Fathers and Sins

Jo Bannister is one of my always-read authors. Her Brodie Farrell mysteries are excellent. This one, with entirely new characters, continues her trend of excellence. The plot is intriguing, in that Mouse (Matthew) the alleged perpetrator of the murder of his mother and a church arson, is a young man who is alleged, at age 6, to have started the fire in his home which caused his mother to rescue him, and which created severe psychological problems for him. The detective, and his rescuer, is his father's fiance (father and mother having divorced many years earlier). Following Agnes (our detective) through disagreements with fiance Robin over his angry abandonment of Mouse, Vicar Parsons' inadvertent involvement because a key clue is a supposed medieval banner hanging in his church (and yes, Vicar Parsons is very aware of the humor in his name and calling), to the final struggle to save Mouse's life and the denoumant of the true villain, is well-written and exciting. Add in medieval religious legends and war in the Middle East in the pre-Israel period, and I was breathlessly turning pages until the end. And, I didn't have a clue as to the real villain until the last 20 pages. An intriguing mystery, a great read.