Blurb

CHAPTER ONE: — OPENING — CHRISTMAS DAY…AT THE KENT ESTATE IN THE DOMINATIONS PROVINCE… After enjoying a suitably festive dinner in the welcome company of his young ward, and having just now sent the bright-eyed boy off to bed for the night, the lord of the manor, Master Owen Kent, sat reading a newspaper, randomly skimming through its pages, his rugged features set in rather stern lines. A section on Current Events contained such cheerless headlines as: “ILL TIDINGS OF CONTINUED WARFARE COME APRIL,” “TEMPORARY CEASEFIRE BRINGS BADLY NEEDED REPRIEVE TO MANY BELEAGUERED DISTRICTS,” “HEAVY CASUALTIES REPORTED ALONG THE BORDER REGIONS,” and, “DESPITE APPROACHING HOLIDAY SEASON, ONSLAUGHT OF BRUTISH BANDITRY DOES NOT APPEAR TO ABATE.”

Owen lowered the paper, leaning his head back, his right forefinger tapping at the armrest for a few slow, thoughtful moments. Our Angelorum Realm is in a bad way…

Choosing not to dwell for too long upon this grim state of affairs, he turned his attention to THE LETTER-BOX. It always amused Master Kent to see the wide variety of miscellaneous contributions which had been sent by the “young folk” to their most favorite magazine. He never failed to get a chuckle out of the so-called Children’s Corner.

That section intended for younger readers also included THE RIDDLE-BOX, with its bi-monthly Crossword Puzzle, along with a series of conundrums and other puzzles. Owen tended to give those a cursory glance.

His eyes lit upon one conundrum, causing the man’s mind to go numb.

PUZZLE. —— FROM a word of five letters take two away, and find one remaining. ——BENEDICK +CROSSE

It was not the puzzle itself that had made him pause so suddenly—although he hadn’t a clue as to what the answer could be—but rather, it was the shock of seeing the name of the contributor of the riddle. Never before had Owen Kent seen that name in THE MESSENGER. Never would he have expected to see it now.

The Benedick Crosse that he had known was dead.

Owen Kent folded the newspaper, frowning heavily.

Or was he?…

While there is no synopsis written for this story yet, some helpful keywords that describe it are: Angels, War, Tragedy, Cute Children, Canines, Widows, Authors, Invalid, Crossword/Riddles, and Friendship. (A standalone novel, originally published October 2, 2020.)

Suitable for both boys and girls of all ages, this wholesome and enjoyable book features clean humor, holy romance, exciting action, and some instances of mild violence. (Rated Mild for violence only; and the violence depicted is neither gratuitous nor overly graphic.)