(Book 1)The Taylor Twelve: Sons of a preacher, but far from saints, these men are nothing but trouble! (This is a 12 book series but each book stands on its own)Thomas Taylor is a single father of six young boys. He is also the prime suspect in his second wife’s murder. All the residents of Thunder Lake believe he is guilty. Thomas has even been called an unfit father. He has prayed for an angel … prayed for an angel to guide him, trying to get his life back in order. Things only seem to keep getting worse when a pushy, nosey woman decides to stay at the Bed and Breakfast up the road from him.
Angel DeMitri is a single mother who works for Child Protective Services. While on vacation, she decides to go on an unofficial call. When she arrives at the lake late at night with her daughter she is surprised to find a little barefooted boy in the middle of the road. She also sees a man with a rifle in the shadows. This is her first look at Thomas Taylor. But as she gets to know this man as well as his children, she realizes there is more to him than meets the eye.
A tortured man and an angel come together in challenging circumstances to change one or more lives – in Doubting Thomas.
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Get ready for a wild ride with the twelve Taylor brothers of the Tarnished Saints series, who were each named after an Apostle by their minister father. They are definitely not Saints, though. In this book one we meet the oldest of the 12 Taylor brothers, Thomas. He’s had a rough few years, becoming a widower twice, trying to raise his six boys alone, and struggling to keep his family together after being falsely accused of killing his second wife. Thomas has been shunned by the entire town of Sweetwater despite being cleared of the crime for the moment. He doesn’t think he needs any help and doesn’t have anyone he can ask anyway since none of his brothers live in town anymore. You can’t help but feel for him and his boys. When Angel, a Child Protective Services agent, arrives in town with her daughter, Gabby, after being told Thomas is an unfit father, she decides to keep her profession a secret while she tries to do an unofficial investigation and get to know the Taylors. As you can imagine, things don’t get off to a great start, and things even go from bad to worse for Thomas. This is truly a story about small town life, family, love, support, perseverance, and learning to trust. I fell in love with the Taylors even though we only meet two of them in this first book. Looking forward to Levi’s book next.
Absolutely enjoyed reading this book. A must read!
This is a deep thinking book. It has ex Ellen characters and a good story line. I would read it again.
This was a sweet read with Thomas, a widowed father to six sons, trying to make ends meet while living a hard life in a tiny cabin in the woods. When we first meet this family, Thomas’s first wife and the love of his life has died of cancer and his second wife, the mother to his youngest son, has been murdered. Thomas has been a suspect from the beginning. His late wife was a stripper at a local club and was known to sleep around. When Thomas awakens from a drunken stupor, his wife is dead, his youngest son Eli is standing over her, and his gun is missing from his desk where he keeps it locked up.
Angel is supposedly on vacation with her daughter Gabby, but as an employee of CPS, she is on a secret mission to see for herself if Thomas is an unfit father. Her best friend Tilley’s aunt and uncle own a bed and breakfast on the lake, and they have often gossiped about Thomas and his children with their niece. This is what gives Angel the impetus to learn the truth about this man and his supposedly neglected children.
Thomas is a very hardworking man who does his best to live off the land and his farm, going as far as not having his electricity turned on to save money. He also fixes old cars and resells them to earn an income. His boys begin their day at 6 a.m., doing farming and household chores. Their is no time for them to even be children and play. However, when Angel enters their lives everything gets turned upside down. Without giving away the story, suffice it to say that these characters will experience anger, confusion, heartache and love before their story ends. Things move very quickly in this novel. The key is to remember that it is a work of fiction and not a true story, as some reviews have said things are unbelievable in the plot.
Thomas Taylor, the eldest of twelve bothers, has not had an easy time lately. He lost his first wife to cancer. He second wife was murdered and everybody around him thinks he did it. He is out of money and trying to raise six boys by himself. He’s desperate and prays for an angel to help him out of his predicament. However, at the moment he has too much pride and too little faith to recognize the angel when she arrives. Angelina does what she can to help, but Thomas doesn’t trust her, and he refuses to allow her to help with the financial problems. There is so much to overcome, it will take strong and determined people to see it done.
This story definitely keeps the reader’s attention. You have to stay to find out what will happen next. There are strong, stubborn characters in this story that revolves around family and friendship and is wrapped in a mystery that refuses to be solved. Definitely a good read!
