USA TODAY and ECPA bestselling series
Combine James Patterson and Colleen Hoover and you'll start to understand why readers are riveted by the Murphy Shepherd series from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin: gripping action, heart-wrenching emotion, and deep questions that deserve to be considered.
Bones--Murphy Shepherd's teacher, mentor, priest, and friend--is gone. Devastated by the loss and unsure how to continue the rescue work they started, Murph has no choice but to jump back in when the worst happens. His longtime friend and current United States vice president, Aaron Ashley, has been a silent partner in the fight against trafficking. But in spite of having the best security available, his three daughters have been taken bound and blindfolded from their home by an extraction team that left no clues and no trace--just an empty house, a bereft mother, and nine dead Secret Service agents. Only Murph and his team have a hope of finding them.
Bones may have made the ultimate sacrifice by taking down his own brother and the dark network he led, but there are still others in this network where evil is the currency and power is the prize. Soon Ashley drops out of the presidential race and a new candidate emerges--someone who is ready, too ready, to step into the race and the Oval Office.
Bones taught Murph that the needs of the one, the lost one, outweigh those of the ninety-nine. In his first rescue without Bones beside him, Murph's fight against human trafficking takes him across the globe and through the halls of government to destroy the network and save the lives and souls of those taken.
The Murphy Shepherd series is simultaneously a tender love story, a heartrending search for freedom, an exploration of the terrible cost of human trafficking, and an anthem to the power of love to create change when it shows up regardless of the cost. The Keeper raises the stakes even further, so be ready--you won't want to put it down until you reach the very last page.
The Murphy Shepherd series: Book 1 The Water Keeper, Book 2 The Letter Keeper, Book 3 The Record Keeper, Book 4 The Keeper (coming April 2025!)
Nearly 500,000 copies sold! A Southern Living Book of the Month Selection
From New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin comes the moving story of a heart surgeon who's hiding his own heart, a little girl whose heart won't last much longer, and a shared journey toward healing for both of them--for fans looks for the emotional depth of Fredrik Backman and the Southern atmosphere of Delia Owens.
It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. But the little girl's pretty yellow dress can't quite hide the ugly scar on her chest.
Her latest customer, a bearded stranger, drains his cup and heads to his car, his mind on a boat he's restoring at a nearby lake. The stranger understands more about the scar than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner with its radio blaring is about to change the trajectory of both their lives.
Before it's over, they'll both know there are painful reasons why crickets cry . . . and that miracles lurk around unexpected corners.
With its beautiful, lyrical writing, engaging characters who stick with you, and a storyline that will touch your own heart, it's no wonder why so many readers adore When Crickets Cry.
If you read any book this year, this is the one. --Coffee Time Romance
Charming characters and twists that keep the pages turning. --Southern Living
USA TODAY Bestseller ECPA Bestseller
A riveting story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds by New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin that combines the intrigue of John Grisham with the heart-wrenching emotion of Nicholas Sparks.
Murphy Shepherd is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on an island, tending the grounds of a church with no parishioners, and he's dedicated his life to rescuing those in peril. But as he mourns the loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes.
When he pulls a beautiful woman named Summer out of Florida's Intracoastal Waterway, Murph's mission to lay his mentor to rest at the end of the world takes a dangerous turn. Drawn to Summer, and desperate to find her missing daughter, Murph is pulled deeper and deeper into the dark and dangerous world of modern-day slavery.
With help from some unexpected new friends, including a faithful Labrador he plucks from the ocean and an ex-convict named Clay, Murph must race against the clock to locate the girl before he is consumed by the secrets of his past--and the ghosts who tried to bury them.
With Charles Martin's trademark lyricism and poignant prose, The Water Keeper is at once a tender love story, a heartrending search for freedom, an exploration of the terrible cost of human trafficking, and an anthem to the power of love to create change when it show up regardless of the cost.
Martin excels at writing characters who exist in the margins of life . . . Readers who enjoy flawed yet likable characters created by authors such as John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks will want to start reading Martin's fiction. --Library Journal, starred review
The Water Keeper is a wonderfully satisfying book with a plot driven by both action and love, and characters who will stay in readers' heads long after the last page. --Southern Literary Review
Charles Martin fans rejoice, because he's done it again . . . a multilayered story woven together with grace and redemption, and packed tight with tension and achingly real characters. --Lauren Denton
The Murphy Shepherd series: Book 1: The Water Keeper, Book 2: The Letter Keeper, Book 3: The Record Keeper, Book 4: The Keeper (coming April 2025!)
