Customer Reviews

Sacred Sins

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In March of 1997, I asked readers of Nora Roberts & Patricia Cornwell to convince me which author's stories I should try next. I was convinced to try Nora -- with a little nudge from Nora (she posts on boards on AOL). Nora suggested that I pick up a couple of her titles from used bookstores and see if I liked them or not.

My first read was SACRED SINS. Now, a year and a half later, my life has completely changed -- all due to reading this WINNER and meeting Nora & her wonderful, wonderful fans (w/them, we created a website in Nora's honor!).

I digress.

Why should you read SACRED SINS? When I first read it, I could NOT put it down. I wanted to not only read about the developing relationship between Ben & Tess, but I also wanted to find out who was killing these women in Washington, D.C. My initial impression was that it was a good, fast read.

Then, in June, I re-read it. It was even BETTER the second time around. In fact, I put it right up there as my favorite romantic/suspense stories of Nora's -- with DIVINE EVIL, MONTANA SKY, CARNAL INNOCENCE, & her DEATH books.

Why is SACRED SINS such a great read? First, you have a very believable killer. Second, you have real cops in Ben & in Ed (read BRAZEN VIRTUE for Ed's story) -- their rapport is outstanding. Third, you have a very true-to-heart developing relationship between Tess & Ben. Fourth, Tess is extremely convincing as a psychiatrist. Her attempts to reach Joey were so compelling -- I wanted to reach into the book & slap his parents -- this was as real as it gets. Nora wrenched my heart w/it.

This is an excellent story to give to a NON-reader of romances -- who believes that he/she knows what romances are all about. While there is romance in this story, the emphasis is on the suspense -- wondering who the killer really is.

At least they do in Sacred Sins.

A serial killer is on the prowl in D.C., and psychiatrist Tess Court has been asked to help with the investigation over the objections of one of the cops on the case, Ben Paris. Their lifestyles are opposites: Ben's a down-to-earth regular guy, while Tess is from a wealthy family. And Ben has a low opinion of psychiatrists since one failed to help his brother.

Despite their differences and the dangers of the case, attraction blossoms and leads to love.

The good:
The relationship between Ben and his partner Ed. Nora writes men with great understanding and affection, and that's true in this case as well.
The dialogue. It flows naturally.
The humor. Even though it's a more serious, suspenseful story, there are little nuggets of humor to lighten the mood.

The bad:
Tess being apparently more concerned for the killer than the victims made me want to smack her upside the head a few times.

The verdict:
A solidly entertaining romantic suspense. For an older book, it holds up very well.

This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for years and I have finally gotten around to reading it. It is, by far, one of the best Nora Roberts books I've ever read. It has everything-suspense, murder and romance and they don't get much better than this. The detective Ben Paris couldn't have been molded any more perfectly and Tess was pretty likeable even given her determination, as a pyschiatrist, to treat the man who ultimately tries to kill her. I loved the relationship between Ed and Ben and the dialogue, again, couldn't have been written any better. This is one of those books that you don't want to start reading unless you have a lot of free time because it's hard to put down. The only complaint I have is that it didn't end with much of a bang. A surprise, but not really a bang. It would have been more exciting, I think, to see Ben lose a little control.

The weather isn't the only thing heating up in Washington D.C. A young, blond woman is found strangled. The murder weapon is a white, silk priest's amice. Attached to the victim is a note, "Her Sins Are Forgiven." Police detective Ben Paris is part of the special investigations team assigned to the "priest" case, along with his long-time friend and partner, Ed Jackson. When psychiatrist Dr. Tess Court joins the investigation team, not everyone is pleased. Is Tess getting too close to the case? Is she getting too close to Ben? SACRED SINS is one of Nora Roberts' earlier suspense novels. I recently read her latest, THE VILLA, and find that her style of writing and character development has really grown over the years in comparison. Nevertheless, I enjoyed SACRED SINS. It's well-written, starts off with a bang to reel you in, and shocks you in the end. I found myself appreciating the relationship between the two detectives, Ben and Ed, more than the relationship between Ben and Tess. But maybe it's just me.

I agree with those reviewers who are calling Sacred Sins somewhat dated and formulaic because it does feel that way if you're reading it now for the first time. But as a long-time Nora fan who read Sacred Sins when it was first released back in 1990, I'd just like to remind everybody that this was the START of Nora's career!! These two characters, more than any others from earlier books illustrate the archetype characters that we know and love Nora for! Ben Paris is a classic hero and still possibly my favorite Nora hero, though it's a tough call after all this time. I don't think Sacred Sins should have been released again in hardcover - that seems like a stretch. But if you're just discovering romantic suspense, and just discovering Nora, to start with Sacred Sins and build from there is exactly what her career did. I am a grateful and appreciative fan, more than a decade later. I guess it's all in the perspective. At a recent Nora booksigning I chose to have Sacred Sins and The Villa signed because they represent to me the spectrum of her career and my following of it.

As the temperature soars in the nation's capital, the headlines stun the public when a young woman is found strangled to death with a priest's scarf. When another woman is murdered the same way shortly after, the police know they have a serial killer on the loose, a killer that has been dubbed by the media as "the Priest".

Ben Paris is one of the detectives assigned to the case. Ruthless and arrogant, he will leave nothing unturned until they nail the killer. When the captain and the mayor decides to enlist the help of a top-notch psychiatrist, Ben, who's never had much faith in her profession after his brother's suicide, doesn't hide his disdain with the idea. But the moment the doctor walks into the precinct, Ben cannot deny the strong attraction he feels for her, especially when she turns out to be totally different from what he had expected.

