Combining heart-wrenching emotion with edge-of-your-seat tension, Charles Martin explores the true power of sacrificial love.
He shows up when all hope is lost.
Murphy Shepherd has made a career of finding those no one else could--survivors of human trafficking. His life's mission is helping others find freedom.
But then the nightmare strikes too close to home.
When his new wife, her daughter, and two other teenage girls are stolen, Murphy is left questioning all he has thought to be true. With more dead ends than leads, he has no idea how to find those he loves.
After everything is stripped away, love is what remains.
Hope feels lost, but Murphy is willing to expend his last breath trying to bring them home.
Preview from Charlie Martin:
"I don't know how he does what he does. It sounds rhetorical at this point because I find myself saying the same thing after every book. I flip the last page over (usually after having read it multiple times to prolong the ending) and then say, usually out loud to myself, 'How the h-e-double-hockey-stick did he just pull that off?' This book is no exception. It is unequivocally, hands down, a remarkable read. It's everything you want (and a whole lot more) from a sequel.
"David Bishop/Murphy Shepherd is the guy who shoots first and asks questions later. He's got multiple secret identities, flies around on private jets, has several storage units with motorcycles, walls full of well-used handguns, rifles, shotguns, not to mention the storage unit in south Florida where he's got a Hell's Bay skiff . . . I mean c'mon. He makes Batman's arsenal and gadgets look like a joke, and Jason Bourne look like a rookie in the world of taking out bad guys. AND on top of that, the dude's a PRIEST . . . and he uses his priestly credentials to get in (and out) of some pretty shady situations (spoiler alert) taking out a respectable amount of bad guys in his white robes in the process . . . (spoiler alert #2). Too bad those robes don't stop bullets . . . (spoiler alert #3 . . . my bad. I'll stop.) And on top of that, he's got the world's greatest dog. The Shepherd/Gunnar duo is unstoppable, again, this time around.
"But amid all the secret identities and kicking butt he does, let's face it . . . the dude's got MAD game. For those who don't know what that means, the dude is a total chick magnet--and not by choice. And if I can get serious for a minute, The Letter Keeper takes the character development between Bishop and his girls to the next level. By the end, you're so invested and knitted into their stories and hearts, you're left scratching your head thinking, 'Are we sure this is fiction? There's no way this is made up.'
"The way he/Dad/Charles walks us through the storyline of Bishop, Summer, and Angel is everything we, us readers, have been waiting for. It's beautiful and deep and genuine, but thrilling and exciting all in one. Dad/Charles has had a couple of really phenomenal characters break the pages in the last 20+ years of his writing--Matthew Rising, Sunday, Ella Rain (love that lady), Tyler Steele . . . You know 'em, we love 'em all--but these--Bishop, Summer, Angel, Casey, Clay, Bones, yes even Gunnar--might be my favorite. Speaking of Bones, for those who were like me wondering who the heck this guy is in the first book, well, let's just say there's more to Bones than meets the eye.
"Y'all better get ready. Like I said last time, clear your schedule. When this book comes out, say you got a scratchy throat or something, muscle aches, play the COVID scare card for a day and say you need to quarantine. Then read this book . . . front to back. There will be more sweaty palms, fist pumps, tears, and laughter than the first one. I promise.
"And yes . . . in case you're wondering . . . by the time this book ends, there's not much room left on his back for more names. But something tells me that's not going to stop Bishop."
Praise for The Letter Keeper:
"Very few contemporary novelists have found acclaim within mainstream and evangelical markets, but Charles Martin is among them. His latest novel is both a stand-alone story and a sequel to his highly-praised The Water Keeper. It hinges on the Scriptural message of forsaking the found in order to seek the lost, a theme Martin brings to poetic and brilliant life. A man broken by events beyond his control accepts the challenge to walk dark ways in order to bring the lost and helpless home, but he comes close to losing himself in the process. Despite the hardship and heartache, Martin's story shines with the light of eternal hope." --Davis Bunn, writing for Christianity Today
- Full-length novel
- One of the Murphy Shepherd novels:
- Book One: The Water Keeper
- Book Two: The Letter Keeper
- Book Three: Available June 2022
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
- Also by Charles Martin: The Mountain Between Us, Send Down the Rain, Long Way Gone, When Crickets Cry
