Harlot’s Moon by Ed Gorman

This is the third Robert Payne mystery by Ed Gorman. It is about justice, both real and perceived. There’s a subplot that shows some redemption of the main character as he resolves issues with his stepfather.

A priest is found murdered in a hotel room. That initial situation opens up a plethora of avenues for the story to go. Robert Payne is a legal investigator for a prestigious Cedar Rapids law firm (yes, there is such a thing). Payne was a former FBI profiler. He uses his profiling skills during the investigation. The monsignor of the dead priest’s parish asks him to help with the investigation, even though Payne has no legal authority doing so.

A unique feature of this book is that it is split into five sections. Each section starts with a police interview of a suspect for some deranged crime. This is followed by a vignette of that suspect showing the type of demented, twisted person he or she is. Each of those five are also murder victims themselves. The reader knows they are probably related to the dead priest, but Payne doesn’t at first. He suspects it because he finds newspaper articles about each murder in the dead priest’s personal effects.

The mystery is strong. Gorman’s writing is concise and flows well. The story carried me through. The characters are well developed. The setting is mainly the rectory and parish the dead priest belongs to. There are a number of red herrings and rabbit trails Payne goes down in trying to solve the mystery.

Being born and raised in Cedar Rapids, it was interesting from that perspective as well. Especially since I moved out of CR in 1979, so this book showed some of the newer aspects, both good and bad of the city.

This book is raw and brutal. Heavy profanity. Sexual situations. Some graphic. Violence especially from the profiled murder victims at the beginning of each section. Not at all a clean read. It was written in 1997, so there are some situations and language that would not be found in recent novels, as they would be considered politically incorrect in our don’t ever offend anyone society. If you can get past all that, it’s a good read. Not the best Gorman I’ve read, but still a captivating book.

I’ll rank this one this one number fourteen for this year. Still a four-star book despite the grittiness.

1. The Record Keeper by Charles Martin
2. The Samaritan’s Patient by Chevron Ross
3. Days Coming by Pat Simmons
4. The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
5. The Maid by Nita Prose
6. Where is My Sister by Jane Daly
7. Braving Strange Waters by Sarah Hanks
8. Another Ending by Sara Whitely
9. Blood Red Deceit by Steve Rush
10. The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman
11. The Sacred Bridge by Anne Hillerman
12. Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke
13. A Vanishing Act by Edwina Kiernan
14. Harlot’s Moon by Ed Gorman
15. Cali’s Hope by John Matthew Walker
16. Field Training by Patrick O’Donnell
17. Deadly Pursuit by Elle Gray
18. American Prophet by Jeff Fullmer

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