A Darkly Hidden Truth by Donna Fletcher Crow

Song Stuck on the Brain: Sigh No More from the Much Ado About Nothing Soundtrack

Today I'm touring a book for Kregel Publications

A Darkly Hidden Truth

by

Donna Fletcher Crow

MY TAKE:

I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing A Very Private Grave in 2010, the first book in the series, and was excited to have the opportunity to review it's sequel. After tearing through it, I assure you it's as exciting as the first. A Darkly Hidden Truth has as many twisty turns and secrets as the many ruins and historical sights would suggest. I also enjoyed seeing inside a world that's foreign to my everyday life, both in religious practice and culture. Curl up with your favorite cuppa tea and prepare to be whisked across the Pond to a whole new world.

WHAT THE AUTHOR HAS TO SAY:

Welcome, Donna, to ProjectingA. Thank you for being here and answering my questions.
1. Here at ProjectingA.blogspot.com, music is like air, it's necessary for life. Do you have a favorite song or style of music? How does it fit into your writing life, does it inspire you?

Donna: Fortunately, April, I love English choral music, especially church music, and the earlier the better— Gregorian chant, for example. I say fortunately, because that’s what Felicity hears a lot of in her life as a student at The College of the Transfiguration. Even Felicity, who had little church background when she came to life in this “parallel universe,” quickly learns to love the ethereal melodies, the echoes rising to the vast vaulted ceilings and the sense of peace she never found in the outside world.

2. A Very Private Grave introduced Felicity and Father Antony to your fans and gave us a unique glimpse inside the monastic life. What led you to write about a modern woman wanting to become a nun?

Donna: Well, the old saw of “write what you know” holds true here. I had wanted to tell the stories of ancient English saints for many years, but I never found the right avenue until our daughter, who studied classics at Oxford found she didn’t like teaching school in London and went off to study in a theological college run by monks in a monastery in Yorkshire. Sound familiar? Other than that background, Felicity isn’t at all like our Elizabeth, but visiting her gave me an opportunity to get to know and appreciate this very unique expression of Christianity— an experience I wanted to share with my readers.

3. Your stories are so well researched, The Monastery Murders are so detailed, many times it felt as if I had stepped back in time with the characters. What do you love most about research? What was the most exciting part of A Darkly Hidden Truth to research?

Donna: Thank you, April! That’s exactly what I hope to achieve— giving my readers a sense that they are there. The on-site research is always the most fun. In 2008 I was able to visit all the settings for A Darkly Hidden Truth: The headquarters of the Knights of St. John in London, the cell of Mother Julian in Norwich, and those soggy, boggy Norfolk Broads where a body could just sink into the ooze. I invite your readers to take a look at my research album and pick a favorite spot for yourself: http://www.donnafletchercrow.com/book2.php since I could never decide which was the best.

4. You've revived the English mystery genre and made it fresh and exciting for everyone, combining all the historical charm with modern day suspense and conflicts. Is there an author or book from your past that made a genre new and exciting for you?

Donna: The many excellent writers working in the clerical mystery subgenre really opened my eyes to the possibility of combining church life and mysteries. Kate Charles, Julia Spencer-Fleming and Phil Rickman are some of my favorites, but I think the very best clerical mystery is P. D. James: Death In Holy Orders and I was privileged to meet Baroness James when she spoke about writing that book at the Community of the Resurrection which serves as the model for my Community of the Transfiguration.

5. What are your future plans for Felicity and Father Antony? Are there more adventures to come?

Donna: Absolutely! Thank you for asking, April. I’ve just completed the rough draft of Book 3 An Unholy Communion. Felicity joins Antony in leading an ecumenical youth pilgrimage across Wales. Felicity was reluctant, but Antony promised her a time of peace and quiet in a beautiful landscape. If I tell you that the theme is the reality of evil you’ll get some idea that it didn’t exactly work out that way.

Life never works out the way we want, but it never fails to amaze me that no matter the evil in the world, Jesus and the beauty that He created is always there. Many times I stop and think, this may not be what I planned, but praise God I'm here! His plan was so much better!

