None Without Sin by Michael Bradley

 

Candice Miller has never seen anything like this before.  An Episcopalian minister, she has been called to the home of a parishioner to comfort the family.  The husband of the family, realtor, Robbie Reynolds, has been murdered.  There is blood and curiously, a round loaf of bread on his back.  Candice is there to help the police get the family out of the house.  She talks with the victim's wife and his small daughter and manages to get them outside.

Outside, there is a crowd.  Journalists are there, including Brian Wilder.  He had been a Pultizer Prize winner journalist, traveling the world.  Now he is in this small town running a newspaper that prints only a few days a week.  Also in the crowd is Candice's friend, Andrew Blake, the Catholic priest who drove her there.  They had been playing chess when the call came.

There were always rumors surrounding Reynolds.  He was a playboy, having multiple affairs.  There were also financial rumors, that he was gambling and losing.  He had come to Candice to get a recommendation for a counselor and Candice had recommended her friend. Now he lies murdered, the word CHEATER scrawled on his forehead.

Candice can't put the scene out of her head. Something about the loaf of bread seems familiar.  After searching the Internet, she remembers something from her religious studies, the practice of the sin eater.  The sin eater was called in to eat bread after a death, taking the dead person's sins upon themselves.  Was that the reason the bread was left?

The town tries to get back to normal, but it's not to be.  Reynold's death is not the last.  Other murders occur, each with a victim with a message left on their bodies along with the bread.  There are many affected.  Samantha, Candice's counselor, is connected to all the victims as they are all in her practice. Alex Bennett, a college professor and his wife are involved as he is a religious professor. Brian Wilder is around each murder, trying for a scoop and realizing that he misses investigative reporting.  There's an older lady, Agatha, who is known for her charity but seems troubled by the past.  Can the murders be solved before more people are killed?

Michael Bradley worked in radio before moving to a career in information technology.  His mysteries have won awards such as Indie Book Of The Year and Notable Indie.  The pace was comfortable and his characters seem to be related to each other in believable ways.  The two main characters, Candice and Brian, both have issues to be resolved and are working on them.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.