Deadly Commitment

by Robert Burton Robinson

Kap Krenshaw, the charismatic pastor of the largest mega-church in America, is determined to put a conservative in the White House and "reverse the nation's moral decline." But as the presidential election draws near, his secret past threatens to destroy his plans and his reputation. John Provo has joined the church staff to quietly investigate the church. But when he gets to close to the truth, the pastor’s lieutenants quickly move to silence John—by whatever means necessary. Lies, blackmail, and even murder—they’re all means to end for the powerful leaders of Pyramid Church. And their plot to take control of America is likely to succeed—unless John Provo can figure out a way to stop them before he gets himself killed.

286 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2013

About the author

Robert Burton Robinson is the author of eleven novels and novellas, a children's picture book, a comic strip book, and fifty-four short stories.

Robert's Complete Bibliography:

Sir Liam the Brave - Liam's Wondering World series, #2 (children's picture book)

The Problem with The Three - Liam's Wondering World series, #1 (children's picture book)

Mimi & Iffy Comic Strip Collection - Vol. 1

GINGER LIGHTLEY COZY MYSTERY SERIES
Sweet Ginger Poison
Ginger Dead House
Cold Ground Ginger

Nightmares of a Novelist (Four Short Stories)
Four Steps Under (Psychological Suspense)
Deadly Commitment (Thriller)
Dream Tunnel (Kids Sci-Fi)
Rebecca Ranghorn - Texas P.I. (Mystery)

GREG TENORLY SUSPENSE SERIES
Bicycle Shop Murder
Hideaway Hospital Murders
Illusion of Luck
Fly the Rain

Robert has two bachelor's degrees (music and computer science), and has held a wide variety of jobs over the years, including fourteen years as a software engineer developing applications for Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

He and his wife live in the Houston area. He enjoys spending time with family, watching movies and TV, and playing guitar, bass, and ukulele.

Reviews

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Deadly Commitment was my first foray into the genre of mega-church murder mysteries. This book is a bit like a soap opera in terms the sheer number of moving pieces and characters at play at any given moment. You've got your 23-year old divorcée protagonist (do people really get married and divorced so young these days?) whom we meet just before he gets into a bar fight with the (fictional) center of the Houston Rockets. He's into yoga, steel-toed boots, and speaking aloud to his dead adoptive mother. Then there's the whole case of church-going characters who vary in their degrees of nefariousness, but all have something to hide. Between the motorcycle gang/felons who ride down the aisles for show, and the pastor's twin sons who zip-line from the balcony to the pulpit while playing killer riffs on the guitar and key-tar (respectively), this place is certainly unlike any house of worship I've ever seen (which is not to say that one doesn't exist). Toss false-memory implantation and deadly GPS units in the mix, and you've got yourself quite a circus...

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

John lost his job as a bouncer due to a situation that got out of hand. The next morning after answering a knock at the door he is surprised to find Mark, his former wifes now husband standing there. Mark is an emplotee of a mega church and is there to recruit John. Mark is losing his enthusiasm for the job and is actually not sure he even wants to remain a member. When he is killed in a car accident his wife Annabeth becomes suspicious and asks John to investigate. Still loving Annabeth John agrees to do so.

This book allowed me to indulge in the guilty pleasure of reading all night. It was fast paced and there were surprises around every turn.

The good guys were likeable, and the villains were easy to hate because the author brought their personalities to the page clearly.

The language was clean, and there were no explicit sex scenes. I found that to be refreshing.

The ending will knock your socks off. I certainly did not see it coming. The author leaves the reader with the hope that a sequel will follow soon.

I received this book for free in exchange for providing this honest review.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a mystery about the inner-workings of a modern day mega church. When one of the church's outreach workers/recruiters has a fatal accident shortly after becoming disenchanted with the church's methods of obtaining tithing commitments, his young widow reaches out to her ex-husband, our protagonist - John Provo. As John investigates, he attracts the attention of the unscrupulous men who make the decisions about the church's real mission, and their "enforcers". John has to figure out how to expose their past deeds and future plans while keeping himself, his ex-wife, and his new love interest alive. Much of his success appears to be less by skill than by luck and by the help of another mysterious hand at work. The book was entertaining and fast paced, I enjoyed it.

[Gerard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this was very exciting to me. It felt like with the flip of a page something completely new and unexpected would happen.
The author did a good job at making the main character a very accessible type of person, someone you could relate to. Because of that the story I felt more intimate to me.
The book is written in a rather fast pace style, without using too much filler that sometimes make you feel like you are dragging your feet throughout a book.
For the size of the book I did feel like there may have been a bit too much going on, but as this is a series I can understand that you want to drag in as many readers as you can and have them hungering for the next book. I know I am.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Leo Barrio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this from first-reads.

Deadly Commitment is a thriller novel about mega-church murder mystery. John Provo was asked to track down a killer, and then he ultimately discovers a scheme that would rig the upcoming presidential election.

I really enjoyed reading this book. A page turner all throughout. The twist and turns really caught me off guard. The good guys were like-able.

I highly recommend this one to those who want to indulge in a fast paced, web of mystery.