The second of Haddam's Demarkian stories, this has lots of interesting tension and puzzles. I can't say I care for the Cardinal, but his insistence on NOT allowing the police to inspect the possibly poisoned sacramental wine added a clever dimension to the story. ( )

A 20-year-old teenage indiscretion comes back to haunt the central characters of this murder mystery that takes place at Easter. Haddam would have us believe that Gregor Demarkian is “the Armenian-American Hercule Poirot.” I’m not so sure. It’s poorly plotted, with lots of red herrings. I think the author is trying too hard. ( )

In this second book of Jane Haddam's long-running series, retired Armenian-American FBI investigator Gregor Demarkian goes up to Colchester, New York during Easter week at the request of Cardinal O'Bannion, who is a friend of his Orthodox priest, Father Tibor Kasparian. O'Bannion originally wants him to come and help him investigate Father Andy Walsh, a troublesome liberal Catholic priest. A woman with ties to Father Walsh's murky past is found dead in an alley behind a hotel and the Cardinal wonders if Andy could have had anything to do with it. When Gregor arrives, however, he witnesses the murder of Father Walsh during the Ash Wednesday service at St. Agnes Church in full view of hundreds of parishoners. What follows is a lucid, fascinating investigation into these murders.

Precious Blood had great characters...the Irish Cardinal O'Bannion; the nun from the Sisters of Divine Grace, Sister Mary Scholastica; Barry Field, the bad boy Catholic turned into an anti-Catholic radio talk show host, etc. The plot was intricate and ingenious with many twists and turns, and it was well-paced throughout. I enjoyed the detailed setting at the St. Agnes parish, and the interesting information on the Catholic Church and its practices and politics. ( )

Second in the Gregor Demarkian series. I read the last in this series and enjoyed it so much I'm working through the whole series. Gregor is a retired FBI profiler of serial killers. He retired during his wife's final illness and now, being retired and a widower, he is at loose ends. A Catholic Cardinal asks him to investigate a case in a parish in Colchester, New York. A woman died there, apparently a suicide, but the Cardinal and one of the homicide detectives think it was murder. Demarkian attends a service the day after he arrives, and the priest, Andy Walsh, a rebellious stirrer of trouble, drinks from the chalice and dies in front of the large congregation.

Well-written book, both in plot and characters, but not as much my cup of tea as the other two in the series I've read. ( )

In this, the second in the Gregor Demarkian series, Demarkian travels to Colchester, NY at the request of John Cardinal O'Bannion. Originally, the Cardinal archbishop wanted Demarkian to help him get rid of a maddening marverick priest, Father Andy Walsh. But after the death of a former parishioner to whom Fr. Walsh had personal ties, the archbishop now wants Demarkian's help in investigating the death, which the local police have decided is suicide, a conclusion with which the archbishop is uncomfortable. Before Demarkian can truly get started on the investigation, Fr. Walsh is murdered, at Mass, right in front of Demarkian's eyes.

We meet the Sisters of Divine Grace, a "modernized" order of nuns who have an integral role in the plot. In addition, we also get a good-humored, affectionate look at the Roman Catholic church, its very human clergy and religious and its often chaotic functioning. All this enlivens the story enormously.

The plot is good and at times ingenious. The characterization is also good, especially that of the domineering archbishop and one of the nuns, Sister Scholastica. Other supporting characters are believable. The main subplot is full of humor in its look at the not-so-subtle art of political practice. Ex-FBI agent Demarkian is a believable and refreshing protagonist.

The post Vatican II split between liberals and conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church as well as fundamentlist Evangelical Protestantism are given sympathetic but realistic treatment as part of the texture of the story.

Well written with a light hand and a nice comic touch. This is no hard-boiled police procedural but a quick and entertaining mystery read with likable recurring characters. Highly recommended ( )