Audiobook Review: Dark Path by Melissa F. Miller

Dark Path
Author: Melissa F. Miller
Narrator: Andrew Tell
Series: A Bodhi King Novel (Book 1)
Publication: OrangeSky Audio (March 23, 2021)
Length: 6 hours and 29 minutes

Description: Healthy residents of a posh assisted living facility are dying in the middle of the night...expressions of pure terror etched on their faces.

After solving a series of unexplained deaths several years ago, forensic pathologist Dr. Bodhi King retreated from the limelight. Now, he's called out of early retirement to help investigate a death cluster on a private island in the Florida Keys, where he lands in the middle of a simmering conflict.

Members of the Golden Island Church have a furtive agenda to protect. The dying Cuban Americans have long-held secrets of their own. And everyone seems to have a reason to stop Bodhi from bringing the truth to light.

My Thoughts: The first Bodhi King mystery introduces Buddhist Dr. Bodhi King who is a forensic specialist. After gaining too much publicity for his liking, he decided to retire from public view. Now, a case in the Florida Keys draws him back into the world. People who live in an assisted living facility are dying unexpectedly with looks of terror on their faces.

Bodhi is called down to the scene by the local medical examiner. The Golden Life Church which owns the island where the facility is located offers to hire him, but he prefers his independence. It seems strange to him that all the victims were Roman Catholics and not members of the Golden Life Church. Religion plays a strong role in this mystery. Beyond Roman Catholicism and the beliefs of the Golden Life church, there are references to religions brought over from Africa and melded with the Catholic religion which are practiced by some of the victims in this story. 

The story is packed with interesting characters. The local police liaison has anger management issues. The local medical examiner is a hippie living in an airstream trailer. The head of the Golden Life Church, a church that seems to have the goal of making everyone wealthy, seems to have an agenda of his own. Bodhi is intriguing too. His Buddhist beliefs are evident.

This is the first of a series that will reach eight books in September. 

I got the Kindle version February 12, 2022 from BookBub where it was a free title. I added on the audiobook. You can buy your copy here.