Paul McCusker Books In Order

Adventures in Odyssey Books In Order

  1. High Flyer with a Flat Tyre (1991)
  2. The Secret Cave of Robinwood (1990)
  3. Radio Scripts (1998)
  4. The King’s Quest (1994)
  5. Danger Lies Ahead (1995)
  6. Dark Passage (1996)
  7. Freedom Run (1996)
  8. The Stranger’s Message (1997)
  9. Behind the Locked Door (1993)
  10. Lights Out At Camp What-a-Nut (1993)
  11. A Carnival of Secrets (1997)

Time Thriller Books In Order

  1. Ripple Effect (2008)
  2. Out of Time (2009)
  3. Memory’s Gate (1996)

Time Twists Books In Order

  1. Sudden Switch (1996)
  2. Stranger in the Mist (1996)

Passages Books In Order

  1. Darien’s Rise (1999)
  2. Arin’s Judgment (1999)
  3. Annison’s Risk (1999)
  4. Glennall’s Betrayal (1999)
  5. Draven’s Defiance (2000)
  6. Fendar’s Legacy (2000)

TSI Books In Order

  1. The Gabon Virus (2009)
  2. The Influenza Bomb (2010)

Passages Omnibus Books In Order

  1. The Marus Manuscripts: Volume 1 (2013)
  2. The Marus Manuscripts Volume 2 (2013)

Father Gilbert Mystery Books In Order

  1. The Body Under the Bridge (2015)
  2. Death in the Shadows (2016)

Adventures of Nick & Sam Books In Order

  1. Perfect Gifts (2018)
  2. Hidden Treasures (2018)
  3. The Best Advent Ever (2018)
  4. Trouble with Lent (2019)
  5. A World of Wonder (2019)
  6. View from the Top (2019)

Virtue Chronicles Books In Order

  1. The Saintly Outlaw (2019)
  2. The Warrior Maiden (2020)
  3. The Hidden Heroes (2021)

Novels

  1. Catacombs (1997)
  2. Epiphany (1998)
  3. The Mill House (2004)
  4. A Season of Shadows (2005)

Plays

  1. Snapshots and Portraits (1991)
  2. Pap’s Place (1993)
  3. Dear Diary (1998)
  4. The Colossal Book of Quick Skits (2006)
  5. The First Church of Pete’s Garage (2011)

Novellas

  1. The Faded Flower (2001)
  2. Blue Christmas (2018)

Non fiction

Adventures in Odyssey Book Covers

Time Thriller Book Covers

Time Twists Book Covers

Passages Book Covers

TSI Book Covers

Passages Omnibus Book Covers

Father Gilbert Mystery Book Covers

Adventures of Nick & Sam Book Covers

Virtue Chronicles Book Covers

Novels Book Covers

Plays Book Covers

Novellas Book Covers

Non fiction Book Covers

Paul McCusker Books Overview

High Flyer with a Flat Tyre

‘I didn’t do it! I don’t know anything about his tire!’ Mark Prescott’s in trouble. Not only did he fight with Joe Devlin, but now Joe accuses Mark of slashing the tire on his new bike. He didn’t do it, but how can he prove his innocence? By finding the culprit! But playing detective isn’t as easy as it is on TV. As Patti, Mark’s best friend, plays Dr. Watson to his Sherlock Holmes, Mark encounters a crows of potential villains. There’s Rachel, a girl Joe teased about being fat. And Chad, the boy who had an argument with Joe. Even Patti is under suspicion. With the help of his wise friend Whit, the eccentric inventor, Mark untangles the mystery and learns new lessons about friendship and family ties.

The Secret Cave of Robinwood

‘You have to promise not to tell anyone. Ever!’ Mark Prescott promises Patti that he’ll never reveal the secret of her hidden cave. It’s a great place for pirates, buried treasure, and secret meetings. When the Israelites, a gang Mark wants to join, are looking for a new clubhouse, Mark thinks of the cave. He’s positive they would make him a member if he told them about it. But Patti doesn’t want to share the cave. And she doesn’t want to join the Israelites. Mark is torn between his friendship with Patti and his new friends. Will Mark join the group at any price? Will he betray the hideaway? Will he risk his friendship with Patti? As he makes his choices, Mark learns about faithfulness, the need to belong, and the gift of forgiveness.