If not for her grandfather's request, Dr. Tess Court wouldn't have agreed to assist the police with their investigation. And after meeting the arrogant detective, she couldn't wait to finish profiling the murderer and be done with the case. But the more she studies the case, the more she finds herself drawn deeper to it until it is too late and the killer turns his attention on her...

SACRED SINS is a romantic thriller featuring two characters that find love amidst the terror of their jobs. Ben is a man haunted by his brother's suicide, a man who continues to live with the devastation of losing a great man whom he looked up to. It is this grief that causes some tension between him and Tess because of Ben's disdain for psychiatrists. As for Tess, while she initially couldn't care less what Ben thought of her and her job, it is her nurturing nature that pushes her to his side, wanting to know the reasons for his dislike and ease his pain. And as they are drawn together, we see the undeniable chemistry between them. Their byplays provide some fun and, sometimes, seductive reading.

This is my first book by Nora Roberts and certainly won't be the last. Not only did the story held my attention, but I also enjoyed reading about Ben's partner, the health-freak Ed. I swear some of his comments about the junk that Ben eats and what they do to the human body had me laughing out loud.

The novel Sacred Sins is an exhilarating adventure involving a woman and a man on a trail of a crazy killer. During the story they find themselves on the verge of dangerously falling in love. This novel will make you want to keep reading and reading until you reach the end. While reading the novel there will be many moments that will make you want to flip to the last few pages to figure out the ending of the novel.
The novel Sacred Sins begins at the end of a miserable two-week long heat wave in Washington D.C. The heat wave is the citys top news story. But the headlines quickly change when a young woman is found strangled to death with a priests white silk amice pulled firmly around her throat. Pinned to the priests amice is a note that simply reads her sins have forgiven her. This first murder is followed by a second and then a third and then a fourth. Soon the young womans death becomes the front page story in all local papers. Suddenly the headlines have nicknamed the murderer as The Priest. The slayings of these young women catches the attention of Dr. Tess Court, a superlative psychiatrist dedicated to treating the problems of the human mind. With the police making little progress in solving the crimes of The priest, Dr. Court is called in to create a detailed psychological profile of the murderer; she come up with a troubling portrait of a twisted soul who believes he is not committing murders, but rather ministering to his victims. Detective Ben Pairs does not care at all about the killers mind. He makes his opinion very clear to everyone that calling in a psychiatrist is useless act that will not help solve the crimes.
Even though Detective Paris objects to the meddling of a psychiatrist in the case. He can not face the fact that he cant dismiss his attraction to Dr. Court. He finds Dr. Court very attractive and irresistible. Detective Paris is a very tall, handsome, and dark skinned man with a reputation that is well-known with the ladies. However, Dr. Court does not react to Detective Pairs like the other women in his life. Now that Detective Pairs and Dr. Court are thrown into solving the murders together the flames of wild hot passion are soon ignited. But someone else has their eye on this beautiful tall blonde, someone who dreams of cleaning her soul and saving her from all of her sins. Dr. Court starts receiving telephone calls from the priest. She is sure that she can help the madman with counseling. Detective Pairs worries if he will be able to keep Dr. Court from becoming the priests next victim. Will Detective Paris be able to put a stop to the priests reign of terror? Will Dr. Court be able to stop him with counseling before time runs out? Will Detective Pairs and Dr. Court find love with each other?
This book is definitely a page turner for anyone who is into murder mysteries with a touch of love mixed in. I would recommend the novel Sacred Sins to any murder mystery lover. I would also recommend the novel to romance lovers. The novel depicts a very believable storyline. The novel contains profanity through out so I would not recommend the book to anyone you would be offended by this kind of language.
I would give the novel a grade of an A. The book kept my interest from the first page one to very last page. And as with every good murder mystery the novel has a great surprise ending.

Being an avid Nora fan, and having read many of her books, I find this story to be a good combination of mystery with subtle, but well-written romance. This is the first of the Ben Paris/Ed Jackson duo novels and since I read them in the wrong sequence, I was already familiar with the two police detectives. This is Ben and Tess's story on the mystery serial killer that brought the blonde, blue-eyed, well-to-do psychiatrist and the tall dark and handsome policeman together. A killer posing as a priest (murdering his victims with an amice-strangulation) is running wild and all the victims are blonde, petite women, very similar to Tess Court - the psychiatrist brought in on the case, much to Ben's dislike, to give a profile of the killer. The story of the romantic entanglement is predictable, however, as with all Nora stories, it is well written and easily blended in with the details and the efforts of searching for and capturing the killer. I was totally surprised by the outcome - had no idea who the killer was.

Roberts has created a story containing both verve and intrigue. Sacred Sins is the story of a psycho with unholy intentions. Tess is a strong character: regal, beautiful, intelligent. You could say she is typical of other "regal, beautiful, intelligent" female characters in other romance novels. However, Ben is an a-typical alpha-male. The combination is irresistable. Watching the byplay between these two such night vs. day characters was fun. Another reason this book is so good is because the plot is so gritty. I liked the gritty. The character development was complete, nothing was left out. It was fun watching Ben fall hard. Final word: an excellent choice on a cold night.

Love Nora Roberts. She is one of my favorite authors but this book does not do her justice. It was a slow read. Took everything I had to finish it. Very disappointing.