Unholy City: A Claire Codella Mystery

(Hardback)

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Description

Despite their rocky history, Detective Claire Codella and Precinct Detective Brian Haggerty come together when senior churchwarden Philip Graves's bloody body is found lying in the herb garden of historic St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Manhattan's Upper West Side just two days before Good Friday. Upon first glance, it looks like a random act of big city violence, but it soon becomes clear churchwarden Philip's death was the result of a meticulously calculated ploy by someone who knew him. There are five vestry members and a choir director in addition to the ten homeless men asleep in the church basement. Any one of them could have done it, but what did Philip Graves do to warrant such a merciless death Struggling to share the case and salvage their personal relationship, Claire, Brian and trusted Detective Eduardo Mun_x0303_oz work around the clock to uncloak the desires, secrets, and resentments that find home through the iron gates and into the hidden beauty of one historic Romanesque church in Unholy City, the haunting third installment in Carrie Smith's Claire Codella mysteries.

Reviews

Praise for Unholy City:
"A clever, twisted, and utterly gripping read. Carrie Smith has created a winner of a series, and this new chapter may be the most surprising one yet."
Alison Gaylin, USA Today bestselling author What Remains of Me

"Smiths first-rate police procedural provides plenty of likely suspects and a clever detective."
Kirkus Reviews

Smith bolsters her seemingly straightforward procedural with well-developed characters...Readers will want to see more of the capable Codella."
Publishers Weekly

"Sharp [and] fast-moving...A sure bet for fans of police procedurals."
Booklist

Complicated...carefully executed.
RT Book Reviews

"Smiths deft contrast of emotion and tone is one of the many strengths of this impressive work of crime fiction."
Lambda Literary

Praise for Forgotten City:
WINNER OF THE 2017 KILLER NASHVILLE READERS CHOICE AWARD

Timely, heartbreaking, and compellingForgotten City is unforgettable.
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of Say No More

" Solid...Smith writes with sensitivity and nuance."
Publishers Weekly

"This well-crafted police procedural is recommended for admirers of Robin Burcell or Alafair Burke."
Library Journal

Steadfast police work is the key to success in Smiths second...[A] superb plot.
RT Book Review, 4 Stars

Quick-moving plot...Enjoyable.
Kirkus Reviews

Claire Codella...is a terrific character with a rich, complex backstory. For readers who like police procedurals, this is a good one...A real page-turner. The writing is crisp and the story is solid.
Seattle Book Review

Forgotten City is...tailor made for readers who enjoy their procedurals and detective-centred mysteries brisk and intelligent...Tightly plotted, thoroughly engaging.
Fab Book Reviews

Author Bio

Carrie Smith is the Senior Vice President, Publisher of Benchmark Education Company. Her writing awards include three Hopwood Awards from the University of Michigan and a fellowship to the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. She lives in Manhattan. This is her third Claire Codella mystery.