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5.0 out of 5 stars
12th Chris Bennett maybe best - terrific Sister Joseph plot, Sep 24 2002
We've had reasonably high praise for all the previous entries in the ex-nun Christine Bennett series, using such words as pleasant and relaxing to describe these consistently nice clean murder puzzlers, many of which hark up events long since past. In this one, the 12th (of 14 so far), the people and tone we consistently like are back, with husband Jack now finished with law school and holding a new administrative position with the police department; and son Eddie now a toddling two-and-a-half years old. We continue to enjoy watching the family grow and mature.This story features a particularly compelling plot - a little higher level of intrigue than usual increases the suspense and tension right along with the speed at which the pages turn! Early on, a young woman lands at Chris' doorstep professing to be a nun from the old convent with a troubling secret - she is in fact the Mother Superior's actual birth daughter. Chris can hardly believe something this shocking about her mentor and dear friend, Sister Joseph, whom we readers also know quite well from appearances in virtually every tale. After just a couple of days with Chris, the young woman is suddenly murdered at a nearby neighborhood property, and the initial investigation reveals her to be an imposter. Too make matters more compelling, the early clues point to Sister Joseph as a potential suspect, even with the police unaware of the secret (that would provide powerful motive) agonizing Chris to explore and unravel. The rest of the story obviously deals with discovering the murderer, not easy, and unearthing the truth about the "daughter" claim, which looks more likely with every passing page. Chris even travels to Ohio (making it sound like Thailand or something!) to look into matters near the time of the victim's birth and supposed adoption, flying and renting cars and such - all pretty foreign to our sheltered leading lady. A great twist at the end only puts more icing on a sweet cake. So - all the good stuff is back, and to us, a particularly gripping story line makes this perhaps the best Lee Harris to date. Bring on #13!
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