See the Bible come to life before your eyes as New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin uses his storyteller imagination to present the Bible as a novel to help you engage with your faith in new ways.
Years ago, Charles Martin cracked open his Bible and began wrestling with a few fundamental questions: What if every single word of Scripture is absolutely true and I can trust it? How do I respond? Something in me should change, but what? How? This book is the result of that exploration.
In What If It's True? Martin brings key moments from the life and ministry of Jesus to life through his descriptive, novelistic words. This unique book:
Martin shares key moments from his own journey as a disciple--and bondservant--of Christ and a mentor to others. The result is an exploration of truth that will help you not just think differently but live differently--starting today.
The debut novel from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin is a bittersweet yet triumphant love story--a tale of one man's journey through the darkness of despair and into the light of hope. Perfect for readers looking for the emotional resonance of Nicholas Sparks or Lisa Wingate.
In a sleepy rural town in South Carolina, Dylan and Maggie Styles are a young couple in love, preparing eagerly for the birth of their first son. But events take a tragic turn in the delivery room, and their child is delivered stillborn. When Maggie hemorrhages and slips into a coma, Dylan slips into what can only be described as a walking coma, holding vigil at his beloved wife's bedside.
Usually tough and self-reliant, an outdoorsman and a farmer, Dylan finds that everything he has known is suddenly thrown into doubt. Refusing to give up on Maggie's recovery, a devastated Dylan takes a job as an English professor in order to pay for Maggie's medical bills. Dylan connects with his students despite himself and offers hope to others amid his own disappointment and grief. As Dylan waits for some change in Maggie's condition, he reflects on his life and hers.
Through friends and grace-filled moments of insight, Dylan slowly begins to heal, but it will take a second tragedy--and an anxious period of wrestling with God--to truly awaken him from his stupor and open him up to a new life.
Deeply emotional and filled with themes of enduring love, loss, struggles with faith, and redemption, The Dead Don't Dance is not to be missed.
This is the story of a real person's real struggle with the uncertainties of faith, unadorned with miracles of the deus ex machina sort but full of the sort of miracles that attend everyday life if you bother to notice. Charles Martin notices, and for that I commend him. He's unafraid of tackling the crucial questions--life, death, love, sacrifice. --Duncan Murrell
[The Dead Don't Dance is] an absorbing read for fans of faith-based fiction . . . [with] delightfully quirky characters . . . [who] are ingeniously imaginative creations. --Publishers Weekly
Martin understands the power of story and he uses it to alter the souls and lives of both his characters and his readers . . . --Patti Callahan Henry
Colorful, memorable characters; Southern regional flavor that's drop-dead accurate; and lyrical, intelligent writing make Chasing Fireflies an exceptionally good read. --Aspiring Retail
When paramedics find a malnourished six-year-old boy near a burning car that holds a dead woman, they wonder who he is--and why he won't speak. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mountain Between Us and The Water Keeper comes a story of self-discovery, healing, and hope.
On a stifling summer day, an old Chevy Impala ignored the warning signals and was annihilated by the oncoming train. What no one realized until much later was that the driver had paused just before entering the tracks and kicked a small boy out of the car. A small boy with broken glasses who is clutching a notebook with all his might . . . but who never speaks.
Chase Walker was one of the lucky ones. He was in foster care as a child but finally ended up with a family who loved and cared for him. Now, as a journalist for the local paper, he's moved on and put the past behind him. But when he's assigned the story of this young boy, painful, haunting questions about his own childhood begin to rise to the surface.
And as Chase Walker discovers, learning the truth about who you are can be as elusive--and as magical--as chasing fireflies on a summer night.
Chasing Fireflies is an emotional, powerful story of family, finding your place in the world, and healing.
USA TODAY Bestseller ECPA Bestseller
Combining the heart-wrenching emotion of Nicholas Sparks with the edge-of-your-seat tension of John Grisham, New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin explores the true power of sacrificial love in this second book in the Murphy Shepherd series.