Radio Scripts

Second in a series. Includes three scripts introducing a variety of the Odyssey characters. Reactions to these Adventures in Odyssey Radio Scripts have been excellent. Besides his long term relationship with Focus on the Family , author Phil Lollar has specialized in writing for children. Besides its obvious use in Sunday School and VBS, the Adventures in Odyssey scripts can be used for advantage in family worship that will involve parents and children.

The King’s Quest

‘Sir Owwen cried out to Mark, ‘An ambush! Quickly!’ Even as he shouted, he grabbed the guard by the wrist, twisted it so that the sword dropped free, and scooped up the weapon.’ Mark Prescott is not in Odyssey anymore. The Imagination Station has propelled him back in time to the era of brave knights, great castles, an evil nobleman, and a good king. Now Mark finds himself in the middle of a quest for the kind to retrieve a precious ring. But first he has to survive the wicked Sir Cardoc’s plan for him! And then he and the valiant Sir Owwen will have to find and do battle with the most dangerous creature in the realm. As Mark moves from adventure to adventure, he learns iimportant lessons about God’s control over his life and how He uses even the most difficult experiences to accomplish His will.

Danger Lies Ahead

‘One thing I’ve learned is that nobody is what they seem to be.’ That’s what the new kid told me, anyway. And he just might be right. Things have beena bit strange around Odyssey lately. My name’s Jack Davis. My friend Lucy just told me that an escaped convict could be heading straight for our town! On top of that, I know Joe Devlin, the school bully, is repeating sixth grade. I’m not sure which of the two I should be more afraid of. And if that wasn’t enough, that new kid, Colin, has been telling me some really wild stuff. I’m not sure what to think, but I could sure use your help in figuring out who to trust!

Dark Passage

‘Run!’ the reverend shouted. ‘Run for your lives!’ In that split second, life for Matt Booker and his best friend, Jack Davis, turned into chaos. Boy, were they in a lot of trouble! It all started when they were plaing catch in the yard at Whit’s End. Jack missed a pass and, while searching the woods for the ball, stumbled upon a trap door. If only Matt and Jack had obeyed the sign that warned, ‘Keep Out.’ But they didn’t. And then they got carried away. Literally. Climbing aboard The Imagination Station, the two friends were propelled back to the days before the Civil War not a good place to be if, like Matt, you’re black. After interrupting a meeting with the Reverend Andres, who was helping slaves escape to freedom along the Underground Railroad, well things just went from bad to worse! Matt was captured by slave hunters, leaving Jack and the revered to rescue him. But would they find him and in time?

Freedom Run

The door to The Imagination Station whooshed shut, enclosing us in the machine. I’m Matt Booker. Jack Davis is a good friend the best, especially since he’s willing to go back with me. Let me explain. We knew we weren’t supposed to be nosing around but earlier, Jack and I were in Whit’s baseme*nt workshop, checking out The Imagination Station, when the craziest thing happened. All of a sudden, we were back in 1858! Cool? Not exactly. We’re talking pre Civil War here before ’emancipation,’ when slaves were given their freedom. If only I had paid more attention in history class! Anyway, to make a long story short, I had been captured by slave traders, and it was up to Jack to find me. In fact, I had just promised Eveline, a runaway slave, that I would help her find her father, Clarence, when bam! Jack and I were instantly back in Whit’s baseme*nt. Well, I couldn’t break my word to Eveline, so Jack agreed to return with me to help her and Clarence make their way to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

The Stranger’s Message

When a stranger arrives in Odyssey looking for work, a preoccupied Whit turns him away. But when the man unexpectedly shows up at Whit’s End that evening and interrupts that kids’ Bible Quiz contest, the unimaginable happens he suddenly collapses from a heart attack! The next morning in church, Whit wonders how he, as a Christian, should have responded to this hurting, needy person. Then, he challenges everyone to pledge that they will evaluate every decision they face by first asking, ‘What would Jesus do?’ But God’s will is not always easy to determine, as Karen, Lucy, Oscar, Matt, and Jack even Whit! soon discover. What would you do if you found a school official accepting bribes? Or learned that the town bullies had just stolen your friend’s lunch money again? After all, the Bible doesn’t include special verses on dealing with issues like these, or does it?

