A Blake Harte Mystery, Book 2 - Confessional

Okay, the first book gave readers a locked-room mystery to rival Agatha Christie.  This second book tries so hard to top that one (no pun intended) with a unique mystery that seems almost unsolvable.  I mean, let's face it - three elderly people die of heart attacks while giving a confession in Harmschapel's small church, and a fourth person is discovered dead in that very same confessional, apparently from a heart attack.  But how does a healthy 17-year old die of a heart attack?  That is what Detective Sergeant Blake Harte is going to find out!

Confessional is not only the title of the book, but it also appears to be the weapon whereby someone is murdering the citizens of Harmschapel.  The priest seems to think someone is purposely killing the people, but D.S. Harte is reluctant to jump to that conclusion - until a teenager turns up dead, at which point he has no choice but to start an investigation.  But there doesn't seem to be any connection between the victims.  One was a beloved janitor at the local college, two of them were bitter old women, and the fourth was a teenage jock.  Who would want them dead?

As with the first book, author Robert Innes slowly reveals the truth as Harte investigates into the lives of not only the four victims, but also into the people connected to them.  The priest was with three of them when they died.  The new priest, a young lesbian, seems to have an ax to grind with the two bitter old women.  The teenager, though, seems to be the odd one out, for which no connection can be found.  There are no hidden entrances to the confessional, no holes through which anyone could push a needle or blow in gas, and there are no marks on the victims' bodies to indicate foul play whatsoever.  Which, of course, begs the question - if they did not die naturally of heart attacks, what could have induced them?

Now, I'll be honest here - I pretty much figured out who did it and how that person did it from the very beginning.  The only thing I was not sure about was the why?  When it was ultimately revealed (and I was right!), the reason behind the murders all made sense.  And figuring it out pretty early did not ruin the enjoyment of the book at all - in fact, it made me enjoy it all the more, as I was anxious to learn the reason why.  And I don't think Innes made it easy to solve; I think it's more the fact that I have read so many mysteries and watched so many mystery shows that, at some point, some of these murders become easier to solve.

I also enjoy the continuing subplots of Harte's feelings for Harrison Baxter, the young man he helped save in the first mystery, as well as the emerging relationship between Officers Patil and Mattison.  Plus, in this book, we get more insight into Officer Gardiner's private life and why he's always so cantankerous, and there is a surprise revelation that I did not see coming (but did make sense, in a soap opera kind of way).  And, it must be mentioned, that I am so thankful that we have an author of a gay mystery series who keeps the focus on the mystery and doesn't feel the need to throw in overly graphic sexual encounters just the keep the reader interested.  The story was well-written on its own, with engaging characters and a well-plotted mystery, that nothing else was needed to keep my attention.

Looking forward to reading the next one in this series.  Definitely recommend this for any and all mystery fans!

RATING:  10 love bites out of 10 for keeping the story grounded and reminding readers that not every story has a happy ending.