Murphy Shepherd has made a career of finding those no one else could--survivors of human trafficking. His life's mission is helping others find freedom . . . but then the nightmare strikes too close to home.
When his new wife, her daughter, and two other teenage girls are stolen, Murphy is left questioning all he has thought to be true. With more dead ends than leads, he has no idea how to find his loved ones. After everything is stripped away, love is what remains.
Hope feels lost, but Murphy is willing to expend his last breath trying to bring them home.
With Charles Martin's trademark lyricism and poignant prose, the Murphy Shepherd series is at once a tender love story, a heartrending search for freedom, an exploration of the terrible cost of human trafficking, and an anthem to the power of love to create change when it shows up regardless of the cost.
The Murphy Shepherd series: Book 1: The Water Keeper, Book 2: The Letter Keeper, Book 3: The Record Keeper, Book 4: The Keeper (coming April 2025!)
The Last Exchange is somehow equal parts page-turner, heart-breaker, and hope-dealer. Another brilliantly written novel by Charles Martin. --Annie F. Downs
Gripping suspense meets heartfelt emotion in this standalone novel from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin. Everyone in her life has only taken from her. So she's not quite sure how to handle it when her new body guard will go to any lengths to protect her and shield her--even from herself. Is this what love actually looks like? For fans of Before We Were Strangers by Renée Carlino and One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
When MacThomas Pockets finished his last tour as part of the Scottish Special Forces, he was hired to consult for a film director to finesse some scenes that weren't working. In a twist he never saw coming, he ended up moving to L.A. to work as the bodyguard for movie star Maybe Joe Sue.
It didn't take long for Pockets to realize there were two Joe Sues: The Joe Sue the public saw with her perfect life and her Hollywood husband. And the private Joe Sue: the one with the traumatic youth that no amount of pills could cover up, who desperately wanted a child of her own.
Even after their paths diverged, he continued to track Joe Sue's life. Only a few would notice when the bottom fell out. But he did. And that's when he stepped in.
In The Last Exchange, you'll find a compelling love story alongside a thought-provoking and soul-searching dilemma as one man seeks to answer the question: How far would you go--really--to save someone you love? What if you'd get nothing in return? In the masterful hands of New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, finding the answer will take readers on an intense and heart-wrenching journey to the very end.
USA TODAY Bestseller ECPA Bestseller
With heart-stopping clarity, New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin continues to combine the heart-wrenching emotion of Nicholas Sparks with the edge-of-your-seat tension of John Grisham in this third book in the Murphy Shepherd series--exploring the true cost of leaving the ninety-nine to find the one.
Murphy Shepherd's last rescue mission very nearly cost him his life. He'd like nothing more than to stay close to his wife and daughters for a while. But Bones's nemesis must be stopped, and there are so many who still need to know they are worth rescuing.
As the cat-and-mouse game moves into the open, Murphy is tested at every turn--both physically and mentally. Then the unthinkable happens: his beloved mentor and friend is taken. Gone without a trace.
Murphy lives by the mantra that love always shows up. But how can he rescue Bones when he has no leads?
With Charles Martin's trademark lyricism and poignant prose, the Murphy Shepherd series is at once a tender love story, a heartrending search for freedom, an exploration of the terrible cost of human trafficking, and an anthem to the power of love to create change when it shows up regardless of the cost.
The Murphy Shepherd series: Book 1: The Water Keeper, Book 2: The Letter Keeper, Book 3: The Record Keeper, Book 4: The Keeper (coming April 2025!)
In the aftermath of Jesus' resurrection, the testimonies of those who had followed him were so bold and powerful that they turned the world upside down. What would happen if we lived with that same kind of faith today?
In the first century, believer didn't just mean someone who heard and agreed with Jesus; it meant someone who acted on that belief. And when the outside world saw the faith of these new believers, they declared they turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).
In this follow-up to What If It's True? Charles Martin, a New York Times bestselling novelist, blends storytelling and teaching to explore the lives of the disciples in the aftermath of the Resurrection and as they spread the message of the Gospel and turn the world upside down, leading up to Paul's ministry in Thessalonica. In his beloved lyrical style, Martin illuminates key moments from Scripture and shares stories from his own life as a disciple.
