Pious Deception
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Former medical examiner Kiernan O'Shaughnessy investigates a scandalous suicide in a Catholic church
Quick-witted, precise, and comfortable with corpses, Kiernan O'Shaughnessy was perfectly suited to life as a medical examiner. In her four years with the coroner's office, she never had one unhappy shift until the day they let her go. Enraged and adrift, she made her way to La Jolla, California, to set up a high-class private investigation service for medically suspicious deaths. She works only the cases she wants, and charges a steep enough fee that she can afford a cherry red Triumph and a former NFL player as a houseman. Her latest client is one of the biggest moneymakers on the planet: the Roman Catholic Church.
A troubled young priest is found hanged in Mission San Leo in Phoenix, Arizona. Hoping to avoid scandal, the bishop bypasses the police, and hires Kiernan to determine whether the death was an accident or a suicide. They ask her to be quiet, but the secrets she uncovers will make her want to sing louder than any church choir.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Susan Dunlap including rare images from the author's personal collection.
Pious Deception is the 1st book in the Kiernan O'Shaughnessy Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the promising start to a new detective series by the author of the Jill Smith mysteries, a young priest is found hanged in particularly compromising circumstances in his parish church in Phoenix, Ariz. To determine whether the death was suicide or murder, the diocese's bishop calls upon Kiernan O'Shaughnessy, a young medical examiner turned private eye. Kiernan runs into obstacles at every turn, not the least of which are the cremation of the priest's body before an autopsy could be performed and her name forged on his false death certificate. While struggling with her own painful memories dredged up by the case, Kiernan uncovers a clan of hostile mountain villagers, a bizarre castle, a hidden shelter for abused women, and the diocese's plan to build an elegant retreat-resort in the nearby White Bone Mountains. Feisty Kiernan has appeal, but her debut is overburdened with subplots, complaints about the weather and hard-to-credit emotional conflicts regarding Kiernan's sister.
