Mystery/Thriller Reviews
Page Three of ThreeMake Them Cry by Kevin O'Brien
Pinnacle, May 2002Paperback, 412 pages
ISBN: 0786014512
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
A young boy is found drowned in the lake
near a seminary in the Northwest. Father Murphy
was both a teacher and friend to the boy and he
becomes suspicious. Although it was
ruled as death by drowning the boy was missing
two fingers from one of his hands.
He certainly doesn't buy the police's account that
his hand might have skimmed sharp rocks along
the bottom of the lake. Father Murphy starts investigating
and quickly finds out that this is not the
first unusual death at the seminary, and that the
boy may have not been quite as perfect as he
had thought -- he had been taking money from
some of the older boys for sex.
When more deaths occur around him,
he feels certain someone is a murderer.
Unfortunately, he and others he cares about are
on the serial killer's list as well.
Make Them Cry is an engaging novel, with complex characters and a candid view of young men in a Northwest seminary, who are learning to become priests. Many of these boys are not quite the Church's vision of what future priests should be -- many have both thoughts of and act out their homosexuality. Even the investigating priest himself pursues his own sexual interests as he finds himself falling for the murdered boys' sister. In this setting, the serial killer mystery fits in well, as the heads of the seminary want nothing to do with the case (for risk of exposing some of the happenings in the seminary) and Father Murphy is left to solve the case on his own. Finding how the serial killer has twisted himself into the fabric of this quite little seminary with a creepy past is most interesting, and makes for great reading.
The Tutor by Peter Abrahams
Ballantine, June, 2002Hardcover, 353 pages
ISBN: 0345439384
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
Julian Sawyer appears to be a saint to Scott and
Linda Gardner. Originally hired to tutor their
son, Brandon, to raise Brandon's low SAT scores, Julian
quickly becomes a fixture around the Gardner
household as he helps with last-minute
chores, tennis coaching, business
advice, stock tips and more. Unfortunately,
although Julian is as smart and skilled as
he appears to be, he can also be quite dangerous.
Having already charmed the rest of
the family, it is up to the youngest family
member, Ruby, a sharp eleven year-old girl
and avid Sherlock Holmes reader,
to determine the strange tutor's diabolical plans for the
family.
Abrahams, author of Crying Wolf, A Perfect Crime and The Fan, excels at characterization, and he succeeds here by telling this excellent psychological thriller from the viewpoint of each of the characters in turn. Abrahams turns what might be a fairly ordinary plot in the hands of a lesser writer into a captivating story that will have you rooting for young Ruby to discover Julian's secrets in time to save the family. Ruby's internal dialogue is very entertaining, especially when she is pretending that she is as clever as Sherlock Holmes. Ruby diligently practices becoming aware of minute and ordinary details in her surroundings -- a method Holmes refers to as the observation of trifles. Watching her solve the mysteries surrounding Julian the tutor is fascinating. The inner dialogue of the deranged, but devilishly smart Julian is gripping, and quite frightening. Abrahams does a superb job of building the suspense as the battle of wills between Julian and Ruby escalates. Highly Recommended.
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