Mysterious Ways — Michael A. Stackpole

Televangelist T. Thomas Thickett is better at raising money and causing trouble than he is at saving souls. One of his disciples, a high school teacher, fails a paper by Sara Piper, a self-avowed witch.This tanks her chances of being the class Valedictorian, transferring that honor to another member of Thickett's flock. Sara protests, drawing occultist Merlin Bloodstone into the fray. When Thickett ends up dead, Bloodstone and his aide, Connor Moran, have to unravel a tangled web of deception to uncover the truth, or watch an innocent woman die for a crime she did not commit.

From the pen of New York Times Bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole, comes the first novel in a mystery series featuring occultist Merlin Bloodstone and his skeptical assistant. Highly reminiscent of the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout, Mysterious Ways mixes, murder, mysticism and religion into an exciting puzzle full of twists and turns.

This Super Delux edition of Mysterious Ways includes an essay by the author about the novel, it's long history and how it came to be written, as well as a Bloodstone novella (The Cards Call Themselves), and two Bloodstone short stories, Brewed Fortune and Seamless. The shorter works have been previously published, but Seamless is only available digitally in this collection. Sold separately, the short stories would cost $7, but are included with the novel and essay here for a total of $9.99.