The Keeper is an introspective look at friendship, loss and overcoming the many facets of grief. In the fourth book of the Murphy Shepherd series, Murph must work without his beloved Bones to track down child traffickers who are very skilled at their jobs.

Charles Martin can weave one heck of a story. His writing is uniquely thoughtful and compelling. It’s near impossible to set the book down once you’ve started it. I highly recommend this 5-star book, which can also be read as a stand-alone.

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the eARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC. The Keeper is number four in the Murphy Shepherd series. I do love this series but I didn’t find this book to be quite as catching at the beginning. I do love that we are continuing on with characters that have already been established and basically picking up where the last book ended. This book ended with the premise that there is going to be another in my opinion. This book was very enjoyable and I look forward to the next installment if there is one.

This book will stay with you. It will stay on your forever shelf and on your heart. A great book in the series or even as a stand alone. Murph and Bones share so much words of wisdom and inspiration overcoming the darkness within the world we live in. Tough subject that needs light to be shined on. Highly recommend this series. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was my first time reading Charles Martin’s work, and I understand now why this author is so popular. Although this is the latest book in a series, I wasn’t lost in the plot, and I didn’t feel like I was missing important information, so I believe this is fine if read as a stand-alone book. The characters are all intriguing, and the storyline kept me hooked from beginning to end. I would highly recommend it, and I look forward to reading more of Martin’s work.

The Keeper is a moving story of love and redemption. Through the eyes of a soldier willing to pay any price by putting his life on the line to save young girls being sold into trafficking, you catch a glimpse of the emotional cost.
Plenty of action and suspense as the team follows leads to rescue the girls. No spoilers….but emotions run high and laid bare when adjustments must be made within the team. A must read!

Murphy Shepherd is back! I was so excited to see Charles Martin wrote another book in this series. It’s one of the best series I have ever read and this was another great addition! In The Keeper Murphy has to work through tremendous grief while also finding a way to do his job and save the lost. As always Martin’s writing gets straight to the heart.


I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love Charles Martin! He is one of the best storytellers I've ever read! I love this series! I feel it's so important to bring light to this topic even though it makes me terrified for my 9 year old granddaughter! This book picks up where the last book ended with the death of Bones. But the Vice Presidents daughters are missing and Murphy Shepherd must find them while also navigating the grief of losing his mentor and best friend.

“These are the Keepers of us.”

“Find my girls. Please find my girls.”

“People in darkness don’t know they’re in darkness because it’s all they’ve ever known. It’s their world. They navigate by bumping off things that are stronger. Immovable. We, those of us who walk up here, have a tendency to look down our noses at them, but the truth is this: they don’t know darkness is darkness until someone turns on a light . . .”

The Water Keeper series by Charles Martin is one of my favorite series of all time. Honestly, after Book 3, I thought it was finished and wrapped up and that there would be no more books. While I was very excited to see we were getting a 4th book, I wish that it had ended with Book 3. Because this book was a slog to get through. It didn’t have the pacing or emotion or excitement I usually get with a Charles Martin book. And while the premise and plot could have been amazing, Charles Martin both overwrites this one and has too many flashback scenes as well as overly long scenes that do not add to the story. It seems others enjoyed this one but I felt like it was an unnecessary addition to a near perfect series.

* I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and Thomas Nelson. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

4.5⭐️ I really enjoyed the first 2 books in this series, and completely missed the third which makes more sense why I was confused at points. I will be going back to read that.

The themes of the Lord’s pursuit of us no matter what & how He is our shepherd are beautiful in this book. There are hard descriptions of abuse & trafficking for those who need to avoid that.

I would recommend this series!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

We return to the series after the devastating loss of Bones, who perished alongside his brother, leaving two burning questions: who can take his place, and more urgently, who will step in for Frank?

This book delves into lesser-known figures from Murph’s past as he embarks on a rescue mission, grappling with deep grief over Bones’ death and its impact on Frank's malevolent empire. Who are the seven generals, and is it time for them to emerge?

As an avid fan of the first three books, I was thrilled to have the chance to review this installment. It serves as a pivotal bridge for the series, setting the stage for it to continue at full throttle, despite many of us believing the story would conclude with book three. However, the heavy reliance on repeated scenes from previous books was a drawback for me. While these recaps may benefit readers who are picking this up as a standalone, they detracted from the overall pacing and reading experience. Thus, I give this a 3.5, rounding up to 4 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Murphy Shepherd’s story continues with one of the most revealing and compelling installments yet! I love Charles Martin’s writing style and his latest book does not disappoint. So many loose ends tied up and explained, so many markers towards Jesus and what he has done for each of us. Great read, and hoping this means more to come for Murph and all the characters of Freetown.

Just when I thought Charles Martin’s books could not get any better, he proves me wrong. Such an engaging storyline involving human trafficking and hard to believe such evil exists. You will need to make sure to read the books in order so it is easier to follow along.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley and the publisher. All words are my own.

So Charles Martin has come up with another book in the Murphy Shepherd series, after we all thought The Record Keeper was the final one. If you haven’t read The Water Keeper, The Letter Keeper, and the Record Keeper recently, you do not need to go back and re-read them. In this new book, Martin gives a lot of background to remind you what has happened in those 3 books. If you have NOT read them, you definitely want to read the series in order, because there’s a lot he doesn’t include in the flashbacks.

