student soon discovers a religious group that Olympia has heard rumors about. The group is known for putting on a good, charity show in public, but there are odd things going on behind closed doors. Olympia is soon involved and wants to expose the group for being a religious cult and to save her student's life.

A good, fast-paced read with good characters. However, the editing job is horrible and that bugged me all of the way through the book. If you can get past the editing, it is a worthwhile read.

[Karen Glass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book in the early evening and did not close the book till I finished it at 1am; a page turner! Olympia Brown, chaplain for a girls college knows there are bad things happening in a cult in Cambridge. She and her priest friend Jim try to save one of her students and expose the criminals running the cult. I can tell there will be more mysteries to come

[Genine Franklin-Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by a friend at our monthly Unitarian Universalist women's dinner (where we eat and socialize - no agenda). Probably not one I would have read otherwise, but worth reading. I'll probably read others in the series, although not one after another obsessively as I did with the Will Trent series.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unitarian Universalist characters are not all that common in fiction, and the main character of these cozy mysteries from Judith Campbell is a Unitarian Universalist clergyperson. A sweet treat for a cold autumn night, Campbell's command of her craft is evident.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story written by a UU minister. Rather simply written.

[Rhod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good mystery by a UU minister. Rev Brown and friends undertake to expose a phoney religious cult.

[Joanne Giannino]

What a wonderful first novel; multiple plot lines; a page turner! Looking forward to reading the next one.