Customer Reviews

Secret Sins (Callie Anson Mysteries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's been so long since I read a truly great mystery: absorbing, suspenseful, well-written, cleverly plotted, three-dimensional characters worth following. I hear publishers are pushing the more contemporary suspense novels, but give me a good detective read anytime.

Author Kate Charles masterfully controls a handful of parallel plots. Some characters are common to all, but thankfully we don't have a contrived ending where everything nicely dovetails. In fact, at least one plot ends with a revelation of a cruel tragedy.

This series inevitably gets compared to other clerical mysteries (such as Spencer-Fleming) and English mysteries (such as Veronica Stallwood). But I think anyone who appreciates great detective fiction will be delighted to stumble across Kate Charles. I'd compare her to Nevada Barr, Sarah Stewart Taylor, and even some of Sharyn McCrumb.

An author, in my mind, can be called great when we readers commit the secret sins of reading their work when we should be working. A rare and highly pleasurable experience. Secret Sins qualifies.

I agree with Dr Cathy Goodwin's assessment of the book, except I would say the quality is right up there with Deborah Crombie and Jill Mcgown (and that IS high praise). Lots of characters, but depicted so well and concisley that they are easy to keep track of. This is the type of writing I long for, and the paperback looks so blah on the cover--just goes to show once again about not judging by a cover! I started the book this morning and couldn't stop till I was through, not so much because the mystery is so suspenseful as that the characters and their lives really draw you in. Will definitely check out her other books.

In London recently ordained Anglican cleric Callie Anson is happy with her relationship with police officer Marco "Mark" Lombardi though he seems to avoid having her meet his Italian family. Callie tries to provide solace to new parishioner Morag Hamilton, who is worried about her beloved preadolescent granddaughter Alex who never goes outside unless she has to; her father Alex is to busy with work and her stepmother Jilly is too busy with her own needs to care that Alex lives on the Internet.

While Callie worries about Morag and Alex, Detective Inspector Neville Stewart investigates a missing jogger, computer guru Trevor Norton whose wife is about to give birth. Though he hopes the runner is found okay, Neville fears the worst while welcoming the respite from his personal problems of a maybe romance with the woman he has always loved who dumped him a decade ago. Now Neville has a second vanishing to investigate; that twelve years old Alex whose grandmother reported her missing.

The key to this exciting London investigative tale is the extended cast are fully developed three dimensional people who make the several plots merge into a terrific one sitting thriller. Alex is the link that ties the multitude of plots into one superior story line. Readers will want to obtain Kate Charles' fine character driven tale SECRET SINS and the previous novel with much of the same lead players EVIL INTENT.

Harriet Klausner

Another wonderful mystery from Kate Charles, whose insights into human nature and relationships breathe life into her books. It's a pleasure to get to know characters like Reverend Callie, Mark Lombardi and Morag Hamilton little by little and try to envision how the different subplots will affect each other. If you like Julia Spencer-Fleming's Reverend Clare mysteries, give Kate Charles's Reverend Callie a try.

This is not a bad book. The characters are fairly interesting, the writing is pretty good. But this is not enough to keep the multiple story lines going. There is little suspense, little action, and not really any detecting by the detectives. While her romance does progress, Callie has nothing to do with either the missing person case or the murder, other than to support the missing girl's grandmother. Unlike the Julia Spencer-Fleming series to which the Callie Anson books are often compared, the title character in this one is incidental with no role in moving the story along. I liked the first in this series enough to read this one too but I don't think I'll bother with the Callie's next outing.

Reviewed by Lynn Downs for Reader Views (2/07)

Reverend Callie Anson has a complicated life. She is a female priest in the Anglican Church, something that is still a bit unfamiliar to a lot of the parishioners. She has a new love interest, Marco Lombardi, whose Italian heritage and Catholic upbringing make his relationship with Callie difficult. Her brother, Peter, has decided to move into her very small curator's cottage with her, causing some privacy issues. And to top it all off, she has befriended a new parishioner who has secrets of her own.

Kate Charles' second novel in the Book of Psalms series again takes place in London and interweaves the story of Callie Anson with that of Detective Inspector Neville Stewart. Neville has his hands full as well. A young husband, and soon-to-be father, disappears one morning while jogging along a canal and all clues point to a simple robbery. But as the body of the young man is recovered and the pieces of the puzzle are placed together, he realizes that all is not as it seems. Add to that his on-again relationship with an old flame, who may want more from Neville than he can give.

Just as one case is wrapping up, Neville is brought into a new missing person's case. Twelve year old Alex Hamilton was born and raised in Scotland until her father and new stepmother decide to move to London. Alex is lonely and is the target of the school bullies. Then one day, she meets "Jack" on the Internet - someone who thinks she's funny and pretty and wants to meet her. She leaves one day to meet her new friend and doesn't come home. Has she become the prey of an Internet predator? It is up to Neville to find her before it is too late.

"Secret Sins" is a fast paced, intriguing mystery that keeps you turning pages and not wanting to put this book down. Kate Charles makes each character personable and you connect with each character as their story plays out. She has successfully intertwined the tales of many characters into one great read.

Book received free of charge

This is an example of a book that has totally lost its purpose. This author tries to tell too many stories, takes too many asides and if this was properly edited it would be about 110 pages. I was shocked. Save your time for better reads.

Brian Oldham

This author's writing style was so stilted or wooden. I didn't care about any of the characters. She gives no wrap-ups, has too many characters, no suspense or action or feeling whatsoever. I kept telling my husband this book is so boring! He was wondering why I was still reading it but I dislike not finishing a book that I have started. It bugged me to read about a female parish priest who enjoyed sex with her ex-fiance. I don't consider myself a prude but what was that about? Why didn't the book go into any detail about Rachel & her boyfried who killed her husband? I did not enjoy this book. I am actually shocked at the 5 star reviews.