Behind the Locked Door

‘It hadn’t occurred to him that he might be putting himself in serious danger. Not until now.’ Mark Prescott’s imagination is going wild. He knows his friend John Avery Whittaker Whit keeps his attic door locked. But why? What’s hidden up there and protected so carefully? Invited to stay with Whit while his parents are in Washington, D.C., Mark grows curious when Whit forbids him to enter the attic. Fueled by thriller comic books, his mind conjures up dark possibilities. Along with them grows a determination to get beyond the locked door and learn Whit’s secret. How will Mark gain entrace? What will he find once he does? As he answers those questions, he learns hard lessons about trust, honesty, and the need to guard his thoughts.

Lights Out At Camp What-a-Nut

‘We have a three strikes and you’re out policy here. You now have two strikes.’ Mark Prescott is not having a fun time at summer camp. First of all, he went there so he could talk with his best friend, Patti. But she only wants to discuss her new boyfriend. Then Mark finds he’s sharing a cabin with Joe Devlin, Odyssey’s biggest bully, who gets Mark into trouble with the camp’s leaders. Mark grows irritated by the unfairness of his situation and Joe’s obnoxious behavior. Yet Mark feels there must be some hidden reason Joe has become expecially bad. Finally, Mark and Joe find themselves paired in a treasure hunt that puts them in unexpected danger. Through his adventures in camp, Mark learns valuable lessons about friendship and how God uses one person to help another.

A Carnival of Secrets

Patti Eldridge has been depressed ever since her best friend, Mark Prescott, moved away. So when the spring carnival comes to Odyssey, Patti’s parents are sure they’ve found just the thing to cheer her up. But when the rides don’t appeal to her and the hall of mirrors seems dull, Patti wanders off and in to Madam Clara’s fortune telling tent. She’s certain her mother and father wouldn’t approve, but what harm could it do? After all, she doesn’t have to believe a thing the woman tells her, right? Patti wins a prize at the shooting gallery just as Madam Clara said she would. But then bizarre things start happening like the fortune teller showing up at Whit’s End and the brakes on her parents’ car mysteriously going out. If only she had told her parents the whole story! Then she’d know whose word she can trust theirs and God’s.

Ripple Effect

The Time Thriller Trilogy delivers gripping, fast paced mystery that intrigues and captivates through hours, seconds, and centuries. A long history of strange disappearances and unexplainable occurrences leave clues that the town of Fawlt Line may actually sit on a time fault a portal to alternate times and unexpected time travels a twist of fate that puts all of Fawlt Line’s citizens in serious danger. Will they find the faith to hold on to the town and time where they belong? After Elizabeth falls through a mysterious time warp, will she ever make it back home? Elizabeth stayed home to take a bath and plan on how she could escape her parents by running away. But after she almost drowns when the bathtub fills with muddy water, she emerges to find that her world, and everyone in it, has changed. Elizabeth has dropped into another girl’s existence a questionable life full of untrustworthy relationships and secrets that threaten her life. Is she dreaming or is she an amnesiac as everyone suspects? Will she find the faith to uncover the truth and make her way back to her own reality? Previously published as Sudden Switch.

Out of Time

A long history of strange disappearances and unexplainable occurrences leave clues that the town of Fawlt Line may actually sit on a time fault a portal to alternate times and unexpected time travels a twist of fate that puts all of Fawlt Line’s citizens in serious danger. Will they find the faith to hold on to the town and time where they belong? On a foggy night, Jeff and Elizabeth see a car heading through the mist. A man on horseback is in the middle of the road, and a collision was barely avoidable. Now the victim a giant of a man lies on a hospital bed, surrounded by hospital staff and a host of questions. Has King Arthur really slipped through a time crack into Fawlt Line? Impossible? Perhaps. But lately in the town of Fawlt Line, the impossible has had a way of proving true. And the most incredible events are yet to come.

