The Mysteries of Reverend Dean

White successfully creates a modern-day Father Brown in this outstanding collection of six impossible crime tales that fans of classic puzzles will hope is but the first of many. The Rev. Thaddeus Dean, a widower recently retired from his position at Outpost Community Church near the Cascade Mountains in Washington State, finds himself confronted with challenges that would have been welcomed by Henry Merrivale and Gideon Fell. For example, in the opening tale, ""Murder at an Island Mansion,"" a man's death is followed by a series of ghostly crimes aimed at his heirs, ostensibly to prevent them from selling the family home, including a murder committed by someone who escaped without leaving a footprint on the freshly-painted floor. Effortlessly crafting intriguing situations, the author matches the premises with satisfying solutions while gently and unintrusively weaving questions of faith into the plot lines.