Preacher Stalls the Second Coming Is #4 in the Award-Winning Series. #1 and #2 won Gold and Silver in the 2020 New York City Big Book Awards in Mystery.
This is literature masquerading as a mystery… the kind of writing one expects from John Irving or Jane Smiley.”— Marvin J. Wolf, Rabbi Ben Mysteries author
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, January 23, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — LaPuerta Books and Media announces the publication of the fourth novel in the multiple-award-winning Preacher Evan Wycliff mystery series. Fans of Gerald Everett Jones have been waiting two years for this one. Release date is March 5, 2024 in both trade paperback and e-book. Preacher Stalls the Second Coming is both timely and likely to be controversial. In its bizarre and complex plot, a crazed scientist knocks on the preacher’s door with a bizarre warning – the Deep State may be planning to fake the Second Coming of Christ with advanced virtual-reality technology. Meanwhile, a faith-healing evangelist is luring poor and homeless people to an internment camp with promises of ample food, then exhorting them to prepare for the End Times by starving themselves to death. Evan can’t ignore these unbelievable stories when a young woman from his church disappears inside the cult leader’s farm.
Previous novels in the Evan Wycliff series have won nine book awards, including Mystery Gold and Silver in the New York City Big Book Awards for the #1 and #2 titles in the same year.
Praise for the series has been effusive, especially from other authors of renowned mysteries. Writing about Preacher Finds a Corpse (#1), Marvin J. Wolf, author of the Rabbi Ben Mysteries said: “This is literature masquerading as a mystery. Carefully yet powerfully, Gerald Jones creates a small, stunning world in a tiny midwestern town, infusing each character with not just life but wit, charm, and occasionally menace. This is the kind of writing one expects from John Irving or Jane Smiley.”
On reading Preacher Fakes a Miracle (#2), M.J. Richards, Coauthor of Dishonor Thy Father, offered this endorsement: “A fast-moving mystery with twists and surprises that take you in unexpected directions. Jones is adept at creating unique and fascinating characters. His mystery sleuth is a part-timer with lots of heart who splits his time between religion, skip tracing and sometimes the metaphysical. The hero’s search for a missing girl and his interactions with various eccentric individuals in the small town make him both sympathetic and compelling. A bit of a shock to learn what’s really going on with the abducted young unwed mother… and amazing how it relates to real stories in the news today.”
In his review of Preacher Raises the Dead (#3), John Rachel, author of Blinders Keepers, said: “This is an excellent read. Such an engaging storyteller! It really sucked me in. The last page did cause a triple-take, quadruple-take, and whatever comes after, up to about eight. Jones is definitely one of my favorite authors.”
About this fourth book, which is his fourteenth novel, Jones explains, “Preacher Evan Wycliff is an amateur sleuth, a reluctant investigator. People in a small farm town in Southern Missouri bring him problems no one else wants to solve. Some call him a faith healer, others think he’s agnostic. He believes in the power of prayer, but he also admits he’s a skeptical inquirer: ‘If you don’t doubt, you’re not human.’”
Gerald Everett Jones is a freelance writer who lives in Santa Monica, California. He has been a longtime board member of the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) and host of the GetPublished! Radio podcast. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from the College of Letters, Wesleyan University, where he studied under novelists Peter Boynton (Stone Island), F.D. Reeve (The Red Machines), and Jerzy Kosinski (The Painted Bird, Being There).
Preacher Stalls the Second Coming will be available on March 5, 2024 from booksellers worldwide in trade paperback as well as in Kindle format from Amazon.
LaPuerta Books and Media is an imprint of La Puerta Productions, Santa Monica, California. The imprint and its logo – an open door – symbolize unlimited access to knowledge, opportunity, innovation, fascination, and delight.
https://geraldeverettjones.com/
Gerald Everett Jones reads from Preacher Stalls the Second Coming
