New Life should be a place of rest and healing. So why would anyone dump a body in their orchard? Can the visionary Father Ambrose hold onto his own peace of mind, help his fragile community survive, and assist the police to catch a murderer? Life Without Shoes is a gentle newcomer in the world of clerical mysteries-welcome! ~ Donna Fletcher Crow, The Monastery Murders Series In the tradition of Grantchester, the Rabbi Small mysteries, the Cadfael Chronicles, and The Monastery Murders Series, Life Without Shoes confronts a modern-day monastic with a horrifying crime. It's late summer and Father Ambrose is looking forward to an abundant and joyful harvest at New Life Ecumenical Retreat. That dream is shattered when someone dumps a body in one of their orchards. As Abbot, Ambrose is forced into the role of protector of New Life and, eventually, private investigator, working alongside Sheriff Charlie Cormley to identify and bring the perpetrator to justice. He has no fondness for the world beyond the gates, but now he must put all that aside and do what's best for his community. Through meditation and his commitment to compassionate service, Father Ambrose finds himself engaged with the outside world in ways he couldn't have predicted, and in the process, must prove the innocence of the New Life community or see it crumble around him.