Thanks again for sharing, and especially your travel album link. What beautiful pictures, Donna. They also prove just how well you describe these scenes. I felt like I recognized several of them. :)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Felicity can't possibly help Father Antony find the valuable missing icon. She's off to become a nun. And then her impossible mother turns up unexpectedly. And a good friend turns up murdered...

Breathtaking chase scenes, mystical worship services, dashes through remote water-logged landscapes, the wisdom of ancient holy women, and the arcane rites of The Knights Hospitaller keep the pages turning. Will Felicity choose the veil - or Antony?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Donna Fletcher Crow is the author of 36 books, mostly novels dealing with British history. The award-winning Glastonbury, an Arthurian grail search epic covering 15 centuries of English history, is her best-known work. A Very Private Grave, Book 1 in the Monastery Murders series, was her reentry into publishing after a 10-year hiatus. Book 2, A Darkly Hidden Truth, is now available, and she is at work on Book 3, An Unholy Communion, scheduled for 2012.

I received a free copy of the featured book from the publisher. I receive no compensation for my review.

CFBA: A Very Private Grave by Donna Fletcher Crow

Song Stuck on the Brain: If You Have Faith by Brother John

I love this song, it brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. Today was a day I really needed the reminder of His promises. The song ran through my head all day.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing:
A Very Private GraveMonarch Books (August 1, 2010)

by

Donna Fletcher Crow




MY TAKE:

This is such a unique and exciting new view of mystery suspense. It reminded me a little of Stephen R. Lawhead with the detail involved in the research of St. Cuthbert's history. Sometimes in-depth detail into historical tails like this fall flat when mixed with a fast paced modern mystery, but Ms. Crow handled it beautifully. I found myself anxiously waiting for more historical details, just as much as I wanted to know the identity of the killer. The answers to the mystery don't come easy either and it's fun to feel as if you're in the process of solving it along with Antony and Felicity.

Despite a few theological issues that are brought up that I don't fully agree with, I didn't find that they kept me from enjoying the novel, and in fact found it really intriguing to see 'inside another world' so to speak, and understand how other Christian factions both differ and agree with one another.

The characters were fresh, uniquely flawed and heroic in their own way, and completely engaging. I look forward to the sequel.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

Felicity Howard, a young American studying for the Anglican priesthood at the College of the Transfiguration in Yorkshire, is devastated when she finds her beloved Fr. Dominic bludgeoned to death and Fr. Antony, her church history lecturer, soaked in his blood.

Following the cryptic clues contained in a poem the dead man had pressed upon her minutes before his death, she and Fr. Antony—who is wanted for questioning by the police—flee the monastery to seek more information about Fr. Dominic and end up in the holy island of Lindisfarne, former home of Saint Cuthbert.

Their quest leads them into a dark puzzle...and considerable danger.

If you would like to read the Prologue and first Chapter of A Very Private Grave, go HERE.



Watch the book video:




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Donna Fletcher Crow is author of more than thirty-five novels. She has twice won first place in the Historical Fiction category from the National Association of Press Women, and has also been a finalist for "Best Inspirational Novel" from the Romance Writers of America. She is a member of The Arts Centre Group and Sisters in Crime. Find out more at http://www.donnafletchercrow.com/.

Endorsements:

"History and mystery and murders most foul keep the pages turning ... A fascinating read." –Liz Curtis Higgs, bestelling author of Thorn in My Heart

“A Knickerbocker Glory of a thriller, a sweeping, page-turning quest served up with dollops of Church history and lashings of romance. Donna Fletcher Crow has created her own niche within the genre of clerical mysteries.” – Kate Charles, author of Deep Waters

“As in Glastonbury, Donna Fletcher Crow’s descriptions of the English and Scottish settings in her new mystery are drawn with real artistry. Lovers of British history and church history will be impressed by her grasp of both.”—Sally Wright, Edgar Award finalist and author of the Ben Reese Mysteries