Mostly told from Eddie’s heated perspective, this sprawling thriller captures the mind, mouth, and world of an aggrieved cop who gets that the IA officer assigned to him blames “systemic racism and toxic masculinity for breeding scumbags like me.” When a second priest goes missing, and a flinty federal agent starts poking around with next-level brusqueness, Rodriguez will find his assumptions about everything challenged, especially once he learns that Centenos and the NYPD may be trying to hush something up. One surprise, expressed in a sharp narrative voice that playfully tweaks pulp-fiction masculinity: that the FBI’s Special Agent Murray has “the kind of body a navy-blue pantsuit couldn’t ruin.”
That line’s clipped power and comic edge exemplify the authors’ prose, which pulses memorably as Vigilante Priest digs into a tricky investigation that will wreak havoc within the department and on Eddie’s own life—the suspense comes from the lengths the powerful will go to shut Eddie down. Despite brisk, striking sentences, the plotting tends toward the baggy, the novel taking its time with an investigation where readers are ahead of the cops. Often, though, the authors use the extra length well, delving into character—like Eddie’s family—and even welcome comedy. The scene where Agent Murray catches Eddie daydreaming about Chris Pine playing him in a movie is irresistible.
Takeaway: Epic procedural of a Bronx cop, missing priests, and organized vengeance.
Comparable Titles: Alex Kava’s A Necessary Evil, Jeff Spence’s The Priest Hunter.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B+
What is good? What is evil? Can good come from evil? These are thought provoking questions that come up when reading this fascinating novel that is told with several interesting subplots that are filled with stark realism combined with dark humor and that ultimately ends with a much needed sense of hope. The authors raise these age-old questions using a unique moral twist that provides the reader with a great deal to think about once the final page is read - a highly recommended read for anyone who ponders the mysteries of life.
