A Killer at the Cult

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Reverend Annabelle Dixon finds herself in the middle of another investigation in Killer at the Cult by Alison Golden. Promising to give up her beloved baked goods to try to lose a little weight, Annabelle decides to take her mind off the promise and visit some new people in her parish,

She discovers they are called The Brotherhood, a loose collection of quirky, diverse people, and they have taken up residence in an old vacant house. As is typical in some small towns, newcomers, especially an unusual collection like this one get labeled as a Cult. Their charismatic leader Theo seems friendly and welcoming, especially turning on the charm when Annabelle shows up to their house. 

Theo invites her to stay for dinner and to watch them perform their monthly ritual in the woods. Dinner is an odd mixture of foods, but Annabelle manages to make it through the meal, though has second thoughts about the ritual.

As Annabelle watches, the men, dressed as wild animals and the women are in simpler costumes, cavort through the woods singing, chanting and chasing each other around and generally making a lot of noise. As her comfort level begins to decrease, Annabelle decides to leave the woods, but stumbles across a body -Theo, the leader - dead in the woods.

Annabelle digs deeper and learns all is not well. Theo turns out not to be the charismatic, friendly leader she assumed, but is fascinated by Nazi memorablia. The more she digs, the more unsettled she becomes.

Annabelle is a charming character and her ability to handle her non-traditional role as a female reverend in a small village make the books fun to read.