The Graves of the Guilty

Hope Street Church Mysteries, Book 3

By: Ellery Adams

Narrated by: Cris Dukehart

Cooper Lee is on top of the world thanks to her great friends at Hope Street Church and the satisfaction of having solved two perplexing mysteries. And with Valentine's Day just around the corner, she's hoping that love is in the air for her and her new boyfriend, Nathan.

But Cooper's faith is about to be tested when her sister, Ashley, discovers a corpse and is implicated in the gruesome murder. And, just as troubling, a darkly handsome and exciting man has come into Cooper's life and just might tempt her to stray.

As Cooper and her friends from the Bible study group once again spring into action to root out a killer - and Cooper digs deep to solve a more personal mystery - she discovers that following the clues is raising more questions than answers. But one thing's for certain: When cold-blooded criminals mess with Cooper's family and friends, the killers haven't got a prayer.

©2010 Jennifer Stanley; revised edition copyright 2014 by Jennifer Stanley (P)2016 Tantor

Entertaining story but flawed

I liked the story and enjoy the characters.

That said, it's a little tiring to have Cooper constantly disregarding the police' warnings. The excuses for continuing to run risks and not give her information to the police don't seem realistic to me.

So far in this series, I've identified the "bad guy" fairly early on and continued listening out of curiosity for how the writer would get around to the police and Cooper arriving at that conclusion. It's a little implausible that these characters wouldn't have the same realizations

loved it

loved this one even more than the last. great story! great narrator. on to the next.

3rd book from the series and I loved it!

How this author comes which such ingenious ideas to put a normal person in the midst of the action? This one didn't have much of the bible cites however, interesting to learn that even McNamara quotes Isaiah :) I'm about to start the 4th book now.

Want more time with these characters

Would you consider the audio edition of The Graves of the Guilty to be better than the print version?

I have the earlier versions of the first 3 books in this series (published as Jennifer Stanley) in Kindle and print versions, but I prefer the audio versions because I don't have a lot of time to read, but I do have time to listen to books as I travel. So I was very happy to get these books in audio,

Any additional comments?

I really like this series. This is the 3rd installment and the characters have become like friends. Many of the main characters are part of a Bible study group, but you don't have to be a person of faith to enjoy the stories. They are not preachy - they don't try to convert anyone. They are just people trying to do the best they can in their lives and relationships, and trying to help others when they can. Cooper's sister (Ashley) has developed into a much more likeable person as the series has progressed, and I really like Nathan. The narrator does an excellent job, and I would like to spend more time with the Hope Street Church group and their friends and families.

There are two additional books in this series (co-written by Ellery Adams and Elizabeth Lockard) titled Root of All Evil and Fate of the Fallen. I have not read these, but if they become available in audio, I will definitely buy them.

The Guilty

The narration was excellent, and fluid. The storyline was a page turner, with unexpected twists. I liked the biblical references weaved into the story lines.