Baker & Taylor Detective Lieutenant Vince Cardozo disobeys his superiors' commands and battles a cover-up at the highest level of city and ecclesiastical politics to investigate a serial killer preying on homeless teenagers
Baker & Taylor Detective Lieutenant Vince Cardozo disobeys his superiors' commands and battles a cover-up at the highest level of city and ecclesiastical politics to investigate a serial killer preying on homeless teenagers.
Blackwell North Amer In Mortal Grace, Lieutenant Vince Cordozo of the NYPD returns to tackle his most challenging case yet - an explosive mix of teenage runaways, fallen priests, ritual murder and police cover-up. A posh Upper East Side Episcopal church throws a celebrity-studded party in a landmark garden - but the fiesta is cut short with the discovery of a long-buried hamper containing the brutally dismembered body of a teenage girl. The autopsy reveals that the nameless victim was a prostitute who pushed the boundaries of her trade too far - and died with a puzzling residue of bread mold in her mouth. Haunted by the unsolved disappearance of his own teenage niece six years earlier, Cardozo pieces together evidence that a shadowy figure is stalking homeless teenagers - a "communion killer" who lures his prey with promises of salvation - whose trademark is a wafer left on the tongue of each victim - and who is being inexplicably protected by the most powerful politicians and churchmen in the city. Cardozo's investigation narrows to three priests: Chuck Romero, a tormented Catholic battling his own addictions and desires; Joe Montgomery, charismatic Episcopal confessor and companion to the moneyed and powerful; and Bonnie Ruskay, a beautiful and idealistic young mother dedicated to healing the breach between rich and poor, between herself and the children she was forced to renounce when she took holy orders. Cardozo and his partner Ellie Siegel must peel back layer after layer of riddles: why have four identical murders been investigated as unrelated homicides? Why does the D.A. deny church involvement? Why have the media blacked out the killings? And when the case is solved and the killer finally jailed, why do the communion killings begin again? Racing against the clock, disobeying his superiors' commands to back off, fighting a cover-up at the highest levels of power, Cardozo must uncover the grisly, startling truth before another innocent victim is sacrificed.
Random House, Inc. A posh, upper East Side Episcopal church throws a garden party, and the dismembered body of an unknown teenaged girl is found in a long-buried hamper. Called in to investigate, Lieutenant Vince Cardozo discovers a "communion killer" on the loose in New York City. Preying on homeless teenagers, the elusive killer leaves as his trademark a communion wafer in the mouth of each victim. Cardozo's suspicions focus on three priests: Father Chuck Romero, a Catholic struggling against his attraction toward young people; Father Joe Montgomery, a flamboyant Episcopalian, confessorand companion tothe city's moneyed and powerful; and Reverend Bonnie Ruskay, a beautiful and dedicated young mother trying to breach the walls that divide rich from poor, good from evil, and herself from her own children. Searching, Cardozo finds only riddles: Why does the D.A. deny church involvement? Why have four identical murders been investigated as unrelated homicides? Why have the media blacked out the killings? Why -- when the case is finally solved and the killer jailed -- do the communion killings begin again? Racing the clock, disobeying his superiors' command to back off, fighting a cover-up at the highest level of city and church politics, Cardozo must uncover the grisly truth before another child is killed.