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NYPD Chief Gabe Driscoll is involved in the Internal Affairs Department. A close school friend, Frank Redmond is discovered dead. The investigating officers and the Church are leaning towards suicide but Driscoll has his doubts. He cannot believe that his old friend, a Catholic priest, would kill himself. In addition, he is upset that Redmond's fellow priest would say such a thing. As this is not Driscoll's case, he enlists the aid of Andrew Troy in an unofficial investigation. Driscoll, Redmond and Troy were all members of the same swim team many years ago in the Bronx and they remained friends even though their lives went different ways. What their investigation revels is that they might not have known Redmond as well as they thought. They also learn that they might not know themselves quite as well as they thought either. Somehow they must put together the pieces from the past and the present in order to understand Redmond's death and their own future. THE ENEMY OF GOD is not a traditional police procedural or typical mystery. The majority of the book tells the story of how Driscoll, Redmond and Troy met and the various paths their lives went. As they started their friendship as freshman in high school, over 30 years have passed, so there is a lot of history to get through. About a third of the book occurs in the present time. Of that third about half of it actually deals with the investigation. THE ENEMY OF GOD moves at its own pace. This book moves slowly as it meanders through the past of each of the characters. In addition, the investigation itself meanders. The official investigation is just about non-existent as there is little evidence for the police to follow up on. The unofficial investigation moves just as slowly. Driscoll and Troy are trying to find the truth about their friend's death yet there are few useful leads out there. While I am not a fan of this type of slow-paced, introspective and character-driven mystery, I must admit that I had to finish the book because I needed to know what happened with Redmond. Redmond is an appealing character. His struggle through life does not sound easy but his life has not made him bitter. His actions are not always justifiable, especially for a priest, but his character is that of a very nice guy. It is understandable why his friends had to find the truth about his death regardless of others' doubts.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, May 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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