Lister Succeeds in The Body and the Blood

Florida writer Michael Lister returns in his new novel to the life of troubled prison chaplain John Jordan. When we encounter Jordan in The Body and the Blood (Five Star), he has been clean and sober for some time and is even reconciling with his estranged wife, Susan. That’s a good thing, since Susan’s father, Tom Daniels, is a senior official at the Potter Correctional Institution, where Jordan works.

In Chaplain Jordan, Lister paints a vivid portrait of a man who has conquered his addiction, but still has to face the causes of it. The protagonist’s temper occasionally flairs, and at one point, he slugs an inmate. It the same raw nerves that once drove Jordan to drink that now threaten to undo all the progress he’s made.

Jordan, by the way, isn’t your conventional clergyman. Not only does he refer to God as “She,” even in conversations with the prison’s part-time Catholic priest, but his father is the Potter County sheriff, and Jordan himself is a former deputy. So his investigation of Menge’s death isn’t the work of an amateur sleuth blundering haplessly into a crime. Daniels wants his son-in-law along ostensibly because Jordan is still, at heart, a cop, yet the inmates have come to trust him.

Lister puts a lot of coincidences into The Body and the Blood that could have derailed it in the hands of a lesser author. Fortunately, Lister handles them well. The story is not as edgy as his most recent Tyrus Books offering, Thunder Beach (2010). Instead, it’s comfortable, like an entry in a series that’s been around awhile and is more interested in keeping its fans than grabbing new ones. Still, Lister is one of the better writers working today. He doesn’t skimp on story development or the consequences of actions. Regular characters change and fall apart. And where this tale is at its best is in Jordan’s interactions with prison inmates. Some profess a disappointment when the chaplain tells them he’s not superior to them, that he struggles to be a better person every day in just the same way they do. What really disappoints them, though, and what the author portrays best, is how Jordan fails as often as he succeeds.

Fortunately for us, in this book, Lister succeeds. ◊

by Jim Winter from January Magazine

Reading THE BODY AND THE BLOOD "akin to looking at an Escher piece"

The Body and the Blood by Michael Lister
Review by Jen Forbus

First line: "'How much does prison change a man?'"

John Jordan is the prison chaplain in Florida's Potter Correctional Institution and he's recently discovered that his ex-wife isn't actually his ex-wife. The papers for their divorce years ago were never finalized and they are in fact still married. A situation that has caused the couple to give their marriage another try. They're older, wiser and maybe they can get it right this time. The Jordans' reconciliation makes John's life a bit easier when he finds himself investigating a puzzling inmate murder with his father-in-law, Tom Daniels. While they are standing in the Protective Management wing observing the Catholic Mass, a man locked in his cell in that wing is murdered. There is no evidence of anyone entering or leaving. Neither John nor Tom saw anything, yet the man is dead in his cell and most definitely murdered. The suspects begin to mount as John tries to navigate the investigation, his faith, and the reconciliation with his wife.

THE BODY AND THE BLOOD is Michael Lister's fourth book in the John Jordan Mystery series. His protagonist puts a unique spin on the investigator role and Lister adds the dimension of Jordan's faith to the dynamics. His faith, however, shouldn't be confused with religion. Jordan's faith has to do with his overreaching belief in himself, what is right and good, his relationship with others and his spiritual balance. The Jordan novels have never been preachy and THE BODY AND THE BLOOD follows suit. Instead, they focus on the human-ness of the protagonist and the complexity of the plots.

Lister's own experience as a prison chaplain lends to the authenticity of the setting as well as the characters. THE BODY AND THE BLOOD is narrated by Jordan so the reader sees the inmates as Jordan sees them. Jordan's best friend, Merrill Monroe also features prominently in THE BODY AND THE BLOOD. A correctional officer in the same prison, Merrill assists Jordan's investigation. Merrill is a black man who puts stereotypes through the wringer by using them to his advantage or just as easily shattering all notions of them. He mocks the very ignorance that feeds the stereotype. That's Lister's style of character development: examining the man from inside out.

Merrill also provides a good deal of the humor in this series. The dialogue is clean and Merrill's is peppered with sarcasm and wit.

The plot of THE BODY AND THE BLOOD is probably among Lister's strongest. There are suspects galore. Lister doles out clues and the reader will recognize that they are clues but he's equally as generous with his red herrings. And the clues often lead the reader in a direction other than the solution. Reading this book is akin to looking at an Escher piece. It works, but how?

The BODY AND THE BLOOD is another great effort from Micheal Lister in the John Jordan Mystery series. This is a series I look forward to and Lister continues to deliver.

THE BODY AND THE BLOOD is available in hardcover from Five Star Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-59414-893-4).

Rave Reviews for THE BODY AND THE BLOOD

THE BODY AND THE BLOOD, the new John Jordan Mystery is receiving rave reviews. Listen to what people are saying:

In a Starred Review, Publisher's Weekly calls THE BODY AND THE BLOOD "superior" and says "A plausible resolution concludes this first-rate locked-room mystery."