Once again, it is hard to read about the depths of evil involved in human trafficking and the awful, dark world of those who buy and sell the bodies of young boys and girls just to indulge in their perverse pleasures. After Bones’ death in The Record Keeper, his brother’s seven “generals” are ready to take over and continue expanding their power and reach. As Murphy grieves the loss of his mentor and friend, he keeps fighting, and the light shines through the darkness again and again, but at the cost of a love that gives sacrificially and completely.

The plot twists kept me gasping, and I had to take breaks now and then from the tension of the plot. New characters get introduced, more hope takes root, and I couldn’t believe how the book ends. I know you will love it like I did!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."  #TheKeeper #NetGalley

The Keeper is another book in Martin's Murphy Shepherd series that explores love, loss, grief, resilience, and grace. While it could be read alone, starting at the beginning of the series gives the richest reading experience.

Martin crafts characters and stories that are poignant and relatable. The Keeper is no exception. While I do prefer some of his older stories, The Keeper displays the trademark messaging that Martin is known for, wrapped up in a page-turning story.

Title:  The Keeper  
Author: Charles Martin
Genre:  Fiction    
Rating: 5 out of 5

Bones--Murphy Shepherd's teacher, mentor, priest, and friend--is gone. Devastated by the loss and unsure how to continue the rescue work they started, Murph has no choice but to jump back in when the worst happens. His longtime friend and current United States vice president, Aaron Ashley, has been a silent partner in the fight against trafficking. But in spite of having the best security available, his three daughters have been taken bound and blindfolded from their home by an extraction team that left no clues and no trace--just an empty house, a bereft mother, and nine dead Secret Service agents. Only Murph and his team have a hope of finding them.

Bones may have made the ultimate sacrifice taking down his own brother and the dark network he led, but there are still others in this network where evil is the currency and power is the prize. Soon Ashley drops out of the presidential race and a new candidate emerges--someone who is ready, too ready, to step into the race and the Oval Office.

Bones taught Murph that the needs of the one, the lost one, outweigh those of the ninety-nine. In his first rescue without Bones beside him, Murph's fight against human trafficking takes him across the globe and through the halls of government to destroy the network and save the lives and souls of those taken.

This book. Charles Martin is my favorite author, and I love the Murphy Shepherd books, so I was desperate to read this. And it did not disappoint me. The ending of The Record Keeper destroyed me in all the best possible ways—how was this going to live up to that? It did.

There was a lot of action, of course, as befits this series, but we got to spend a lot of time in Murphy’s head, too, watching as he struggled with what he’d been taught—the value of the one—and what he felt. His anguish and confusion and doubt spilled onto the page and the reader wrestled with them just as he did. Layer that with the action of the race to find the three girls and to figure out just who was behind the darkness that took them and this book was absolutely riveting, Charles Martin at his best.

Charles Martin is a bestselling author. The Keeper is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.)

(Review will be live 3/18/25.)

I love The Keeper, the fourth book in the Murphy Shepherd series by Charles Martin. The books in this series have opened my eyes to the problem of human trafficking that I was not aware really existed before reading this series. A quote that is the central theme in all four of the books in this series speaks deeply to my heart. "The needs of the one outweigh those of the 99." Murphy Shepherd has just buried his best friend and mentor and is dealing with his own immense grief when the vice president’s daughters are kidnapped and trafficked. In spite of his own pain, he immediately put his own needs aside and goes to rescue the three girls. As the story unfolds, I found I could not put the book down. There were so many surprises that had me glued to the pages. Though there was quite a bit of repetition from other books with the backstory, I found myself enjoying the repetitive parts anyway.

The author does such a good job of character development that I felt like I actually came to care about a lot of the characters. One thing that really resonates for me in this book is identity… Loving yourself and caring about yourself and believing that you are worthy of love. One of my favorite quotes in the book is from Bones when he was alive and it is this: “Bones once told me “identity precedes purpose. You can’t know who you are until you know whose you are. Belongingness matters”

I absolutely love this series and hope there are many more in the series to come. I can’t wait for the next installment.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have really liked this series and have kept up with all of them. This is the 4th book (and it makes me wonder if there will be more books). I really have liked the characters in this series, especially Murphy Shepherd and his family.
I love Charles Martin's writing and his reflections of truth that come out in every novel. He is easy to read and worth the time. Definitely recommend this series. This particular book really does need the 3 before it though in order to make sense. So read the whole series.

Charles Martin's books are always uplifting, full of both emotion and action. I enjoyed this one, like the others in the series, but did feel like there was too much repetition, both in catch phrases and backstory. There were definitely some unexpected points in the plot that kept me interested. Martin remains one of my favorite authors.
I received a complimentary ARC copy of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I just love Charles Martin’s writing. His newest book, The Keeper, was just as great as his previous books.

The Keeper by Charles Martin continues the heart-touching style his fans love, bringing reflective and deeply emotional writing that speaks to the reader’s soul. However, as the fourth installment in the Murphy Shepherd series, it feels a bit repetitive and relies heavily on introspective exploration of emotions, with less focus on action or new developments. This contemplative approach weighs down the pacing, especially due to tackling a subject that feels challenging to sustain over multiple books. Readers should approach the series in order, as each book builds directly on the previous one. Although not his strongest, The Keeper is still a testament to Martin’s talent for heartfelt storytelling and his strong faith.