The main character is fun enough, but the story gets wilder and wilder as it continues, leaving potentially quite a few loose ends on its way. While there have been plenty of religious figures sleuthing about, this one appears a rather fantastically romantic figure with a lot of spare time on his hand. ( )

THE CONFESSION THAT COULD KILL HIM...

Jonah Borden is a tough-guy, thinks-he's-funny, rock-music-playing, gourmet-cooking, painfully-moderate-drinking, hard-boiled man of the cloth – yes, he is a pastor in the Lutheran Church. He expresses his own beliefs clearly and obviously makes an impression on his flock of Scandinavian Lutherans.

He is also a man with a past that only becomes clear as the book progresses, but that past influences his attitude towards one of his flock who is accused of a vigilante killing. As Jonah tries to prove that man’s innocence he uncovers a twisted series of murders and cover ups. Before it is all over, Borden himself has been bribed, beaten, shot, and arrested for murder.

The book is set in the midst of the striking beauty of Minnesota's Lake Superior Coastline. I read it in less than three days which is saying something for me. At first I wasn’t sure whether or not it was for me, but Tom Hilpert drew me into the story and I became quite reluctant to do other things rather than read.

The book has pace, some quirky and interesting characters and what turns out to be a very involved storyline, but one which the author deals with in a very satisfactory manner. As the first of a series, I am very much interested in carrying on the series – oh, and I think that I fell in love with Leyla as well! Both she and Jonah share a sense of humour that appeals to me, if not to some of the characters in the book!
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38 of 75 for 2015. I’m giving this book five stars because I grew up in a parsonage and whatever Tom Hilpert’s background, he really knows about clergy life. The protagonist is a Lutheran pastor in a small town on Minnesota’s North Shore, i.e. Lake Superior. As I read the mystery, and a good mystery it is, with lots of plot twists and enough bad guys to keep you guessing all the way through the book, I kept seeing my father and his role as a minister in and for the communities. You learn things as a pastor—things you can never reveal, not even to those closest to you. Not even when revealing them will save your skin and that of the person who confided in you. And you need an outlet. For our protagonist, as for my father (and, need it be said, for Norm Maclean’s father as seen in A River Runs Through It), that outlet is fishing. When the word gets out, and in a small town the word always gets out, that the pastor spends every Monday on a certain stream, pole in hand, even that outlet can became a trap. This is the first in a Lake Superior series, and I look forward to more from Tom Hilpert. Highly recommended. ( )

Living on the shore of Lake Superior I was immediately intrigued by the title and I knew I had to read this book. I was not disappointed.
There is something different about living on up here and the author captured the feeling perfectly. His descriptions were so accurate I could almost hear the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore.
The main character Reverend Jonah Borden was extremely likable. The spirit of a man who lived his faith while still being human made him real.
The mystery was great. Unpredictable with just enough surprises to keep me in the palm of the author’s hand until the very last page. I’m trying not to throw in a spoiler so I’ll just say I loved the sub plot that ran alongside of the mystery.
I enjoyed the fact that the author kept the language clean and the fact that there was no gratuitous sexual or violent scenes. This is a good book that I will confidently recommend to anyone looking for a good read. ( )