It was a Sunday night. So, I was primed for watching mystery dramas all evening. My favorite go-to destination? The robust lineup on Masterpiece PBS. 

Many mystery series during PBS' summer schedule are "clergy" whodunits with clever vicars, priests or other church folks solving crimes in quaint British villages.

I adore these stories. Compared to my childhood favorite Sherlock Holmes, the church-y detectives are asking not just who did it and why, but how to save a lost soul.

"All of us fall," as D.I. Geordie Keating of Grantchester pondered on his series' final episode a few weeks ago. Then he told his vicar sidekick Alphy Kottaram: "It's how we pick people up that matters."

Where Secrets Meet the Cross 

I'm weighing such matters as I continue the rollout for my next Christian suspense novel, "The Sedalia Code." I often hear questions. in fact, of how I started writing Christian mysteries? A "nice church girl" like me.

Some expect the genre to be dark, although my mysteries are "clean"—no sex, no cursing or gore, but thrills aplenty.

Perhaps I'm drawn to mystery plots because of my birth in a dark time, in a segregated Missouri hospital basement ward with no windows, next to the pipes. There, I entered a world that expected nothing of me, but didn't explain why.

I found hope and light, however, in the little kindergarten Sunday school room in the small, inner-city church my family attended in the high plains of Denver, Colorado.

Mysteries and Solutions 

There I was taught Bible stories on a felt board by a loving teacher who kept us riveted by spiritual tales of suspense and conflict fought by resilient, heroic characters. Listening and learning, I soon asked myself might I create such rich characters and plots, too?

I've found my answer, as you know, in historical mysteries which, for some, may dip a bit too far in life's shadows before finding light.

Convincing a Doubter

For my part, I'm amazed how my Christian mysteries always take me to the Cross. Who, indeed, did Jesus find there? Two thieves.

One mocked Him, as we recall. But when the other asked Jesus to remember him, the Lord replied with assurance: "Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).

With His promise, I thank you for joining me on my mystery-solving journeys. In daring tales, may we learn more of who we are in life and Christ as we turn our hearts and questions back to Him. Happy reading!

Patricia Raybon  is a Christy Award-winning Colorado author of historical mysteries featuring Annalee Spain, a young theologian and amateur detective, and writes other historical suspense and authors devotional content for Our Daily Bread Ministries, where she's a regular contributor.   ALSO, MY GIFT TO YOU: A FREE PRAYER  DOWNLOAD, “The Busy Person’s Guide to Hearing God.” To get your copy, just click here. Photo: Artem Padalko at CanvaPro