Memory’s Gate

The Time Thriller Trilogy delivers gripping, fast paced mystery that intrigues and captivates through hours, seconds, and centuries. A long history of strange disappearances and unexplainable occurrences leave clues that the town of Fawlt Line may actually sit on a time fault a portal to alternate times and unexpected time travels a twist of fate that puts all of Fawlt Line’s citizens in serious danger. Will they find the faith to hold on to the town and time where they belong? Can truth prevail? Elizabeth thought volunteering at the Fawlt Line Retirement Center would be fun, but she quickly has second thoughts. While most of the residents are wonderful, there’s something about the place and a strangely familiar man in a wheelchair that gives her the creeps. When people start disappearing from the center, leaving behind cryptic notes, Elizabeth is convinced the time fault is involved. Her own time travel adventure may be the key to solving the mystery, but can she convince the sheriff she’s telling the truth before more people disappear?

Stranger in the Mist

To hear the sheriff and the hospital staff talk, the stranger is too dangerous to be released. But Jeff Dubbs and his Uncle aren’t so sure. The mysterious man isn’t speaking gibberish, but perfect Latin and he says he is King Arthur.

Darien’s Rise

‘There are two moons in the sky!’Tiptoeing gingerly, Kyle and Anna cross the groaning floorboards of the old, abandoned house. Suddenly, a scream erupts! Crashing through the floor, they dangerously tumble down beneath it. But when they pick themselves up amid the dust and debris, they find themselves in a strange and mysterious new world a place nothing like their hometown of Odyssey!Bewildered by their new surroundings, Kyle and Anna are soon entangled in a web of intrigue, betrayal, and danger a struggle to the death between a power mad king and his valiant young general a fight to determine who will rule the Kingdom of Marus!Despite their best efforts, the ultimate outcome rests in the hands of the powerful and mysterious Unseen One, and the lives of Kyle and Anna will never be the same. Will they ever find their way back home? Or are they destined to live forever in this strange new land?

Arin’s Judgment

What if history repeated itself with you in it? Passages takes ancient stories and retells them from a kid’s perspective. Loosely based on the popular ‘Adventures in Odyssey’ series, Passages books begin in Odyssey and take you to a fantasy land, where belief in God becomes the adventure of a lifetime! Theme: sacrifice and obedience; based on the story of Noah and the ark. One minute, Wade Mullens had been in Odyssey, attempting to burn his top secret drawings for the atomic bomb. The next he knew, he was transported to a time period centuries before. A strange prophet predicts that Wade is the final sign an end times omen of a culture on the verge of annihilation. But a power mad tyrant sees opportunity in the boy because of his bomb making capabilities. It’s do or die time. Can Wade stop the reign of terror that the madman’s bomb will surely bring?

Annison’s Risk

‘This was supposed to be a fairy tale, but it’s turning into a nightmare!’Squeezing farther beneath the musty porch of her house, Maddy Nicholaivitch is sure she’s found the perfect hiding place. But as she inches closer to a strange glow of light, her senses reel when she finds she has just passed into an utterly differently place and time! Gone is her familiar town of Odyssey!In this exciting land, a conquering king is ascending the throne. And he’s about to marry a Princess that Maddy has seen before in her dreams. The princess, along with the captain of the guards, are secret followers of the ‘Old Faith’ in the Unseen One,But in the name of loyalty, the king’s most trusted advisor has hatched an evil plan to stamp out the ‘Old Faith’ forever. Can Maddy help save a kingdom form the tyranny of a wicked man? Or will she pay the price for her own growing believe in the Unseen One with her very life?

Glennall’s Betrayal

An elaborate, captivating fantasyland becomes the setting for the ancient stories of the Scriptures in the Passages series.

James goes from traveling with gypsies to receiving honor at a palace to laboring in a dark coal mine. Where will his journey end, and what is the purpose? Theme: God’s plans for each life. Based on the story of Joseph.

Draven’s Defiance

An elaborate, captivating fantasyland becomes the setting for the ancient stories of the Scriptures in the Passages series.

In a wartime period resembling Na*zi Germany, Scott must learn from a daring prophet and take a stand that will affect an entire nation and his very life. Theme: Obedience. Based on the story of Elijah.

