cover image Sacred Hearts: A Mystery Introducing Sister Agnes

Sacred Hearts: A Mystery Introducing Sister Agnes

Alison Joseph. St. Martin's Press, $22.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-312-14405-0

Even with red herrings enough to corner the market in kippers and a cast that could populate Billingsgate, the debut appearance of an appealing clerical detective shows plenty of promise. After spending 15 years in a cloistered convent, savvy Sister Agnes Bourdillon departs to work with runaway teenagers in her native London, assisting an old friend, Father Julius. Once there, she learns that her former husband, Hugo, is suspected of murdering his second wife, Phillipa, in a Gloucestershire village. Although she is still haunted by the physical and sexual abuse that prompted her to divorce Hugo, Agnes can't believe he'd actually kill a woman. She offers Hugo her help and easily gains the confidence of just about everyone she meets: Hugo's houseman admits his brother had an affair with Phillipa; the wife of a missing blackmailer gives Agnes some videotapes. Despite her continued support of the violent Hugo, Agnes applies her insight to others' motives and her sharp powers of observation to the evidence, besting the police with her investigative talents. (May)