I began sketching Tony Hook in 1996 after hearing about the gruesome murder of one of my former parishioners. Her killer was never identified, and it remains a cold case to this day. Of course, everyone has their opinions. The story so affected me that I began constructing my own resolution to the crime and ended up in the fictional Newark suburb of Belton, N.J. with a cast of characters that I just fell in love with.
BOOK ONE: Pastor Tony Hook is everybody’s favorite preacher in the quiet Newark suburb of Belton, NJ. Well, almost everybody’s. Conflicts, tensions, and resolutions grace every turn of this clean, comical black church caper. When the sexy Anemone Allon’s body turns up in her basement naked, sporting a hole through the head, the only evidence recovered from the scene is Hook’s DNA, and all he can offer for an alibi is that he was alone in his study, praying for Anemone’s soul. And his own. Sgt. Chris Sears sets her sights on him as her prime suspect and Pastor launches his own investigation into the murder. In the end almost no one is who they appeared to be, and Hook realizes that even for pastors some clichés are built on truth: home is where the heart is, and the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
BOOK TWO: Masked, armed robbers wearing baggy Santa costumes break into First Baptist Church during the Christmas Morning service and stickup the entire congregation, making off with all their valuables, the Christmas offering, Pastor’s convertible containing a priceless heirloom, and a deacon’s daughter to have their way with. When the police decide that they’re looking for delinquent boys from Newark who have probably fled the area, and call in the FBI to investigate the kidnapping, Pastor gets involved. Join some of your favorite zany Belton characters and fall in love with new ones on another hilarious thrill ride as Pastor Hook races against time to catch the thieves and recover everyone’s property before the ball drops in Times Square.
