Blood on a Saint

Starred review from December 9, 2013
Miracle or fraud? St. Bernadette's church in Halifax is thrown into the spotlight when the recently-fired parish secretary claims to have a vision of the Virgin Mary floating above a statue on the parish lawn. Father Brennan Burke is less than thrilled when a ragtag group of soapbox preachers, hustlers, and pious pilgrims descend and turn the church lawn into a circus. CTV even sends Pike Podgis, a controversial talk show host, to stage a faith vs. science debate between Fr. Brennan and an atheist sociology professor. Events take a sinister turn when a young woman is murdered at the scene, and Podgis is arrested for the crime. Fr. Brennan's drinking buddy, Monty Collins, is called upon to act as defense for the accused. Meanwhile, someone is tormenting Fr. Brennan in the confessional, divulging details of this and other past murders. As good friends, Monty and Fr. Brennan have a hard time discussing the case, as Monty is bound by solicitor-client privilege, and Fr. Brennan by the seal of the confessional. In this seventh book in her Collins-Burke series, Halifax lawyer and award-winning author Emery (Children in the Morning) uses strong characters and dialogue to deftly touch upon the paradoxes between superstition and belief, between reason and faith, and between justice and forgiveness.

September 15, 2013
A blues-singing lawyer, an opera-loving priest and a loudmouthed talk-show host rock Halifax in this offbeat whodunit. Befanee Tate, the former secretary from St. Bernadette's, is in the midst of a wrongful-dismissal suit against the church when she claims to see the Virgin Mary near the statue of the church's namesake. Pilgrims flock to the statue and salty-tongued Father Brennan Burke reluctantly appears on CTV's Pike Podgis Show to discuss the supposed miracle. Instead, he makes a fool of Podgis. The TV host, a practitioner of scandal and shock journalism, creates plenty of both for himself when he's arrested for the murder of Jordyn Snider, a prominent worshiper at St. Bernadette's feet. Podgis can't even get respect from his defense attorney, Father Burke's friend Monty Collins, who nevertheless tries conscientiously to find an alternative explanation for Jordyn's death. Father Burke, prevented by the seal of the confessional from telling all he knows, struggles to protect a street missionary implicated in the murder. Following Monty and Father Burke through the back streets, blues clubs and waterfront district of 1992 Halifax in search of the truth is an enjoyable quest, even though the tale would have benefited from adding a few minor resolutions and subtracting one melodramatic moment in Monty's efforts to reunite his estranged family. Emery (Cecilian Vespers, 2009, etc.) skillfully blends homicide with wit, music, theology, quirky characters and a Nova Scotian atmosphere.

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November 1, 2013

Halifax duo attorney Monty Collins and Fr. Brennan Burke are driven apart when a loudmouth talk show host is accused of murder; trouble is, he's Collins's client and Burke's confessee. Seventh outing (after Death at Christy Burke's) for an Ellis Award winner.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013
Halifax, Nova Scotia, lawyer Monty Collins takes on an unpopular client when he agrees to defend a talk-show host against a charge of murder. The victim's body was found at a local church, where recently a woman claims to have seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary above a statue. Coincidentallyor not?the woman who claims to have seen the apparition is suing Monty's friend (and former client) Father Brennan Burke for wrongful dismissal as church secretary. This is another sharply plotted entry in the Collins-Burke series, which is distinguished by its well-drawn characters and unique setting. The author, who hails from Halifax, does an excellent job of anchoring the story in the city. Whether it's because of the requirements of the tale she's telling, or because she just wanted to shake things up a little, this is the first book in the series to be told in the third person. Monty narrated the earlier books, but this time we see him from the outside, as others see him, affording us a new perspective on the character. Keep 'em coming.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)