The Empty Coffin

Sam and Vera Sloan #1

by Robert L. Wise

The daily work of a policeman can push an officer into the most debased side of life. Sam Sloan struggles to stay faithful to his Christian ideals while solving brutal murders and heinous crimes. The Empty Coffin finds detective Sloan and his wife, Vera, faced with the greatest challenge of their lives. In addition to solving a difficult case, this tough cop still tries to live out his faith with honesty and conviction. The problems Sam faces at work create tension at home. As the Sloans struggle to keep their marriage together, the couple evolves into a crime-fighting force, working together on difficult cases that baffle the police. Sloan's hard-nosed detective work, coupled with his faith and humility, brings an unusual solution to a murder case in which there is no corpse!

Genres: Christian Fiction, Mystery, Christian, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2001

About the author

Robert L. Wise, Ph.D. is the author or coauthor of twenty-four books. He is a bishop in the communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches and has planted churches around the world. Dr. Wise and his wife, Margueritte, live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Reviews

[Angie Shoemaker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book because my mom thought I might like it. She said that it was a halfway decent mystery plot, for Christian fiction.

I started reading it with some skepticism because I had just finished another book by the same author, and I did not enjoy it. At. All.

This book has all of the same miserable flaws as The Tail of the Dragon. The main characters of the two books might as well be the same man: same character flaws, same cheesy, stilted way of thinking, same motivations. And all the other characters are either flat or complete caricatures. And don’t even get me started on the 10-year-old daughter! I don’t care how precocious she is, there is no 10-year-old who speaks or thinks like Cara from this book. Yet again, every character in this book read plainly like a puppet of a white guy in his 50s or 60s.

I will NOT be reading any other book by this author.

Oh, and as for my mom’s belief that the plot was at least halfway decent, for Christian fiction? If that’s true (and I don’t believe it can be), then I will stay far, far away from the genre. There was ZERO mystery or suspense or emotional engagement of any kind to this book.

If I could give it zero stars, I would.

[Aimee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't usually rate a book so low, but I didn't feel like I had much of a choice for this book. The dialogue was very stilted, and read like the characters were maybe from the 50s? I also feel like the author has never met a 10 year old child. No matter how smart, no 10 year old child speaks like Cara in this book! Sam's wife is not a likable character AT ALL, and I was appalled by her selfishness and pushiness.

Whoever edited this book missed a number of instances where the wrong characters' names were used, which just added to the frustration of reading it. There wasn't much mystery either. I figured out pretty much the whole plot before they even revealed it.

There are much better mystery books out there to spend money and time on.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book in the Sam and Vera Sloan series. Christian fiction. Mystery. Entertaining.

[Vicky]

I enjoy mysteries. It was pretty good. It has a Christian slant to it which I really like.

[Sandy Neal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like this book. It was a religious mystery and I didn't know that was what I was picking up or wouldn't have read it. Didn't like that the copy knew that he shouldn't discuss religion at work but did it anyway. This book had some good descriptions like the description of a van as a "rambling disaster". The plot was very transparent. Written by an Evangelical Episcopal bishop.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing wasn't very good. I picked this book up because it was sent in Colorado Springs (where we were spending our vacation.) Unfortunately the characters were poorly developed and the author kept leading the reader with blantant statments instead of allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions.

[Danielw · Rating 2 out of 5]

As far as Christian fiction its a different kind of book. The cover says its a "Vera and Sam Sloan mystery". Funny thing is you are never having to guess anything. You know all the facts up front, so wheres the mystery? It almost feels like a long set up for a series (which it is). Decent characters but nothing different, at all.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Christian murder mystery.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christian murder mystery .. Clever and witty. Not your normal church library book.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel was an average read. A few names slips occurred at the end. Overall, the book was cotton candy reading with not much depth. I did, however, enjoy the Christian values throughout.