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Reverend Randollph #6
Reverend Randollph and the Splendid Samaritan
In the sixth Reverend Randollph mystery, an upstanding parishoner--dubbed the Spendid Samaritan--is the victim of torture and murder, sending Randollph through a maze of greed, hatred, and more murder, where he finds that murder, like charity, begins at home
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 15, 1986
About the author
Charles Merrill Smith
23 books2 followersUnited Methodist minister. Father of Terrence Lore Smith
American Charles Merrill Smith, a United Methodist minister, who used his own first hand experience of the church bureaucracy, as well as his own personal beliefs, to provide his entertaining crime stories with a really fascinating and convincing church background.
His first non-fiction book, How to Become a Bishop Without Being Religious (published in 1965), had revealed the humorous style (religious but never pious) that he was to develop further in his detection fiction. His irreverent humor won him many admirers among fellow clergy and others, and made the book a best-seller - even if it may not have appealed quite so much to his local bishop!
American Charles Merrill Smith, a United Methodist minister, who used his own first hand experience of the church bureaucracy, as well as his own personal beliefs, to provide his entertaining crime stories with a really fascinating and convincing church background.
His first non-fiction book, How to Become a Bishop Without Being Religious (published in 1965), had revealed the humorous style (religious but never pious) that he was to develop further in his detection fiction. His irreverent humor won him many admirers among fellow clergy and others, and made the book a best-seller - even if it may not have appealed quite so much to his local bishop!
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 30, 2020
An entertaining series of mysteries. A Protestant pastor becomes involved in solving crimes.
It is very respectful to Christianity, there are lots of recipes, and sadly the author passed away; there are only just a few books in the series.
It is very respectful to Christianity, there are lots of recipes, and sadly the author passed away; there are only just a few books in the series.
July 4, 2024
What a wonderful series! And what a shame both he, and his son who finished this book on his behalf, also died. Definitely worth rereading down the line.
April 30, 2010
Alas, the last of the series due to the author's death. Charles Merrill Smith's son, mystery writer Terrence L. Smith, finished the writing of this book and intended to continue the series, but himself died two years later. He probably wouldn't have been as well suited to the territory as his pastor father, but I'm sorry to say goodbye to Con Randollph.
This mystery is an exploration of the past and the sincerity of a well-known philanthropist. Rev. Randollph's inner life becomes a little less deep in the later pages, and there is no foundation at all, psychological or deductive, for the revelation of the killer. These shortcomings are offset by the great majority of the story, which is well up to Rev. Smith's usual standards. He was a great loss.
This mystery is an exploration of the past and the sincerity of a well-known philanthropist. Rev. Randollph's inner life becomes a little less deep in the later pages, and there is no foundation at all, psychological or deductive, for the revelation of the killer. These shortcomings are offset by the great majority of the story, which is well up to Rev. Smith's usual standards. He was a great loss.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews