The Monsignor's Wife

WHEN HIS LOVER IS MURDERED, MONSIGNOR CUPELLI BECOMES THE CHIEF SUSPECT. "...Benevento's novel is meticulously plotted and full of surprises- he keeps us guessing from chapter to chapter, page to page."-Jack Smith, author of Hog To Hog,George Garrett Fiction Prize Winner. Monsignor Tony Cupelli, a pastor in working-class Queens, has always been controversial, due to his support of a married clergy and women as priests, and for his not completely secret affair with Maggie Rosario. Cupelli's new book on a feminine Holy Spirit again puts him in the spotlight, but not as much as news of the murder of Rosario, just when Cupelli was trying to break off their relationship, a break she had postponed by quirky and Santería-inspired approaches to their love-making. Cupelli is both suspect and amateur detective as he tries to decipher the many clues the killer has intentionally left, clues that promise future crimes patterned on the murders in one of Cupelli's favorite short stories. The criminal outsmarts Cupelli and the police at every turn, even to the scary and erotic surprise ending set up from the very beginning. "...a murder mystery as complicated as the Holy Trinity itself."-Lara Olsen, Television Writer and Producer (Reba, Private Practice, 90210, Mixology). "...double and triple layers of meaning, [a]gritty and authentic Queens, NY background, [a] troubled and conflicted protagonist, and [a] wonderfully diverse supporting ensemble. A great debut." -Carol Goodman, Hammett Award Winning Mystery Writer, The Seduction of Water. "The Monsignor's Wife is a witty, fast-paced portrait of a man who doesn't seem to realize that he's racing face-first into the teeth of his own hypocrisy and weakness."-Stephen Wingate, Author of Wifeshopping, Bakeless Fiction Prize Winner. "...a grittily realistic portrayal of working class Italian-American life in a blue collar corner of Queens...the thought provoking depth is exceeded only by the chills-up-your-spine entertainment!" -Lee Slonimsky, Co-Author of the Lee Carroll Black Swan Rising Trilogy.