A Stain Upon the Robe [Hardcover]

Terry Devane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2003

The Honorable Barbara Quincy Pitt has been selected to preside over the trial of a Catholic priest accused of raping twenty-three children in his former parishes.

But the notoriety and horror of the case seem to be the least of the judge's problems. She has become romantically involved with a young law clerk assigned to assist her in this case. Now the young man has disappeared.

Judge Pitt enlists the aid of her former classmate Sheldon Gold to locate the law clerk and prevent a scandal that would destroy her career. Assisting her boss, Mairead O'Clare finds herself caught between defending a client and pursuing justice-and it's not at all clear which will prevail.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite its creaky, sensationalistic plot, Devane's third legal thriller (after Juror Number Eleven) satisfies, largely on the strength of its leads. This time, smart, depressive criminal defense attorney Sheldon Gold is approached by old flame Judge Barbara Pitt, who's presiding over the page-one trial of a Catholic priest accused of raping 23 boys. Judge Pitt says she's mystified by the recent disappearance of her hunky young research clerk, Charles Vareika, after admitting to sleeping with him. Afraid of a Gary Condit-type scandal, Pitt implores Shel to find Vareika without implicating her or tanking the trial. Shel mobilizes his usual team: Mairead O'Clare, the naive but tough young associate; Pontifico (the Pope) Murizzi, a street-smart, gay ex-cop turned private investigator; and Billie Sunday, a legal secretary with impeccable instincts and candid opinions. The pseudonymous Devane constructs the plot through a rather blocky series of interviews, as the team makes its rounds interrogating Vareika's unsavory friends, Pitt's cagey family members, several trial-watchers with competing agendas and the accused priest himself. Characters tend to speechify rather than speak; the priest takes a page from Hannibal Lecter when he insists on meeting Mairead in his lockup (" `I really enjoy telling [my story], young lady.' Now [he] pressed his nose against the screen, distorting his face into a gargoyle's mask. `I really, really do' "). Devane compensates for much of this artificiality by demonstrating hands-on intimacy with Boston's criminal justice system and by creating soulful, savvy, appealing protagonists who manage to excel at their jobs, despite the heartbreak in their private lives.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The stained vestment of the title actually belongs to two professions: the clergy and the law. Eccentric heroine Mairead O'Clare--brought up by nuns in an orphanage, plagued by disfiguring port wine stains, and currently using her wary nature as a criminal attorney in a big Boston law firm--assists boss Sheldon Gold in a case that grows more disturbing with each discovery. A superior court judge has asked Gold to investigate the disappearance of her law clerk and lover on the eve of her trial of a Catholic priest accused of multiple child molestations. The romance has overtones of Gary Condit and Chandra Levy, a fact that could turn the trial into a media circus. O'Clare's investigation is like a minitour of Dante's circles of hell, as she confronts the horrors of priest pedophilia and waves of legal and political corruption. A gripping, though sometimes overwrought investigative and courtroom drama. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (September 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399151087
• ISBN-13: 978-0399151088
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,991,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top-notch legal thriller, December 9, 2003

By 

Avid Mystery Reader (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Stain Upon the Robe (Hardcover)

Shel, Mairead, the Pope, and Billie are back in this 3rd legal thriller from Terry Devane. Combining the best of legal thrillers from an author who knows whereof he writes, and the fabulous characters of someone who knows how to tell a story -- this is a solid book. Mairead is a woman who doesn't always know how strong she is, surrounded by people who aren't always as strong as they think they are. It's very nice to read a book which is respectful to all sorts of characters, and contains a great story. Anyone who likes strong women who make competent choices, and who don't need a man to save them from themselves, will find Mairead a character to their liking.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For fans of legal thrillers, October 1, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Stain Upon the Robe (Hardcover)

In Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Judge Barbara Pitt presides over the headline news criminal case in which Father Cornelius Xavier Dooley is accused of sexually assaulting twenty-three boys. However, as Her Honor is in the media spot light, she asks her former law school lover criminal defense attorney Sheldon Gold to subtly investigate. To insure political correctness by balancing the female non-Catholic judge, Legal Research Services sends a male Catholic clerk Charles Vareika to assist Barbara. She confesses to Shel, his legal secretary, and his associate that she slept with the clerk who has since vanished. She fears for her reputation, but also the impact on the trial.

Shel and his team, including a private sleuth, make inquiries by interviewing associates of the missing person, trial fanatics, and the Catholic priest on trial. As they dig deeper, Barbara seems more unsavory by the moment and Dooley appears quite deranged, but Charles remains missing.

Though the key cast members, especially the Judge and the priest, speak stilted English that feels artificial rather than normal free flow conversation, fans will appreciate the honesty, perseverance, and temerity displayed throughout by Shel and his team. The story line moves forward at quite a clip as the trial plays an intriguing backdrop and enhancer to the missing person's investigation. The insight into the mean streets of Beantown and the close look at the Suffolk County legal system add depth to this action-packed novel. Fans of legal thrillers in which an exciting investigation supersedes the court room drama will enjoy A STAIN UPON THE ROBE.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great new series!, February 8, 2004

By 

G. Ware Cornell Jr. "anotherlawyer" (Weston FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Stain Upon the Robe (Hardcover)

When the law clerk for a Boston judge disappears during the high profile trial of a pedophile priest, the judge turns to her old classmate Sheldon Gold and his young associate Mairead O'Clare for discrete help in locating the young man before new scandal erupts, this one involving her honor and her affair with the handsome young man.

Enlisting the help of "The Pope", retired homicide sergeant turned private eye Pontifico Muirrizi, the case takes them into dens of sin in and around the City of Boston. The twists and turns of the plot are truly imaginative.

Terry Devane is the pen name of an established Boston writer. Given the quality of this book and its predecessor Juror Number Eleven, Terry might turn into the dominant personality.