Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)First Sentence: Jenny was drinking cordial by the stream at the end of her overgrown garden, watching a school of tiny brown trout flick this way and that, quick as lightning.
District Coroner Jenny Cooper is asked by Father Lucus Starr to look into the death of Eve Donaldson, an ex-porn star who professed to be born again and became a crusader against pornography and as a spokesperson for the Mission Church of God. When Jenny discovers two other recent deaths also have links to the church, she becomes more determined to find the truth; even though there are those who do everything they can to prevent it. In her personal life, it seems the blank spot in the memory of her childhood may not remain blank much longer. The question is whether Jenny will be able to deal with what she finds there.
There are definite strengths and weaknesses here. For me, Hall's strength is in writing the inquest scenes. A good courtroom scene, with its questioning and working to find the truth through verbal exchange, can be as gripping and exciting as any chase down a dark alley. Hall writes these scenes very well. I also find it fascinating to learn the way in which a British court of inquiry works and its scope of power and responsibility.
The story itself, seemed a bit cliché. The powerful politicians, the obstructive lawyers and even the missing memories which cause Cooper's dependence on anti-anxiety drugs become a bit worn out. Yes, there was a good twist at the end, but it didn't provide the dramatic "ah, ha" moment one would hope as it seemed a bit convenient. I, for one, am please that the character's "dark secret" has finally been revealed. I should love to see that be the end of that and Jenny grow into a stronger character. But that's just me.
Altogether, it is a good read with some very strong moments. I am actually curious to see where the series goes from here, which is a recommendation in itself.
THE REDEEMED (Legal Mys-Coroner Jenny Cooper-UK-Cont) - Good
Hall, M.R. - 3rd of series
Simon and Shuster, ©2011, US Hardcover - ISBN: 9781439157121
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"DAD, WHAT HAPPENED TO COUSIN KATY?" "YOU REMEMBER, SMILER. YOU KILLED HER." JENNY COOPER has a lot on her mind. Under fire from her superiors for exposing a high-level government cover-up of the disappearance of two Muslim youths, she is also haunted by the discovery that she may have been responsible for the death of one of her own family members. Her college-age son, her therapist, and her neighbor and sometimes lover all seem to be turning their backs on her, driving Jenny to increasingly give in to the temptation to escape through alcohol and pills. The discovery of a dead man lying outside a Bristol church with the sign of the cross gouged into his flesh looks to her at first like another grisly suicide. But the unexpected arrival of an enigmatic Jesuit priest reveals deeper levels of mystery. Father Lucas Starr, the chaplain of a nearby prison, has come to plead for Jenny's intercession on behalf of one of his parishioners, who confessed to murdering Eva Donaldson, a former adult movie actress turned world-renowned anti-pornography campaigner. Persuaded by him to look at Eva's death afresh, Jenny un-covers a sinister series of connections between Eva and the body at the church. After another tragic death, Jenny's suspicions turn toward a powerful new global phenomenon: the politically ambitious and intoxicatingly charismatic Mission Church of God. Answering to no one but the dead, Jenny's lone quest for justice takes her to the heart of the fight between good and evil, sex and the supernatural, and on a dark inner journey to confront ghosts that have haunted her for a lifetime.
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