One of the major themes in my book, Killer Redemption, is, as the title says, redemption. The main character, Lyle Hardgrave, is a contract killer. One may wonder why I chose a mob hitman as my main character. Can someone who kills others for money really be redeemed? Can a cold-blooded murderer have redemption and receive God’s grace?
One of the pillars of Christianity was, in some respects, a hitman. In Acts 7:58-8:1 we are introduced to a man named Saul, a man who later will be renamed Paul. A man who wrote about two-thirds of the New Testament. “Then they cast him (Stephen) out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And Saul approved of his execution.” In this passage, Saul approved the execution of Stephen. He didn’t pull the trigger, so to speak, but we can imagine he instigated the brutal attack on Stephen. It doesn’t end here. In Acts 9:1 we read “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…” This was Saul’s job. Hunt down Christians, kill them if he must, or bring them to the authorities to be imprisoned.
What happens to Saul? He meets Jesus on the road to Damascus. And what does Jesus do? He redeems a man who has been murdering and imprisoning Christians and turns him into a one of the most important Christian heroes of all time.
Lyle Hardgrave is a mob hitman who came into the life due to early circumstances around the murder of his brother. Over the years, he’s killed many people. He doesn’t have a Paul-like conversion, meeting Jesus on the road, but he does meet Cora Wilson, a struggling Christian woman whom Hardgrave falls in love with. God uses this love and this simple, Christian woman, to bring Lyle Hardgrave, a hitman, to redemption.
Back to my original question, why choose a hitman in a Christian novel? Think of the worst person you know. Does this person deserve redemption? Can God forgive this person for what he or she has done? Is this person worse than a hitman? Probably not. And this person probably doesn’t have a worse background than Paul. If you’ve ever thought someone was unredeemable, think of Paul. That’s why I chose Lyle Hardgrave a hitman for my novel. If he can be saved, anyone can be saved.
I hope with this book that people will see that God’s redemption is available to everyone and anyone. Even a murderer such as Lyle Hardgrave, or such as Saul of Tarsus, can receive the grace of God and be redeemed.
Lyle Hardgrave is a gentleman, a poet, and a hitman. He meets Cora Wilson, who is energetic, transparent and devout. The killer finds himself battling organized crime, the FBI, and unchained emotions to keep himself and the love of his life alive. Hardgrave must choose. Leave his criminal life or leave Cora. If he chooses Cora, will she accept who he really is? Can he have Cora’s love and find redemption?
Killer Redemption is available in Kindle and paperback
B.D. Lawrence has always loved reading fiction. Ironically, his worst subject in high school was English. One night, sitting in a master’s level computer programming class, daydreaming about vigilantes, he decided to give writing a try. Out of that came his first novel, which went nowhere. That was many years ago. During his writing journey he’s dabbled in mystery, suspense, science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. He’s currently focusing on crime stories of justice, vengeance, and redemption. He hopes his novels will not only entertain fiction lovers but will also bring hope to readers that may not know Jesus as Lord. Not all of his stories are Christian, but all his novels will be written from a Christian world view and present the Gospel in some form by some character or characters. To learn more about B.D. Lawrence, visit his website at https://www.bdlawrence.com.
Thank you for posting this. Happy to answer any questions.