THE NIGHT WATCHMAN & THE CORRUPTIBLE BY MARK MYNHEIR

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN by MARK MYNHEIR is an exciting detective novel with a good story, believable characters and a subtle Christian message running throughout.  I particularly enjoyed the sarcastic wit with which the protagonist, Ray Quinn, faces the world!
Ray is a former detective who is now working as a night watchman at a very superior apartment building which forms quite a contrast to his very basic and not very pleasant living conditions.  He is crippled due to being shot whilst on duty, and he is bitter at having lost the love of his life in the same shootout.  He feels guilty due to his inability to save her life.  He is a confused and unhappy man with a serious drinking problem.  His problems are deep seated - he never knew his parents and was passed from one foster home to another as a child, thus battling with rejection and heavy depression.
When a pastor and a prostitute are found dead at the apartment building where he works, he and his co-worker Crevis Creighton help the pastor's sister, Pam, to look into what really happened at this so called "murder-suicide".  
Pam is a committed Christian and is unfazed by Ray's antagonism to all things pertaining to her faith, and is a healthy influence in his life.  It is interesting to see how a gradual friendship is built up between the three of them.
In THE CORRUPTIBLE we find Ray and Crevis as Private Investigators. Pam, who is a school teacher, helps them in the afternoons and is also helping Crevis to pass his exams.  Crevis badly wants to become a polIceman but he has a learning disability. He is a likeable character - fiercely loyal and sometimes rather over enthusiastic.  He works out at the gym, getting tips from Ray who was a kick-boxer before he was injured, and has become Ray's protector.  Pam is also always ready to help, which pleases Ray but also exasperates him as he feels she is just waiting to pounce on him with a Scripture or a prayer!
The case they deal with is exciting and dangerous, although this time Ray gets the help he needs from the police department as he has been made a consultant.
The novels are fast paced and there is an interesting message throughout.  We can't help wondering when Ray will finally give up trying to get through life with the help of his "friend" Jim Beam and give the Lord a chance to help him get his life in order!
Although the books are better read one after the other in sequence, they can each be read as stand alone novels.  I can highly recommend them both.