True Believers (Gregor Demarkian Series #17)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A small Philadelphia neighborhood, a melting pot of fervent religious beliefs, erupts in violence that calls for all the skills of Gregor Demarkian, the formidable retired head of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, as he tackles his 16th case following last year's Skeleton Key. A Roman Catholic parish still suffering from the aftereffects of a pedophilia scandal that rocked the archdiocese; an Episcopalian church with a mostly gay male congregation; an independent, fundamentalist Baptist church; and atheist Edith Lawton all occupy the same block. Only Haddam's superb plotting and characterizations allow this microcosmic creation to achieve credibility. The new Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia first consults Demarkian when a suicide inside St. Anselm's proves more complicated than first believed and threatens to become a new scandal for the beleaguered Catholic church. Then Demarkian is coopted by the police when another death, thought to have been natural, proves to have been murder. As tensions escalate, Demarkian must unravel the motives behind killings that threaten to tear apart the delicate balance. To make things even more difficult, Demarkian's lover, Bennis Hannaford, is facing a personal crisis. Her sister's execution date is approaching and this time there appears no hope of stopping it. Haddam's large cast pulses with petty jealousies, vanities and fears as they confront the mysteries of life and religion. This is an engrossingly complex mystery that should win further acclaim for its prolific and talented author.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Retired FBI agent Gregor Demarkian (Skeleton Key) investigates an unusual apparent murder/suicide in a Philadelphia church, for which police blame the husband. A nun believes otherwise, however, and so the plot thickens. From a dependable hand. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Haddam moves deep into Greeley territory in this sprawling study of religious morals, foibles, even canticles. On one of Philadelphia's loveliest streets, St. Anselm's church, ministered to by starchy Father Robert Healy, faces St. Stephen's, where Pastor Dan Burdock oversees a mostly gay Episcopal congregation. A few doors down, within megaphone-harassing distance, is the headquarters of self-appointed fundamentalist preacher Roy Phipps, and just past his office is the home of professional atheist Edith Lawton, who alternates passing out abysmally written antireligious tracts with trysts with the lawyer responsible for making restitution to the 62 (or is it 71?) men abused by pedophilic priests ten years ago. Outside, the street is alive with drag queens, teaching sisters, picketers, pamphlet-waving disciples trashing each other's views, and one very opinionated feminist nun. There are also several dead bodies cluttering up the church aisles, including a husband and wife, a gay man, and all too soon, Father Healy and that pesky, no-longer-vocal, nun. Gregor Demarkian, the Armenian-American Poirot, is called in by the Cardinal Archbishop and the cops to sort matters through in between consultations with his friend Father Tibor Kasparian. In addition to arsenic poisoning, a publicly staged exorcism, religious and antireligious diatribes, and clues clever enough to make Agatha Christie envious, he must deal with the imminent, state-mandated execution of his lover's sister, a murderess who has lost a final appeal. Haddam, who is second only to King James in biblical scholarship, has abundant storytelling skills (Skeleton Key). One hopes that someday soon she turns them loose on Tibor and lets him control a whole book.

From the Publisher

"A guaranteed winner for those who prefer intellectually stimulating mysteries."—Booklist

"Haddam plays the mystery game like a master."—Chicago Tribune

" "An engrossingly, complex mystery that should win further acclaim for its prolific and talented author."—Publishers Weekly