Beyond the Bridge

Someone is crucifying Boston area priests in MacDonald’s unsuspenseful prequel to his promising debut, 2011’s The Charlestown Connection. Blackie Barboza, the brother of one of the victims, Fr. Netto Barboza, asks Dermot Sparhawk, who struggles with the bottle but has been occupying himself productively by operating a church food pantry, to look into Netto’s murder. Blackie also wants Sparhawk to posthumously exonerate his sibling from allegations of child molestation. The bishop soon charges Sparhawk with determining how the victims are linked. Too often, other characters tell Sparhawk what a good job he’s doing, even though the reader may feel the praise is overblown. Some infelicitous prose (e.g., “Her trim body and Irish face moved across the room with grace”) and improbable developments, such as the Suffolk County DA asking in confidence for novice Sparhawk’s assistance, don’t help. (Aug.)