Murphy Shepherd Novel
3 primary works • 4 total works
Book 1
A riveting new story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds.
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 and a heartrending search for freedom.
"I'm telling you, it's an action-packed, classic Charles Martin romance novel unlike anything I've ever read. And remember . . . the day you pick up this book is the day you become temporarily unavailable to the world." -Charlie Martin, son of Charles Martin
"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, USA TODAY bestselling author of The Hideaway
"In The Water Keeper Charles Martin crafts a compelling story with skill and sensitivity. Open the pages of this book and you'll enter the world of characters caught up in a real-life drama that grips the heart. As with all of Charles's books you never finish it-you continue to live there in your own imagination. Current fans won't be disappointed; new readers will understand why Charles Martin is on the short list of contemporary authors I recommend above all others." -Robert Whitlow, bestselling author
The first story in a new series from Charles MartinFull-length novel (c. 110,000 words)Includes Discussion Questions for Book ClubsAlso by Charles Martin: The Mountain Between Us, Send Down the Rain, Long Way Gone, When Crickets CryBook 2
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!)
Book 3
“Because you’re worth rescue.”
The unrelenting third installment in the Murphy Shepherd series from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin.
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 heart-stopping clarity, The Record Keeper explores the true cost of leaving the ninety-nine to find the one.
- Part of the Murphy Shepherd series:
- Book One: The Water Keeper
- Book Two: The Letter Keeper
- Book Three: The Record Keeper
- Full-length novel
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
- Also by Charles Martin: The Mountain Between Us, Send Down the Rain, Chasing Fireflies, When Crickets Cry, Long Way Gone
Book 4
In the dark South Georgia night, three girls are abducted.
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 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.