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DEATH OF AN IRISH SINNER
by Bartholomew Gill
Avon Books, March 2002
334 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 0380808641


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Chief Superintendent Peter McGarr, head of the Serious Crimes Unit of the Garda Siochana, is surprised when a visit to his in-laws leads to his involvement in yet another murder case. A neighbor, the wealthy Mary-Jo Stanton, has been found dead in her garden, and her sophisticated security system has failed to show any trace of her killer. As McGarr begins his investigation, he discovers that Stanton and her handful of houseguests are all connected to Opus Dei, a Catholic group that believes anyone, not just members of the clergy, can dedicate their lives to serving God. However, McGarr learns that Opus Dei may have a more sinister purpose; some say that the organization serves as the unofficial police force for the Church, using any means necessary to ensure that no one deviates from the party line. Could Mary-Jo Stanton have been murdered to prevent her from publishing her biography of Opus Dei's founder, a biography that reveals a surprising fact about its subject?

As in Gill's other novels, the case is important, but so are the characters. McGarr's family and his staff usually play a large role in each book, and here the secondary characters are nicely integrated into the murder investigation. Naturally, McGarr's staff plays a significant role in each case, but the ongoing relationship between Hugh Ward and Ruth Bresnahan could easily become an irrelevant digression. It is important here, however, because Dery Parmalee, a tabloid publisher who seems to know a little too much about goings-on in Mary-Jo Stanton's household, is able to slow down the investigation by threatening to expose Ward and Bresnahan's unusual living arrangements. McGarr's wife, daughter and in-laws are all close to the scene of the murder, and their interest and subsequent involvement in the case seems logical as well. (The Death of an Irish Sinner is the fifteenth book featuring Peter McGarr. Readers who prefer not to start in the middle of a series might choose to begin with Gill's first book about him, The Death of an Irish Politician, to get a better feel for the characters.)

The book definitely has a violent slant, which isn't for everyone. McGarr and his staff variously attack and are attacked by the many suspects in the case. Guns are everywhere, and no one seems afraid to use them. And, despite the fact that police procedurals usually emphasize a police department's standard rules of conduct, the Garda officers here seem perfectly willing to make up their own rules. McGarr, especially, seems more and more inclined to take the law into his own hands as the story progresses, although he clearly has his reasons. The case and its solution become a little too complicated, but overall this is a satisfying novel, especially for readers who are interested in the characters as well as the mystery.

Reviewed by Kathleen Chappell, April 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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