Harriet Klausner says, "With a fabulous late twist, readers will fully relish Chaplain Jordon's investigation."

Ellery Queen Magazine calls it "solidly contemporary, but delightfully retro" and says, "Lister is one of the most individual and talented newer writers on the crime-fiction scene, with vivid style, ready wit, and a marriage of plot and theme."

Michael Connelly says, "Michael Lister may be the author of the most unique series running in mystery fiction. The Body and the Blood proves that once again. It crackles with tension and authenticity."

Lisa Unger calls it, "Eerie and cinematic, The Body and The Blood is a classic whodunit with thoroughly modern sensibilities. John Jordan manages to be deeply flawed yet utterly appealing. Lister, with his gift for exploring the nuances of human relationships, creates a vivid and multi-faceted supporting cast, each character finely-wrought, each portrayal unflinching. Suspenseful, complex and original, The Body and The Blood is a page-turner with a soul."

Michael Lister Individual and Talented

Ellery Queen Magazine review of THE BODY AND THE BLOOD
By Jon L. Breen
*** Michael Lister: The Body and the Blood, Five Star, $25.95. Florida prison chaplain and consulting detective John Jordan, a complex man of God who can be as violent as Mike Hammer (well, almost), investigates impossible murder in a locked and constantly observed cell. Meanwhile, he attempts reconciliation with his estranged wife even while yearning for his platonic girlfriend. The novel is solidly contemporary in its determination to pile more and more miseries on the hero but delightfully retro in its classical puzzle plotting, which will appeal to fans of John Dickson Carr, Edward D. Hoch, and other locked-room masters. Lister is one of the most individual and talented newer writers on the crime-fiction scene, with vivid style, ready wit, and a marriage of plot and theme.

A Great Locked Cell Mystery

Recovering alcoholic John Jordan is the prison chaplain at the Potter Correctional Institution, a place that affirms one of Florida's strongest growth industries is filing away convicts. One section of the prison is the Protective Management Unit, which houses those inmates who would not survive within the general populace. John is concerned over a note he found that states someone will be murdered. He meets a convict Justin Menge's sister Paula who is visiting him for the first time since he was incarcerated four years ago because she now believes her sibling is innocent. John is taken aback to find his former father-in-law, also a recovering alcoholic Tom Daniels, at the prison. When John was married to Susan, he and Tom did not get along at all. Tom explains that he has a witness innmate artist Justin Menge, who will testify that another inmate Martinez raped his wife while eluding cops. However, during mass, someone somehow murders Menge in front of Jordan and Daniels who swears no one entered the victim's locked cell. With a chance to combine his two loves of being a cop, which he was, with his regular job, John investigates the homicide while beginning to reconcile with Susan. The latest John Jordan whodunit (see Flesh and Blood, Power in the Blood and Blood of the Lamb) is a great locked cell mystery as John and Tom struggle with how the homicide occurred. There are numerous suspects ranging from the victim's sister to his "doppelganger" lover to the man who he was to testify against him as well as staff and other inmates. With a fabulous late twist, readers will fully relish Chaplain Jordon's investigation. Harriet Klausner

THE BODY AND THE BLOOD receives Starred Review

“A starred review indicates a book of outstanding quality.” Publishers Weekly

The Body and the Blood: A John Jordan Mystery

Michael Lister, Five Star, $25.95 (330p) ISBN 978-1-59414-893-4
In Lister's superior fourth book featuring cop-turned-prison chaplain John Jordan (after 2006's story collection Flesh and Blood), recovering alcoholic Jordan, who's begun to reconcile with his estranged wife, Susan, meets Susan's father, Tom Daniels, who's inspector general of the Florida Department of Corrections and a fellow recovering alcoholic, at Potter Correctional Institute, where a prisoner charged with raping Daniels's wife is incarcerated. When inmate Justin Menge, a key witness against the accused rapist, is stabbed to death, both Jordan and Daniels can attest that no one entered or left Menge's locked cell, making howdunit crucial to determining whodunit. Moreover, Menge's death came shortly after his sister, Paula, visited him and learned that he was claiming to have been the victim of a frame. Suspects range from inmates and prison staff to Paula, who was her brother's heir. A plausible resolution concludes this first-rate locked-room mystery. (Sept.)

Note from Brett

Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:34:24 -0500
From: Brett Bydairk
Subject: Michael Lister

Some months ago Michael Lister sent me a copy of his second book Blood Of The Lamb. I finally read it a couple of weeks ago. It's taken me this long to respond because of the emotions it aroused it took me this long to become even vaguely objetive about this book.

All I will write about the plot is that the main character is a prison
chaplain investigating the murder of a young girl inside the prison.
Very powerful, very good. Highly recommended.

This may have been discussed before (probably was), but I had to let
everyone (especially him) know how much this affected me.
I will be looking for his other works.

Brett