Faith Change: A Nina Bannister Mystery

Nina Bannister has always called her little congregation in Bay St. Lucy the Church of No Surprises. Everything from her favorite pew to her favorite hymns to her favorite verses to her favorite people to her favorite pastor, Brother Tamp-is comfortably predictable. Even the summer camping retreat at Tombigbee State Park in northern Mississippi is unchanging, featuring the Frank Bannister Fishing Contest, organized years earlier by her deceased husband. This summer is different though. The church’s decision to have their retreat in conjunction with the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church draws the ire of white supremacists. The request by a gay couple to be married in a formal church service proves highly controversial. Brother Tamp’s arguments with a new young minister over matters both financial and theological grow ever more bitter. And the forests around the camp seem suddenly to be haunted by Chickasaw warriors, enraged at having been expelled from their native lands.Nina hopes and prays for the best but gets the worst: a shocking murder.And she has very little time to solve it before her little church of no surprises suffers a traumatic Faith Change.