David
Bishop, AKA Murphy Shepherd, is a best selling novelist; writing is
the way he processes life's difficulties and its joys. However, that
is not all he is. As Murphy Shepherd he rescues people who have been
abducted and trafficked. Shepherd says he rescues them twice, once
when he knocks the door down, and again when he works to help them to
be able to love and trust again as well as to once again feel worthy
of being loved. This has been Murphy Shepherd's goal in life, placed
in his heart by his beloved mentor, Ezekiel Walker, better known as
Bones, throughout Charles Martin's Murphy Shepherd series of
novels. The difference in this novel and its predecessors is that
this one takes place after Shepherd has watched Bones' bullet-riddled
body falling a hundred feet down a well shaft into a rushing
underground river. Being forced to do this job when a close friend,
and highly public figure, called saying all three of his daughters
were abducted from their highly-secured home, is almost unimaginable
without Bones there to accompany him, but with the support of his
family, friends and colleagues, Murphy manages to do the
unimaginable.
The Keeper
is no less intense than any of the other novels in this series, all
of which evoke strong emotions from the reader. Research says fiction
reading builds empathy. These books exemplify that. Sometimes the
reader will want to stop reading just to catch their breath and let
their emotions calm down, but putting the book aside even for a short
time is easier said than done. This series is best read in order;
much would be lost in doing otherwise. If you haven't read any of the
books in this series yet, you have the advantage of not enduring the
wait until then next one is published, at least not until you reach
this fourth book in the series. I give The Keeper
five stars. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy from
Thomas Nelson via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions
expressed here are my own.
