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William Heffernan
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Unholy Order: A Paul Devlin Mystery (The Paul Devlin Mysteries) Kindle Edition

by William Heffernan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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A woman is dead, her throat and midsection viciously slashed open, a lethal dose of heroin found in her system. But what makes this grisly New York outrage different from all the others -- and tosses the "red-ball" squarely in Detective Paul Devlin's lap -- is the fact that this victim was a nun. Blistering heat is coming down from the mayor's office, One Police Plaza, and the Archdiocese, so Devlin needs to find a murderer, and fast. But suddenly walls are being made to derail an investigation that is leading Paul Devlin and his people in a shocking direction: into the secret, fortified heart of the Catholic Church itself -- and toward a terrifying conspiracy cloaked in silence, piety, and blood that extends wider than anyone ever imagined.

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  1. Book 7 of 7
    Paul Devlin Mysteries
  2. Print length
    276 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    HarperCollins e-books
  5. Publication date
    November 30, 2010
  6. File size
    4.5 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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There are 7 books in this series.
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

HThere's a lot to like about Edgar Award winner Heffernan's (The Dinosaur Club; Red Angel) f1fth thriller featuring Paul Devlin and his elite NYPD homicide squad. First, like Polly, Heffernan knows how to put the kettle on and keep it boiling right till the end. No mean feat. Second, his characters, however dire the circumstances, never lose their sense of humor. Even his villains, a motley and murderous crew, usually find something with which to amuse themselves as they go about their grisly work. Third, the author's people never do anything stupid. Devlin's case is the proverbial time bomb: a nun, just returned from Colombia, is found dead, her body mutilated. Apparently, she was forced to swallow condoms filled with heroin and then murdered for their retrieval. She was a member of a special, and most powerful, order in the Catholic Church, the Opus Christi, which is reluctant to cooperate with the investigation. If this weren't enough to complicate Devlin's job, Catholic priests known to have AIDS are being murdered alphabetically. How does the killer know who they were and where to find them? Devlin knows he has very little time before the press blows up the story, while the archdiocese comes down on the mayor to cover up the uglier details. Heffernan builds enough tension to have his readers squirming in their chairs. His cops are smart, his villains deliciously evil. This is the stuff we read thrillers for. Agent, Gloria Loomis. (Jan. 29)Forecast: With The Dinosaur Club currently under development by Warner Brothers, a teaser chapter in the mass market edition of Red Angel (Dec.), a regional (New England) author tour, plus possible controversy from the depiction of the Catholic Church,

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Former New York Daily News reporter Heffernan brings back his popular series hero, Inspector Paul Devlin, who must piece together a puzzle involving a dead nun (who may have been smuggling drugs in from Colombia), a murdered priest (who was dying of AIDS), and an offshoot of the Catholic Church that may be home to a conspiracy of epic proportions. It's a fascinating story, but it is occasionally marred by the author's clunky expository technique. Several early scenes are constructed so that one of the characters can supply information via lectures to the reader; these long monologues are interrupted periodically by clumsy questions, as when Devlin asks a priest to explain what he means by the term cult. Does Heffernan expect us to believe Devlin doesn't know the difference between a cult and a religious order? Clumsy exposition aside, the book is solidly plotted and decently suspenseful. There's plenty for mainstream thriller fans to enjoy, provided they can avoid being offended when Heffernan climbs atop his soapbox. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003SE7N2I
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins e-books; Reprint edition (November 30, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 30, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.5 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 276 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0380818825
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

About the author

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William Heffernan

William Heffernan

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WILLIAM HEFFERNAN is the Edgar Award–winning author of nineteen novels, including the international best sellers 'The Corsican' and 'The Dinosaur Club,' as well as 'The Dead Detective,' 'When Johnny Came Marching Home,' 'A Time Gone By,' 'Cityside,' and 'Beulah Hill.' He divides his time between his forty-foot trawler in Florida and visits to his children around the country. Prior to turning to fiction thirty-six years ago, Heffernan was a New York City newspaper reporter who was nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize. 'The Scientology Murders' his latest novel.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
37 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great blizzard read
    Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Believable and well developed characters, all of whom could share top billing. Plot creation fast paced and thorough. Great story. I was totally absorbed and amused by comic characters and dialogue. My first work by this author and I am definitely going to try another. What a wonderful escape from the rigors of winter.
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  • Eric C. Welch
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good police procedural with some skimmable parts
    Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Paul Devlin is a New York police inspector, a rank recently reinstated by the mayor for Paul who answers only to Hizzoner and who is assigned the most politically sensitive investigations. He has a small unit, including Sergeant Sharon Levy, a drop-dead gorgeous lesbian (stop snickering, at least we don't have to worry about a relationship between the two.) A nun has been found in the long-term parking lot of JFK with her belly slit open to retrieve several condoms filled with heroin she had swallowed, her throat cut. A gay priest with AIDS with his throat cut is soon also discovered and now Devlin has a PR nightmare on his hands. (The scene where Devlin and Levy face off with Matthew (his colleague is John.......wait, here come the inevitable...) is a priceless display of power.

    I downgraded the book a little because it occasionally splits into two different books: one, a good police procedural and the other, ruminations on ill-considered Catholic policies toward gay priests, celibacy, etc. I think the Catholic Church is just a beached whale that doesn't realize it's out of the water, so I have no problem with the little asides, but they didn't integrate well with the rest of the story. They weren't necessary. Another example: Opus Christi in the book which is clearly intended to be Opus Dei. Again, I rather enjoy exposing both Opi for their silliness and corruption, but the characterization is a bit extreme.

    Nevertheless, it was a fun story with some skimmable parts.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • C. Christensen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
    Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This is an entertaining book about a fanatical religious order which is in bed with a drug cartel. Needless to say, a bad combination. The mystery is solved by the good work of Paul Devlin and his crew.
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  • TrilliumHills
    2.0 out of 5 stars Boring, no surprises, one dimensional characters and offensive to Catholics to boot..
    Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The title of my review says it all. I did finish this book but only so I could review it and keep others from wasting their time. Every character is both a stereotype and one dimensional. Every cliche is used for both gays, homophobic person, detectives, priests, et. There are NO surprises at all and no suspense. To top it off there is definitely a anti religion/anti catholic theme through entire book. Awful book
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  • sonofthesea
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good read!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Not the typical book I would read, but I found the writing and story quite compelling. A very good read!
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  • Paul
    3.0 out of 5 stars not so good
    Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Bought for my sister because she luvs heffernan. She didnt get past chapter four.
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  • William J. Tennison
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story with well developed characters
    Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    This book presented an interesting concept regarding religous zealots. The point that this takes place within the Catholic church vs other religous sects, provides an interesting background that most people have a general understanding of.
    The characters are well developed. It was hard to put this book down.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Mary Ann Newman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Great book!
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