Death of an Irish Sinner by Bartholomew Gill
William Morrow & Co - May 22, 2001
ISBN: 0380977982 - Hardcover
Irish Police Procedural

Reviewed by Brenda Weeaks, MyShelf.com
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In his fifteenth Irish police procedural, Bartholomew Gill's has lead character Chief superintendent Peter McGarr going up against a Catholic organization called Opus Dei. He isn't really aware of this organization until he takes his family to visit to the in-laws. When the neighboring priest comes to report a murder, there goes the vacation. McGarr finds the secretly illegitimate daughter of the founder of Opus Dei is murdered in her garden. Later he learns her newly finished book about the church and her father is missing. Opus Dei is a source to be reckoned with. Their power reaches far and wide with influential members and brutal assassins. When McGarr takes on the investigation, he comes up against arrogant organization workers determined keep their secrets, a remarkable hired assassin able to take down the strongest man with her bare hands, and a tabloid publisher bent on discovering it all.

Becoming involved in a case against a vindictive organization causes personal trouble for everyone. McGarr's family takes some shocking blows that will leave series readers speechless, and some fellow detectives find their lives under scrutiny, creating some violent ripples and strong reactions, leaving them to examine their lives and their jobs.
Gill is able to stay true to the police procedural in a mild, uncluttered way. It was refreshing to get in the middle of a police case with intense characters so cleverly developed that they don't need graphic language and overpowering personalities to get their parts across. The plot is clear, the characters true, and the subject matter straightforward; the story and emotions flow off the pages. A winning series worth every penny.