First Line Friday — Water Grave

Happy Friday! Today I am featuring a new-to-me author, Mitchell S. Karnes and his mystery/suspense novel Water Grave. Set in the South, this book looks to be a pageturner!

Here’s the first line:

Mark Ripley rushed into the baptistry changing room, slammed the door, and locked the handle.

Six years ago, Hannah Leah Abelard needed a fresh start. She changed her name to Abbey Rhodes and enlisted in the United States Army as a part of the “Ever Vigilant,” 18th Military Police Brigade. They taught her how to be a great cop. Abbey moved to Tennessee three years later and joined Metro Nashville’s Police Department.

Now, in her third month with Homicide, Abbey is thrust into a case that may bring the walls she built crashing down around her, exposing a dark past she thought she’d left behind. A young pastor is found dead in the bottom of his baptistery and Abbey is forced to investigate the one place she swore never to return-the church. The case takes Abbey deeper into a tangled web of lies and secrets where the most dangerous ones may be her own.

Mitchell S. Karnes is a Christian husband, father, and grandfather. He served in the church in multiple capacities, including pastor, youth minister, and education minister. Mitchell also taught English in middle and high school, also serving as a coach in wrestling and softball. He spends his time writing fiction in Middle Tennessee.

Tags: Mitchell S. Karnes, mystery fiction, suspense fiction