Learn to become a believer who:
Filled with supporting Scripture and beautiful examples of prayers to offer as supplications before the throne of grace, this book will show you what our world could look like if we lived as the disciples did: with an unwavering confidence in the power and presence of God.
A Publishers Weekly and ECPA Bestseller
Across forty days of vivid storytelling, It Is Finished offers you a unique and vital roadmap to trace the power and necessity of the cross throughout the Bible, from the book of Genesis all the way to your present-day reality.
Through forty slices of the story of Calvary, master storyteller and vivid Bible teacher Charles Martin, will walk you back to the cross to look up at it from a different angle each day and ask the Father to reveal to you:
Whether it is your first, tenth, or ten thousandth time looking up at the cross of Christ, you can trust New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, to wrap an arm around your shoulder, come alongside and walk with you as a fellow pilgrim headed in the same direction and answering the same question: What will I do with this man, Jesus?
Because before we can celebrate the resurrection, we need to backtrack to where Jesus has been, how He got there, and what His presence there accomplished. And while Satan can't change what happened on that Friday, he has been working ever since to hide what happened there. To obscure the work of the Cross. To avert our eyes. But on this 40-day pilgrimage your eyes will open wide and your heart will race as you discover the answer to the question that can change your life, Lord, why me? Why would you endure the cross and despise the shame, for me?
Cooper O'Connor thought he could make it big as a musician, but he promptly lost it all. Can he repair his relationship with the father who never stopped calling him home?
At the age of eighteen, musician and songwriter Cooper O'Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish.
Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley, Cooper faces a tragedy that threatens his life as well as his career. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to the remote Colorado mountains, searching for answers about his father and his faith.
When Daley shows up on his street corner twenty years later, he wonders if it's too late to tell her the truth about his past--and if he is ready to face it himself.
Praise for Long Way Gone:
Cooper and Daley's story will make you believe that even broken instruments have songs to offer when they're in the right hands. Charles Martin never fails to ask and answer the questions that linger deep within all of us. In this beautifully told story of a prodigal coming home, readers will find the broken and mended pieces of their own hearts.--Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
The Last Exchange is somehow equal parts page-turner, heart-breaker, and hope-dealer. Another brilliantly written novel by Charles Martin. --Annie F. Downs
Gripping suspense meets heartfelt emotion in this standalone novel from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin. Everyone in her life has only taken from her. So she's not quite sure how to handle it when her new body guard will go to any lengths to protect her and shield her--even from herself. Is this what love actually looks like? For fans of Before We Were Strangers by Renée Carlino and One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
When MacThomas Pockets finished his last tour as part of the Scottish Special Forces, he was hired to consult for a film director to finesse some scenes that weren't working. In a twist he never saw coming, he ended up moving to L.A. to work as the bodyguard for movie star Maybe Joe Sue.
It didn't take long for Pockets to realize there were two Joe Sues: The Joe Sue the public saw with her perfect life and her Hollywood husband. And the private Joe Sue: the one with the traumatic youth that no amount of pills could cover up, who desperately wanted a child of her own.
Even after their paths diverged, he continued to track Joe Sue's life. Only a few would notice when the bottom fell out. But he did. And that's when he stepped in.
In The Last Exchange, you'll find a compelling love story alongside a thought-provoking and soul-searching dilemma as one man seeks to answer the question: How far would you go--really--to save someone you love? What if you'd get nothing in return? In the masterful hands of New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, finding the answer will take readers on an intense and heart-wrenching journey to the very end.
Martin spins an engaging story about healing and the triumph of love . . . Filled with delightful local color. --Publishers Weekly
Charles Martin writes with the passion and delicacy of a Louisiana sunrise--shades of shepherd's warning and a promise of thunderbolts before noon. --John Dyson, Reader's Digest
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mountain Between Us and The Water Keeper comes a story of two half-brothers trying to survive the fallout of their traumatic childhood and their abusive, alcoholic father in this tender and beautiful story about the power of forgiveness.
On a sprawling Southern estate, Tucker and his younger brother, Mutt, were raised by their housekeeper, Miss Ella Rain, who loved the motherless boys like her own. Hiring her to take care of Waverly Hall and the boys was the only good thing their abusive and alcoholic father ever did.
