The Mercy Seat
(THE URBAN CHRONICLES, #1)
by Henry O. Arnold
Hells Canyon is a neighborhood in Richland, Tennessee where tourists never venture, and locals fear to tread. Maxwell Crane, former Marine chaplain and pastor of The Mercy Seat church, struggles to provide a beacon of hope.
But others have their eyes set on Hells Canyon: power elites, robber barons, and street gangs seek their own gain at the cost of the beleaguered urban neighborhood. For the people who live there, it’s been a fight to exist their whole lives, and that fight is getting harder.
Maxwell doesn’t have to stay in Hells Canyon. He and his family could leave to live a comfortable middle-class existence. Instead, Maxwell chooses to risk his life—and the lives of those around him—to stand against the oppressors.
But what happens when this pastor crosses a line, taking justice into his own hands? Will his family, his community, and his God ever forgive him? Will he ever forgive himself?
The Stranger at the Door
(THE URBAN CHRONICLES, #2)
by Henry O. Arnold
When a beat-up van screeches to a stop in front of The Mercy Seat church late one night and a young woman leaps out in an effort to escape her captors, Maxwell Crane and his family jump to her rescue. But is this desperate girl the innocent victim she appears to be?
The family’s act of kindness leads to dire consequences. When the young woman and the Crane sisters are abducted by members of a ruthless cartel out for revenge, Maxwell is yanked into yet another harsh reality of life in Hell’s Canyon.
There are no good options. All strategies for rescue could exact a terrible price. Still haunted by the tragedy he caused the last time he took justice into his own hands, Maxwell can only cast his broken soul upon the mercy of God. He would rush into the gates of hell to save his daughters, but will he get there in time?
