book cover of City of God
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City of God

(1992)
(Murder at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
(The third book in the Bill Donovan series)
A novel by

 
 
Publisher's Weekly
New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the world's largest Gothic structure, provides an eerie and atmospheric venue for a serial murderer out to sweep the moneychangers from the temple. Bill Donovan, head of the NYPD's West Side Major Crime Unit (last encountered in Death Games ), is called to investigate the fatal bludgeoning of Dale Charbaux, a promoter staging a silent film festival in St. John's, which has broadened its outreach to include community activities with little or no religious bearing. Further murders of men using or enabling the use of the cathedral for secular purposes set Donovan on a personal quest for a killer who calls himself Marcus (St. Augustine's given name). As Donovan searches through the labyrinthine corridors and forgotten rooms of the enormous building, his approaching marriage with black policewoman Marcie Barnes is endangered when her best friend is murdered during the New York Marathon and Marcie becomes obsessed with revenge. Despite an occasional infelicitous turn of phrase, Jahn shows sensitivity in depicting a biracial relationship, and he captures Manhattan's Upper West Side with gritty realism and touches of mordant humor.

Library Journal
Bustling New York harbors a psychotic killer who, viewing himself as a latter-day St. Augustine protecting the ''City of God,'' bashes people who desecrate the cathedral of St. John the Divine. Series detective Bill Donovan moves into the labyrinthine church to stalk the killer, possibly jeopardizing his relationship with black girlfriend-policewoman Marcie, who wants him to help her find the thugs who killed her best friend on the edge of Central Park. Tandem cases cram the story with detail and personal conflict, while energized prose adds excitement. A great procedural from the author of Night Ritual.


Genre: Mystery

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