Doubting Thomas is book 1 in a series about twelve brothers. Thomas Taylor is the oldest. He is a widower and has six boys and was accused of murdering his last wife. Faced with money problems, Thomas does the best job he can to support his family but refuses to accept charity. Angel DeMitri and her daughter happen to visit Thunder Lake on vacation. She has a way of inserting her unwelcome self into the lives of Thomas and his sons. Elizabeth Rose has provided some great characters and a very good story with this work. A great first to a series.
This is an honest review in exchange for and advanced readers copy. I really thought this was a great kick off to the Tarnished Saints series. When I first started this book, I thought about my own faceless experience with child services and I really felt Fort Thomas because I knew that once those people got their hooks into an individual it was very difficult to get them to let go. It’s almost as if they live to separate families. When it was discovered that she was from Child Protective Services oh, I really wanted to slap her for sticking her nose in his business without having all the facts and for listening to and acting upon idle gossip. But I was glad to see that she came to her senses which doesn’t happen very often in real life. It was very mind-boggling to know that someone would have that much hatred in their heart that they would rather kill someone rather than divorce them. But based on the real crime dramas that I’ve seen it happens quite frequently. This is one thing that I don’t like about small towns and that is everyone knows everyone and they always think that they are entitled to stick their nose in other people’s business. I was glad to see that Thomas worked through his inability to relate to his children and that Angel could teach him how to do so. This was a very moving story and I would highly recommend it because it says a lot about Second Chances and Redemption. I can’t wait to read the rest in the series.
This is the first book in a series about brothers who were all named after apostles by their preacher father. After reading this book I was hooked. Thomas was in bad shape due to gossip as he tried to raise his kids after the murder of his wife. The town and people around didn’t want to buy any of his cars due to the gossip. Enter Angel who works for Child Protective Services and unofficially investigates him due to the same gossip. Although things are hard she realizes that he is a good father. Things escalate and you will have to read this book to find out what happens next. The secondary characters are all well developed and his kids all made an impression. Loved it!!
doubting Thomas was interesting and suspenseful. Love, murder, and little boys in trouble make for a wonderful story.
The first full length book in the contemporary series about the 12 sons of a preacher (Tarnished Saints). Single father, Thomas Didymus Taylor has a bucketful of pride, which leads him to reject all offers of what he sees as charity and has led to him and his six sons being isolated. Laden down with money worries, suspected of wife murder and with a 6 year old who refuses to talk or be touched since the death of his mother; the last thing Thomas needs is a woman poking her way into his life particularly when her interference brings child protection down upon him. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, though there is a scattering of typos.
this book is part of a series about 12 brother that or saints or sinner, Thomas Taylor is one of the brother and a single father of six young boys,could he be the killer of his second wife as he has been accused of. Angel DeMitri comes to Thunder Lake for a vacation, but her job in the Child Protective Services gets her to have to investigate, will she find that he is a good father and a killer, and what will happen when love is beginning to happen
Really enjoyed the story and the characters were interesting, cared what happened to them.
A tortured soul and the Angel that saves him. How much better can that get? Thomas Taylor, one of 12 brothers and son of a preacher, is at the end of his rope. Married twice with his second wife being murdered, he is trying to raise his 6 sons and find who killed his wife. Being suspected of the crime, he is losing everything and feels he just needs a miracle to save him. Well, in walks Angel DeMitri, a single mom with a daughter of her own, who is vacationing in the area. She also works for Child Protective Services who has Thomas on their radar. As they meet and become attracted, Angel works to help Thomas keep his sons and solve the mystery of what happened to his wife. This is a sweet romance that will have you guessing and cheering for Thomas and Angel who are so likable. This is the first contemporary book I have read by Elizabeth Rose, but as with all of her stories, I really enjoyed Doubting Thomas and look forward to the rest of this series!!
This is my first journey into Ms. Rose’s contemporary stories and it won’t be my last. I adored Thomas and Angel. It broke my heart to see that Thomas was so misunderstood by everyone. I’m so happy that Angel saw though the fog of rumors that surrounded him. And the story twist! I didn’t see that coming. The kids… loved, loved, loved Thomas’ boys. I truly hope to see a lot more of them in the next books. I believe I’ll be on an Elizabeth Rose binge read very, very soon!