The Book of Sylvia
Mystery
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 18, 2012)
Paperback: 294 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1477653432
London streetwalker Sylvia Smith is under suspicion for abetting a robbery. She doesn’t know where to turn. Frightened and alone, she ends up at St. Alban’s Church. The officiant, Father Christopher is going through some turmoil of his own. He is filled with self doubt and he tries to resurrect his dying church.
On odd friendship forms and they work to help each other. He helps her track down a clue so she can find and return the stolen money. She brings him out of shell to be more outgoing in his sermons and with his parishioners. Sylvia is walking a tightrope because as she guides the priest he seems to getting farther away from his church instead of closer.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
God does work in mysterious ways. Sylvia noticed the “stone gable with a double bell cote projecting above all the nearby buildings” from her seat on the train. She hasn’t set foot in a church since she was a teenager but it felt “the right place for her to be right now”. That was how she ended up at St. Alban’s. She needed guidance as did Father Christopher.
Mystery with a message. Great character development. Well paced, in fact I wish it would have ended so soon. I would love to read the next part of these character’s journey.
My only flaw in this story is that the British snippets of language seemed forced. The setting worked wonderfully for the story but the dialogue needed a bit of alteration.
This was an enjoyable read. I read it all in one sitting. A nice escape. 
About This Author
Michael Scott Miller works with numbers by day in the business world and with words by night. He began writing shortly after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and has had his work published in the Welcomat (now Philadelphia Weekly) and wrote music reviews for the Wharton Journal while his wife was getting her degree there. He has written two novels, Ladies and Gentlemen…The Redeemers, and The Book of Sylvia, both works of contemporary fiction with strong emphasis on their characters. Miller grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and now lives in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania with his wife and three children.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”