When his brother escapes from a mental hospital and an old girlfriend appears with her son and a black eye, Tucker is forced to return home and face the agony of his tragic past.
Though Miss Ella has been gone for many years, Tucker can still hear her voice--and her prayers. Life is a battle, but you can't fight it with your fists. You got to fight it with your heart. But finding peace and starting anew will take a measure of grace that Tucker scarcely believes in.
Wrapped in Rain follows Tucker's journey from brokenness to healing through the everlasting power of love. Grab a copy and a box of tissues and get ready for your heart to be touched.
Now available in trade paper!
A Publishers Weekly and ECPA Bestseller
Across forty days of vivid storytelling, It Is Finished offers you a unique and vital roadmap to trace the power and necessity of the cross throughout the Bible, from the book of Genesis all the way to your present-day reality.
Through forty slices of the story of Calvary, master storyteller and vivid Bible teacher Charles Martin, will walk you back to the cross to look up at it from a different angle each day and ask the Father to reveal to you:
Whether it is your first, tenth, or ten thousandth time looking up at the cross of Christ, you can trust New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, to wrap an arm around your shoulder, come alongside and walk with you as a fellow pilgrim headed in the same direction and answering the same question: What will I do with this man, Jesus?
Because before we can celebrate the resurrection, we need to backtrack to where Jesus has been, how He got there, and what His presence there accomplished. And while Satan can't change what happened on that Friday, he has been working ever since to hide what happened there. To obscure the work of the Cross. To avert our eyes. But on this 40-day pilgrimage your eyes will open wide and your heart will race as you discover the answer to the question that can change your life, Lord, why me? Why would you endure the cross and despise the shame, for me?
Can two people brought together by desperate circumstances help one another heal, and maybe even begin a new life? New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin's Send Down the Rain answers the questions of what it means--and what level of sacrifice it takes--to truly love someone.
Allie is still recovering from the loss of her family's beloved waterfront restaurant on Florida's Gulf Coast when she loses her second husband to a terrifying highway accident. Devastated and losing hope, she shudders to contemplate the future--until a cherished person from her past returns.
Joseph has been adrift for many years, wounded in both body and spirit and unable to come to terms with the trauma of his Vietnam War experiences. Just as he resolves to abandon his search for peace and live alone in a remote cabin in the Carolina mountains, he discovers a mother and her two small children lost in the forest. A man of character and strength, he instinctively steps in to help them get back to their home in Florida. There he will return to his own hometown--and witness the accident that launches a bittersweet reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Allie.
When Joseph offers to help Allie rebuild her restaurant, it seems the flame may reignite--until a forty-five-year-old secret begins to emerge, threatening to destroy all hope for their second chance at love.
Send Down the Rain will take you on a journey that spans the sweltering migrant worker routes of south Florida, muddy battlefields of Vietnam, thickets of northwest North Carolina, and the idyllic shores of America's most beautiful beach (Cape San Blas). At the story's center lies the question: What does it mean--and what level of sacrifice does it take--to truly love someone?
Praise for Send Down the Rain:
Charles Martin understands the power of story and he uses it to alter the souls and lives of both his characters and his readers.--Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author
A Texas Ranger with a tough exterior but kind heart is given a second chance at love in this action-packed romance where good triumphs evil by New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin.
Third generation Texas Ranger Tyler Steele is the last of a dying breed--a modern day cowboy living in a world that doesn't quite understand his powerful sense of right and wrong and instinct to defend those who can't defend themselves. Despite his strong moral compass, Ty has trouble seeing his greatest weakness. His hard outer shell, the one essential to his work, made him incapable of forging the emotional connection his wife Andie so desperately needed.
Now retired, rasing their son Brodie on his own, and at risk of losing his ranch, Ty does not know how to rebuild from the rubble of his life. The answer comes in the form of Samantha and her daughter Hope, on the run from a seemingly inescapable situation. They are in danger, desperate, and alone. Though they are strangers, Ty knows he can help-- protecting the innocent is what he does best. As his relationship with Sam and Hope unfolds, Ty realizes he must confront his true weaknesses if he wants to become the man he needs to be.