The Gabon Virus

In the face of a new plague that threatens the world, our forensic heroes investigate the past to save the future studying evidence from when the Black plague decimated a small english village eyam, pronounced eem, during the seventeenth century. After the greedy founders of a scientific research laboratory intentionally infect subjects with a deadly plague in order to develop a lucrative vaccine, the plague spreads beyond the lab’s control. A top secret government team of scientists covertly begins to research a solution. They turn their attention to the seventeenth century the only other time when a widespread plague ravaged the world for clues on how to prevent this disaster from happening again. In particular, the scientists are interested in how eighty people from the village of Eyam were able to remain virtually untouched by the plague at the height of the Black Death s deadly reign over Europe. But trouble is afoot in Eyam grave robberies, grisly murders, and the bizarre reappearance of the Blue Monk a legendary, spectral figure from the time of the plague. Can he be real? And who s trying to stop the team from discovering the truth about Eyam? Distinguished authors Paul McCusker and Walt Larimore, M.D. have collaborated to deliver this sweeping, fast paced novel that spans the globe and transcends time. Sure to leave readers wanting more, The Eyam Factor is a riveting introduction to the authors new Time Scene Investigators series.

The Influenza Bomb

Mas*ses of people are dying from a mysterious flu. While the TSI team searches for a cure, a notorious eco terrorist group,Return to Earth, uses an influenza bomb to poison the water. It’s a race against time with the outcome impacting the entire world. By the time the team discovers that the terrorists are using the water supply to infect people, the sickness is spreading worldwide and no one has a cure. When Return to Earth makes off with a mysterious device called The Influenza Bomb with the intent to destroy all of mankind, Dr. Hutchinson must stop the contamination from being spread before it s too late.

The Mill House

They found her by the dilapidated country chapel clutching shards of colored glass from the old stained glass windows, desperately clinging to the fragments of a shattered past. England. Shrouded in the heartache of a fifty year old secret, Elaine Arthur suddenly slips into a deep depression and gives up on life. Lainey, her granddaughter, is desperate to save her and certain that uncovering the secret will bring healing and hope. America. Nicholas, the grandson of a powerful publishing mogul, discovers a box from his grandfather’s English past including unopened letters that reveal a love once lost. Nicholas believes those letters may explain his grandfather’s hardheartedness, and the writer may hold the key that could open the door to redemption. As Lainey and Nicholas search for answers, their paths cross and, together, they move into a deep mystery and discover that love and forgiveness can show up in the most unlikely places. From the pain of the past emerges a tender story of lost love, betrayal, reconciliation, and renewed hope that spans a half century and thousands of miles.

Pap’s Place

The universal reaction from every group that has performed Pap’s Place has been, The audience loved the storyline and characters, and the actor who played Pap was challenged. The seven character script deals with a son and his family who must decide what to do with 80 year old Pap whose strength may be failing, but whose mind is as sharp as the proverbial tack. Humor and sentiment are nicely combined in this two act play.

The Colossal Book of Quick Skits

Fun, thought provoking, quick to rehearse and easy to perform, these sketches are designed for use in any setting where you’d like to entertain or stimulate discussion. They are ideal for youth groups or schools, as sermon illustrations and as discussion starters. Themes include: AIDS; singleness; church splits; dating unbelievers; evangelism; family tensions; lateness; midlife crisis; guilt; and many more. The styles are varied, allowing room for straight drama, comedy, absurd wordplay, slapstick, and monologues.

The Faded Flower

Funny, the difference a few hours can make. At 4:30 P.M., Frank Reynolds still has a sense of accomplishment and control. By five o clock, he’s lost his job of twenty two years. By six o clock, he s learned of his father s Alzheimer s disease. An hour and a half is all it has taken to turn Frank s world upside down, thrusting him and his family onto a path none of them could ever have expected. The one certain thing now is change. For Frank, that means grappling with the painful implications of unemployment and his father s illness. For Pap, it means facing the heartbreaking realities of the affliction that is stealing his mind. For Frank s high school graduate son, it consists of finding his own path in life despite his father s disapproval. And for Frank s wife and daughter, it involves surprisingly pleasant discoveries as the family, moving to Frank s childhood town, creates a future amid the ghosts of Frank s past. On the outskirts of Peabody stands an imposing old mansion known as The Faded Flower. For many, it is both a beginning and an end. For the Reynoldses, it is the place where God s grace will unfold, changing their understanding of what life is about and for Frank, resurrecting faith, hope, and purpose in ways he s never dreamed.

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