Sister Agatha of the Our Lady of Hope monastery in Bernalillo, New Mexico has become reknowned―and occasionally infamous― for her crime solving skills. Now she must bring her skills to bear on her most important case yet―her friend and ally Sheriff Tom Green is a suspect in the brutal murder of his rival in the upcoming election. Sister Agatha, the crime-solving nun from the Our Lady of Hope monastery in Bernalillo, New Mexico, faces her toughest case in the Thurlos' fifth novel in the series. With the monastery set to close and the sisters soon to relocate to Denver, Sister Agatha is ready for a diversion. It comes in the form of a phone call from her old friend, Sheriff Tom Green, who is up for reelection. Greene's opponent is Robert Garcia, a former deputy and rival of Tom's who belongs to the town's most powerful family. But Garcia has been murdered, and Tom is accused of the crime. He needs Sister Agatha's help if he is to figure out who is behind the frame. With her faithful dog, Pax, riding in the sidecar, Sister Agatha revs up her motorcycle and gets to work, encountering a great deal of resistance and uncovering some ugly family secrets in the process. This is a charming cozy with a Wild West setting. It will appeal to readers who prefer a gentle approach to investigation. --Barbara Bibel “The astute, down-to-earth Sister Agatha, whose choice to become a nun the authors make persuasively real, gets on a trail that uncovers drug and spousal abuse. Hopefully, despite an impending move to Colorado, Sister Agatha will return to solve more crimes with her trusted former police dog, Pax, and the convent's old station wagon she drives, the Antichrysler.” ― Publishers Weekly “... a charming cozy with a Wild West setting.” ― Booklist Aimée Thurlo is co-author of the Ella Clah series, the Lee Nez series of Navajo vampire mysteries, and the Sister Agatha novels. Her other works, co-written with her husband, David , include Plant Them Deep , a novel featuring Rose Destea, the mother of Ella Clah, and The Spirit Line , a young adult novel. Aimée, a native of Cuba, lived in the US for many years. She died in 2014. David Thurlo , is co-author of the Ella Clah series, the Lee Nez series of Navajo vampire mysteries, and the Sister Agatha novels. His other works, co-written with his wife Aimée, include Plant Them Deep , a novel featuring Rose Destea, the mother of Ella Clah, and The Spirit Line , a young adult novel. David was raised on the Navajo Reservation and taught school there until his recent retirement. He lives in Corrales, New Mexico, and often makes appearances at area bookstores. Bad Samaritan A Sister Agatha Mystery By Aime Thurlo Minotaur Books Copyright © 2010 Aime Thurlo All right reserved. ISBN: 9780312367329 1 FAITH COULD MOVE MOUNTAINS AND CAST THEM INTO THE sea, but although Sister Agatha’s faith was strong, it was far from impregnable. There were too many chinks in her armor, and lately it seemed as if God had decided to test each and every one. At the moment, it was one thirty in the morning and she was barely awake. Yawning and shaking the cobwebs out of her head to stay alert, she drove toward the small town of Bernalillo, creeping down the narrow blacktop at forty-five miles per hour. The anemic headlights of the Antichrysler—the monastery’s rickety old station wagon—barely parted the black curtain trying to envelop them. Pax was sitting up straight on the passenger’s side. A former police dog, he was now the monastery’s pet and companion to the externs—nuns who didn’t take a vow of enclosure. Sister Agatha wondered if the old boy had somehow managed to understand the seriousness of their current situation, and his personal connection to it. Until to night, she hadn’t really believed that things at Our Lady of Hope could get any worse. For the past few months their monastery had been bravely fighting against a death sentence. Though the final curtain hadn’t yet fallen, barring a miracle, the end was now near. One slim hope still remained, but the threads that bound it were so fragile it didn’t seem wise to cling to them. That was why Sister Agatha had chosen to protect herself by preparing for the worst. Piensa mal y acertarás. It was a local Spanish saying that meant “Think the worst and you’ll be right.” Yet her attempt to remain realistic just left her feeling even more empty inside. With effort, Sister Agatha pushed aside those concerns for now and focused on the matter at hand. Late phone calls to the monastery—like the one less than thirty minutes ago—ran the risk of not being heard and answered, since their only phones were inside Reverend Mother’s office and the parlor. However, to night’s caller had been insistent and the ringing had eventually awakened Sister Bernarda. That frantic call for help had come on behalf of one of the monastery’s most loyal friends, and Reverend Mother had dispatched Sister Agatha immediately. As Mother had explained, Sister