Daniel Byrne has been sent by the Vatican's Office of Devil's Advocate (which has been disbanded but still unofficially works) to debunk Tim Trinity's voices and prophecies. Turns out that Tim Trinity is his uncle and raised him after his mother's death. There is a lot of bad blood between the two of them and Daniel wants badly to debunk his uncle. But Daniel is not sure the uncle is running a con this time. Not only does the Vatican want him debunked but so do the odds makers and mob in Las Veg...more Daniel Byrne has been sent by the Vatican's Office of Devil's Advocate (which has been disbanded but still unofficially works) to debunk Tim Trinity's voices and prophecies. Turns out that Tim Trinity is his uncle and raised him after his mother's death. There is a lot of bad blood between the two of them and Daniel wants badly to debunk his uncle. But Daniel is not sure the uncle is running a con this time. Not only does the Vatican want him debunked but so do the odds makers and mob in Las Vegas. He is ruining the betting. Who is after Tim and who will stop him? I liked this thriller. There was a lot of action and adventure. Daniel is a priest with a lot of questions. Tim was a con man but claims he now believes in God and his prophecies. Both have to decide what is the truth but they have to stay alive to find the answers for which they are searching. The characters are interesting. Daniel is pulled in different directions. Anger and hatred from the past. Questioning the existence of God. Questioning his bosses and others like them. Questioning if he made the right choice to go into the priesthood. Tim knows he ran a con when Daniel was with him as a boy. He can spot cons now as he sees other on the tent revival circuit. He tries to be honest but with him Daniel can never be sure. A good thriller that brings good secondary characters into the story to aid or hinder Daniel and Tim. New Orleans features prominently in the story as the answers are there to the past and the future. Well worth reading

 

Big City, Bad Blood

Author: Sean Chercover

Published: January 2007 by William Morrow & Co

Category: Crime/Thriller/Suspense

 

"A disillusioned newspaper reporter turned private detective, Ray Dudgeon isn’t trying to save the world. He just wants to do an honest job, and do it well. But when doing an honest job threatens society’s most powerful and corrupt, Ray’s odds for survival make for a sucker’s bet. . . .

 

While working on a movie in Chicago, Hollywood locations manager Bob Loniski saw something he shouldn’t have. Now he’s a prosecution witness against a suspected member of the Chicago Outfit. Petrified, he comes to Ray for protection. Ray’s mob contacts insist that they have no interest in Loniski, so he takes the bodyguard gig.

 

Then people start dying and everything goes to hell."

 

 

My Review

 

Bob Loniski is a Hollywood locations manager. After renting a warehouse for use in a movie set he finds out it’s part of a real estate scam run by the Chicago Mafia. Fearing for his life after he agrees to testify Bob engages the services of PI Ray Dudgeon as his bodyguard.

 

Ray Dudgeon is an ex newspaper reporter turned PI, a hard drinker who works to his own principles and ideals, and could be described as hard-boiled (a cliché, I know, but it fits) with a sensitive side. I like the way his back story is revealed as the story progresses. Philip Marlowe sprang to mind initially but I think there are a couple of others in there too.

 

A really good story, action packed with well developed and believable characters. Very atmospheric and gritty, the main part of the story takes place in Chicago and peripherally in Hollywood and Washington DC. Chicago’s seedier side is shown with corrupt officials and mobsters running things but also the vibrant, exciting side too and it’s very evident in the real and genuine descriptions of Chicago, the Mafia, the workings of Private Investigators and the Police, and the interaction between them, that the author knows an awful lot about what he writes. It’s a very apt title as the big city has an abundance of bad blood. There’s a very graphic torture scene that made my toes curl.

 

Although the bad guys are known from the beginning, following Ray as he does what he can to keep Loniski alive is full of tension and realism. I thought the supporting cast were well drawn, diverse and interesting. I only recently found Mr Chercover’s work when I listened to The Trinity Game, which I loved. This is completely different but still very enjoyable. I have Trigger City ready in my TBR pile.

The Trinity Game

Author: Sean Chercover

Performed by Luke Daniels

Released: July 2012 by Audible

Published by Brilliance Audio

Category: Thriller/Suspense

 

Daniel Byrne is a priest working for a secret branch of the Vatican, the Office of the Devil’s Advocate, investigating the validity of so-called miracles reported around the world. When he is charged with investigating his uncle, the Reverend Tim Trinity, Daniel has no doubt he will debunk the claims of his uncle’s miraculous happenings in no time at all.

 

Daniel has been estranged from his uncle since he discovered Trinity was just a con man extorting money from his ‘flock’ and not a man of faith as Daniel had believed.

However when Daniel arrives in Atlanta, from where his uncle now operates, he finds things are not at all as straightforward as he imagined.

 

My Review

 

A very well crafted and exceptionally engaging story which, although it seems clearcut at the start, quickly evolves into an engrossing, fast paced and suspenseful plot with an interesting cast of  well-developed characters. The writing has depth and the imagery is vivid, both in the characterisation and the descriptions of places and situations.

 

Daniel and Tim Trinity are especially intriguing and likeable characters, each troubled in their own way. Daniel because he’s growing increasingly disillusioned with the church, unsure of it’s credibility and still has feelings for his ex girlfriend. Tim because he has a complete epiphany and turns out to be the kind of person Daniel always wanted him to be.

 

Although the general topic of the story is religion, in one form or another, it’s so much more complex than just that. Daniel and Tim, both on a kind of journey of self discovery albeit coming from different directions, are embroiled in conflicts, within the church and with fanatics and mobsters, which result in a highly charged and thrilling ride.

 

The multi-layered subject matter has been well researched, including the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The aspects of religion and belief, both negative and positive, are handled and explored in a very astute way. Even down to the concept of someone being able to predict the future in a weird and wonderful way. And, although there’s an explanation of sorts at the end, would that really cause a phenomenon like the one described.

 

I love this book and am really glad there will be more. Luke Daniels’ narration is terrific, he does a great job with Tim Trinity and if he ever needs another profession a travelling preacher might just be the ticket ;-) He ups the tension with the action scenes and the menace of the bad guys is distinct.

 

Überraschend gelungener Thriller im Wander- und TV-Prediger-Milieu, angenehm trocken und auf den Punkt. Sean Chercover werde ich im Auge behalten!

"The Trinity Game" by Sean Chercover is a most unusual and intellectually pleasing -- and challenging -- suspense novel. It raises religious and philosophical issues which are quite profound, issues which most novels of the genre would not even dare approach.

There are actually two protagonists here. One is Daniel Byrne, a young Catholic priest whose job for the church is to investigate and debunk miracle claims all around the world. Daniel lost both his parents when he was an infant and was raised by an uncle who was a traveling preacher and evangelist, a con man. His "stage" name is Tim Trinity.

Daniel deserted his uncle at the age of thirteen and began a lifetime of looking for a true miracle in order to renew the faith he had lost upon realizing that his uncle was a fraud and a scam artist. Good at it, too. Trinity is the second protagonist.

After fourteen years as a priest, Daniel is assigned by the church to investigate his own uncle. Trinity had always spoken in tongues as part of his act, but lately his particular tongues have emerged as an apparent miracle. Not only is he speaking perfect English backwards, but his utterances, when decoded, are prophecies. And all of them are one hundred percent correct, down to every fantastic detail. Now Daniel becomes a supporter instead of a debunker. Trinity is scamming no more. He is a walking miracle.

Read the whole review at: http://www.examiner.com/review/the-trinity-game-by-sean-chercover-a-thriller-that-s-out-of-the-ordinary