Bøger udgivet af Mary Lu Warstler

December 2, 1859 John Brown is hanged for treason. The mayor of Richmond wants Will Brunner, minister and physician, in the Richmond Volunteers. Will refuses and knows the mayor will not give up. Olivia promises him that if war comes to Richmond and he is out of the picture, she will take the children and do her best to get them to safety.Because of their views on war and slavery, Will and five friends are harassed almost daily and when they still refuse to join the Richmond Volunteers, they are imprisoned. Olivia waits, trying to carry on as if all is normal. But things are far from normal. She is also harassed by Sergeant Parker who wants her to make Will change his mind. She learns that the children are also taunted at school.Samuel and Rosy, freed slaves who work for the Brunners help them cope. Rosy, friend and worker, helps Olivia with the children. Samuel takes care of the animals. While Will is in Libby Prison, Samuel makes daily trips to the back window where he can lower food to the men. Finally, the day comes when Will sends word by Samuel that it is time for Olivia to keep her promise.She gathers the wives of the other five men and tells them she is going North to the Kanawha Valley. She invites them to go with her, knowing that their husbands have already told them they should go. However, the mayor had assured them that the men are well cared for and are in no discomfort. When Will signs the papers putting him in the Volunteers, they will be released. Olivia tells them the mayor is lying. She tells them the truth and says she is leaving in two days. They can either stay or go with her. They all go - six women including an eighty-year old and children all under twelve.With heavy hearts on March 20, 1861, Olivia and her friends climb into their covered wagons and leave their men in Libby Prison, not knowing if they will ever see them again.

Laura Kenzel, recently widowed, follows her dream of becoming a pastor. Although she is only in her mid-forties, still atractive with auburn hair, brown eyes, and slim body, she is not interested in pursuing relationships. She works hard, graduates from seminary and strikes out to her first appointment in a small town United Methodist Church. She is so excited that reports of strange noises in the church belfry don't faze her. When she arrives and is almost kidnapped, however, she begins to have second thoughts. The morning after her near abduction, she finds a dead man in her garage which throws her in close contact with Homicide Detective Steve Morgan. His twinking blue eyes do strange things to her emotions. A ten-year-old redhaired truant, steals her heart and helps her rescue Rascal and Mischief, two Maine Coon cats from the church belfry. Laura has a special relationship with God and chides him for her unusual reception at her first church. Seminary didn't teach her to deal with murder and intrigue. Larua is not a detective, nor does she want to be one, but she is helpful in solving the mysteries in the small town or Cottonville.

Bernard William Snoop was born to be different. From the time he was a toddler, or maybe even before, he loved people, snooping and the outdoors, not necessarily in that order. Bernie never had much success in dating and soon lost interest in girls. Following seminary and ordination his peers referred to him as Father Bernard Snoop, a single, homely with a Jimmy Durante nose, six feet three inches tall, thin frame, and a vegetarian who loved small rural churches. Except for the occasional helping local authorities solve a few mysteries, murder and mayhem, he restricted his snooping to nature and the workings of God and His church.His first Sunday at a new appointment, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen walked into the church. Since she went into the college class, Bernie thought must be about twenty, maybe twenty-one years old. She was much too young for him, even if she hadn't been a member of his congregation. No matter the arguments, January, following her college graduation, Miriam became Mrs. Bernard W. Snoop.For ten years, she served as his wife and helpmate in that college town. Then early in December, Bernie received a call, a summons, actually, from this friend, Bishop John Murray. January, they moved to Metropolis. Two days later, their 10th Wedding Anniversary, Bernie returned from a church meeting and found the front door ajar. He stopped in the open doorway. For a single heartbeat, time stood still. His beautiful wife, lay crumpled beside the telephone stand, her sightless green eyes staring in death. A wet, stormy night weeks later, someone set fire to the church. Bernie escaped because a rain-soaked, gray cat warned him of danger. Holy Smoke then became his constant companion

Corey Kahlor is awakened in the middle of the night when her mother calls to say her father is in coronary care and is asking for her. Corey is confused. Her father has been dead over 20 years -- or so her mother told her. She learns he has been running from a man who wants his grandfather's diary. Now he is home and his pursuer is still determined to get the diary. Corey, her mother Sherylee, fiancé Roger, and even their Bengal cat Reggie all become victims of the desperate attempt to get the diary.

BEFORE THE DAWN: A Night of Memories is a Biblical novel. It is the story of Jesus through the eyes of those who gather together to mourn his death. Spending the night (What some areas of our country would call a wake) waiting for the dawn to pay their last respects, the disciples and friends work through their grief by telling stories of how Jesus touched their lives. By dawn, they are ready to face the news of the empty tomb.

Jennifer left Mississippi ten years ago under difficult conditions but has found life complete in Austen Grove, Ohio with Sergeant Brenner, her adopted father; Mary Beth, her best friend; her church where she is soloist; and her beautiful, unique gray cat, Saucer. Her mother, Kathryn, has lived with her brother in Meridian. Jennifer is excited to think of the things she and her mother can do together. A new pathologist will soon take over as County Medical Examiner and Lab Supervisor - jobs that Jennifer has held as interim for the past six months. She feels her life is perfect - until...her past begins to unravel. Vance Bales, the cause of her teen-aged pregnancy - a secret she has kept locked in her memory - is out of prison and looking for her. The new Chief Pathologist, Doctor David Williams, challenges her feelings about men. The killer of her best friend, Dianne Brenner, begins stalking her. Her friend Frederick begins pushing for commitment. And the final blow - her brother tells her Kathryn has Alzheimer's disease. Kathryn's disease progresses rapidly, but she and Jennifer have many good times together before she begins to forget who Jennifer is. Stubbornly believing she can do the impossible Jennifer tries to keep her mother's disease at by. She tries to cope with everything alone, until circumstances force her to release her control. She is able to forgive Vance; fall in love with Doctor Williams; help catch the killer; and when the time comes, offer her final gift to her mother - to sing her to sleep for her final rest.

Kendra Donovan's father liked to plan mystery trips. Only he knew where they were going. The family would follow clues to guess their destination. It had been several years and the family is finally together for a trip. Kendra's boss throws a monkey wrench in the works. She can't leave with the rest of the family, but will follow the clues and find them. All well and good, until Seymour Severs, her father's boss calls to tell Kendra her family perished in a murder/suicide car crash. Kendra's sixth sense tells her he's lying. How can she prove they are not dead? How can she find them? Why did Severs lie, except that her father, an FBI Agent must be in some kind of trouble? Kendra must first find out what kind of trouble and who to avoid before she can be reunited with her father, mother, sister and twin brother. Taking a "grief" vacation, she goes where she is sure they were heading. There she meets old friends who become enemies, is accused of murder, shot at, and run off the road. Her new friend, Brian saves her. She meets her brother in disguise. He tells her in their secret language to go home. Brian leaves her at the infirmity with Doc Jones who tries to sedate her enough to throw her in the lake later in the night. Kendra escapes during a raging storm, is hunted like an animal, and returns to the cabin in a state of shock. Brian takes care of her. Her longtime friend, Lenny is shot. Brian is captured and beaten. Kendra knows she is the only one who can save them all, but can she do it?