Zachary Bartels

Thomas Nelson Publishing Staff

Last Con

Playing Saint | All Souls' Day

Parker Saint is living the dream. A cushy job at a thriving megachurch has him on the verge of becoming a bestselling author and broadcast celebrity--until life takes an abrupt turn that lands him on the wrong side of the law. To avoid a public scandal, he agrees to consult with the police on a series of brutal murders linked by strange religious symbols scrawled on each victim.

Playing Saint

Superheroes aren't real. But before the summer ends, Trent's going to wish they were. For Trenton Marsh, life is getting complicated. Ever since his police chief dad went back to school, the two of rarely see each other. And while Trent has managed to somehow catch the interest of Zoe, the intriguing new girl in town, he is quickly realizing just how out of his league she really is. Meanwhile, the formerly harmless quirks of his best friend, Judith, are becoming cause for concern as she becomes ever more determined to transform herself into a real-life superhero. Just when Trenton starts getting Judith back on the road to sanity, a string of bizarre break-ins disrupts the quiet town of Clinch Rock. Nothing is missing, but it's clear that someone is looking for something. And when Trent discovers a secret room and a dusty journal in the basement of his house-which once belonged to a 19th century lumber baron-he finds himself inadvertently feeding Judith's new obsession with solving crimes and dispensing justice. But it soon becomes frighteningly clear that the would-be thieves will stop at nothing to get their hands on the lumber baron's substantial riches, propelling Trent and Judith into a frantic race against time and a shadowy group of treasure hunters to solve a century-old mystery before it's too late.

Clinch

ON ALL SOULS' DAY, THE FAITHFUL REMEMBER THE DEAD. THIS YEAR THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF DEAD TO REMEMBER. It's been a year since pastor Parker Saint found himself in the middle of an ancient conspiracy involving demon possession, ritual killings, holy relics, and Vatican operatives, and things are just starting to get back to normal. Well, as normal as they can be now that he's married to Detective Corrinne Kirkpatrick. Corrinne is having trouble adjusting to life as a pastor's wife. And while she'd love to retreat to the familiarity of her precinct, she's beginning to feel out of place there too--surrounded by younger, unfamiliar faces and beginning to feel like a relic herself. When a new series of grisly murders rocks the quiet city of Grand Rapids, everyone is on edge, and no one more so than Parker--from the very first crime scene, the killer seems to be drawing attention to him. Soon he and Corrinne are thrown into a deadly game with a timer that is swiftly running out. As the stress takes its toll on their fledgling marriage, they'll have to lean on God and each other--and even those Vatican operatives--in order to stop the killer before it's too late.

Playing Saint - All Souls' Day

Yesterday, Parker Saint’s only concern was his swiftly rising star power. Today, he’s just trying to stay alive. Parker Saint is living the dream. A cushy job at a thriving megachurch has him on the verge of becoming a bestselling author and broadcast celebrity—until life takes an abrupt turn that lands him on the wrong side of the law. To avoid a public scandal, he agrees to consult with the police on a series of brutal murders linked by strange religious symbols scrawled on each victim. Parker tries to play the expert, but he is clearly in over his head. Drawn ever deeper into a web of intrigue involving a demanding detective, a trio of secretive Vatican operatives, and a centuries-old conspiracy to conceal a mysterious relic, he realizes for the first time that the battle between good and evil is all too real—and that the killer is coming back . . . this time for him. “A thought-provoking exploration into the power of faith and the reality of evil. Filled with memorable characters and tight writing, Playing Saint is an impressive debut from an author to watch.” —Steven James, bestselling author of Placebo and The Queen

THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA WERE THERE WHEN JERUSALEM FELL, THEY WERE THERE WHEN THE TEMPLARS DISINTEGRATED, AND THEY’RE THERE NOW . . . WAITING IN DETROIT FOR A BORN-AGAIN CON MAN TRYING TO SAVE HIS FAMILY. Former con man Fletcher Doyle is finally home after six years in the pen. He’s working a menial job, regaining his bearings in the world, and trying to revive his relationships with his wife and twelve-year-old daughter. No easy feat. But when Fletcher and his family go on a mission trip to Detroit—in the company of the condescending church leader who also happens to be his landlord—Fletcher finds his old life waiting for him. Within hours of arriving in the city, he’s been blackmailed into doing a job for a mysterious criminal who calls himself The Alchemist. A series of relics hidden by the Knights of Malta, as ancient as they are priceless, are in the sights of The Alchemist. What he needs is a gifted grifter with a background in ecclesiastical history . . . what he needs is Fletcher Doyle. Between hiding his reawakened criminal life from his wife and trying to hide her from their relentless landlord, Fletcher is ready to give up. But when his family is drawn into the dangerous world he can’t shake, Fletcher is forced to rely on his years in the game to save the only people who mean more to him than the biggest con in history.

Zachary Bartels

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