Sign of the Cross

If you are a mystery/crime fiction reader you will enjoy the story and will consider the characters friends by the time you are finished. If you are a Canadian or someone who has visited or lived in Halifax you will feel like you are back home. Good author. I plan on reading the next book in the series.

After two women with links to him are murdered, Roman Catholic priest Father Brennan Burke finds himself the chief suspect in the brutal slayings. Asked by a mutual friend to undertake the defense of the handsome, roguish, difficult clergyman, local attorney Monty Collins starts to make inquiries into the ritualistic killings, and into Burke's past, discovering that his client led a wild life both before and after taking his vows. Collins has to deal with aggressive policemen, an opportunistic prosecutor, a shrewish ex-wife and a tight- lipped, extremely volatile client in his quest to clear the priest of the crimes. Collins quickly concludes that he must uncover the identity of the real killer, because the authorities are confident they have the right man, even though the evidence against him is strictly circumstantial. Exhibiting no grievous flaws, Emery's debut is a well-written, deftly executed mystery. Thoughtful and challenging, Sign of the Cross emphasizes character over action; content to keep the more sensational violence off stage, the main focus of the book falls on the often tense relationship which develops between the oftentimes passive but forthright Collins, and the aggressive but extremely secretive Burke, whose reluctance to discuss his past may prove his downfall. The story's power is derived from this intense pairing, as the two warily circle each other even as they become fast friends. Both are so fully realized that readers will find themselves becoming annoyed with the pair as they demonstrate their less likable traits, as if they're actually interacting with the characters themselves.