Baptist deacon, family man, pillar of his Florida community . . . and serial killer of prostitutes: chilling true crime from the author of Lobster Boy. By day, Sam Smithers was the deacon of his Baptist church in Plant City, Florida, a respected neighbor to many, and a devoted husband and father. But after the sun set, he became something else: a violent attacker—and killer—of prostitutes. Smithers’s twisted double life came to light when a local woman who had hired him to take care of her property found him in her garage, cleaning an ax—and then discovered a puddle of blood. Through exclusive interviews with Smithers’s wife, who described her spouse as nothing but a doting husband and father, author Fred Rosen learned why this man of God, raised in an intensely religious Tennessee home, was the last person anyone would suspect of committing these savage crimes. Rosen reveals the details behind the deaths of Christy Cowan and Denise Roach after Smithers picked them up in Tampa—and the fate of a man who seemed holier than thou, but was actually guilty as sin.

The respected deacon that had everything going for him and turned serial killer in the blink of an eye. What happened? Here is his story. Sam Smithers stood out as a pillar of his community. He respected his mother, he loved his wife and son, he was a hard worker, and he went to church. In fact, he not only went to church; he was ordained as a deacon. He had also served as a firefighter and an unofficial mentor shepherding troubled youths who did community service for the church under his watch.But that was before the killing began. It remains unclear just how many people he may have killed, but the two women that he was convicted of murdering were slaughtered in such a horrific and callous fashion as to leave no doubt that Sam Smithers was a sociopath of the lowest order. This book describes the misdeeds of Sam Smithers-the Deacon of Death-in full. Scroll back up and click the BUY NOW button at the top right side of this page to order your copy now!

Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction Winner of the Gotham Book Prize One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year" Oprah's Book Club Pick Named one of the Top Ten Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and TIME Magazine A Washington Post Notable Novel From the author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, and the bestselling modern classic The Color of Water, comes one of the most celebrated novels of the year. In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and, in front of everybody, shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range. The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride’s funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself. As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters—caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York—overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion. Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.

The day after an important parish council meeting, two mothers volunteering St. Brendan's Parish school smell gas. The school is evacuated and the Fire Department called. After the gas is shut off and the school ventilated, Deacon Tom's body is found in the boiler room, with a dent in the back of his head. Death is ruled to be homicide.Meg Ryan, a young (single) police officer, is also a member of the parish council. She is on duty and responds to the call when gas is discovered in the school. She is on the list for detective, but hasn't been reached yet. Because of her connections with the parish, she is assigned by her chief to work on the investigation, and teamed with Detective Joe Curry, who she has been quietly dating.The romance between Meg and Joe heats up as they work their way through the myriad of relationships and rivalries in the parish. In the end, using intuition, knowledge and experience, Meg works out the answer, which is--not as it seemed.p.p1 span.s1 Michael P. McKeating is a licensed attorney, practicing criminal law for the past 30 years. He holds BA, MA, and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Buffalo, and a MA degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is a widower with two adult children, one of whom is a retired police officer. He is an avid fan of the genre of the mystery novel, particularly the Golden Age of British mysteries. His favorites are G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie and Carola Dunn. He lives in Buffalo, New York where he continues to practice criminal law.

The Book of Deacon is the first book of The Book of Deacon series by Joseph R. Lallo. Myranda Celeste’s world has been built on a legacy of bloodshed. For more than a century, her homeland the Northern Alliance has fought the Kingdom of Tressor in what has come to be known as the Perpetual War. While her people look upon the conflict with reverence, Myranda’s hate for the war has made her an outcast. When she finds a precious sword among the equipment of a fallen warrior, she believes her luck may have changed. Little does she imagine that the treasure will draw her into an adventure of wizards and warriors, soldiers and rebels, and beasts both noble and monstrous. The journey will teach her much about her potential, about the origins of the war, and about the threat her world truly faces. Will Myranda unlock the secret of bringing peace once and for all, or will the world be lost to the Perpetual War?

As the great chief matriarch lay dying, she gave one final decree: Upon her death there would be a contest. Having no heir of her own blood she called on the Gods. Let fate decide the one truly worthy to rule in her place. The rich, the strong, the wise, the powerful; many put forward their names in hope of being chosen. But when the night came . . . only fifty souls alone were summoned. Book one in gripping action, supernatural, and historical fantasy graphic novel trilogy where souls battle in a contest to become the ruler of an island.

Bell strokes toll out the death of an unknown man, and summon Lord Wimsey to East Anglia to solve the mystery.