When the skeleton of a dead male is found in the grounds of a Roman Catholic convent, DI Rafferty is far from happy at having to deal with the case. Not only is he uncomfortably aware of his own lack of faith, being a lapsed Catholic himself, but access to the convent and its order of enclosed Carmelite nuns proves anything but easy.
When it becomes clear that the dead man was murdered, Rafferty and his strait‑laced but likeable sidekick DS Llewellyn have quite a demanding puzzle on their hands. As the skeleton was found within the inaccessible grounds of an enclosed convent, surely the killer could only be one of the nuns? If not, who else could it have been? This problem, together with a further niggling worry of a personal nature for Joe Rafferty, involving mysterious blackmailing letters which curiously do not demand money, leaves the bemused detective with more than enough to think about.
The past lives of the nuns come into focus, providing some very diverse and interesting characters and bringing forth quite a few surprises. These tend to muddy the waters even more for the two
detectives, not to mention their efforts to identify the dead man and discover how and why he came to be found in such a location. Clever detective work brings several suspects into the frame and the plot thickens with past and present merging to provide answers to many vexing questions about the nuns and in particular, the convent's Prioress, Mother Catherine. Peripheral characters in the Rafferty/Llewellyn books, such as PC Lizzie Green and PC Tim Smales, as well as the irascible pathologist Dr. Sam Dally, are fast becoming firm favourites.
The author deals very well with the sensitive question of belief or disbelief in God and in particular the RC faith. She has maintained a good balance. As your reviewer is also a Catholic, the constant anti‑catholic tone was not offensive.
As always with a Rafferty/Llewellyn story, Geraldine Evans keeps you guessing and provides a pleasing vein of humour throughout. This is a well‑plotted tale with an unusual theme. Clever and unexpected twists make the story a delight and, as always, the ending remains a surprise until the very last page.
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Edna Jones