There’s so many directions a reviewer could go with Carl Brookins’ Sins of Edom. The mystery is one of his Senior Sleuth novels featuring Alan Lockem, a retired army intelligence officer and his partner, Marjorie Kane, a retired exotic dancer with exceptional computer research skills. It’s a mystery involving a murder at a church for those who appreciate that setting. And, then there’s the title itself, Sins of Edom. Edom was mentioned by the prophet Obadiah in the Bible as a land south of Judah and the Dead Sea. For the sake of the story, it doesn’t hurt to know that the Edomites were descended from Esau, the red-headed twin brother of Jacob. And, the Edomites were known for their copper-mining.
Of course, Alan and Marjorie know none of this background when they are asked to investigate a murder in a community church in the Twin Cities area. Some of the church women contact Marjorie, and she and Alan agree to look into the murder of the church’s pastor, the Reverend Martin Elliot. Yes, there’s a murder investigation, but Alan and Marjorie have strong ties and a working relationship with many of the Saint Paul and Minneapolis police departments.
Once the crime scene investigators have finished their work, Alan is allowed to examine the church where Elliot and a woman, Delilah Cooper, were shot and killed. Of course, the first thought is there’s some sort of relationship between the victims since the church secretary and Elliot’s widow don’t seem to know Delilah. But, as Alan and Marjorie dig into the past, they can’t seem to find a connection between the two. They do find Delilah’s link to another woman who resembles her, but with no known relationship.
They also find that the Church owns a painting with a mysterious history. It’s called “Sins of Odom”. The painting was supposed to have been painted by Talagiease, a friar. If it’s authentic, it could be worth a million dollars. The painting seems to have attracted a great deal of recent interest. Could Elliot and Cooper have died because of that painting?
When Marjorie and Alan visit the widow, she already has company, an old friend of her husband’s. Their visit is interrupted by a quartet of bikers with Biblical names, including Obadiah and Joel. While the widow says her husband worked with the bikers, Marjorie and Alan aren’t impressed. And, they seem to notice more motorcycles than usual as they investigate.
Sins of Edom takes the sleuths in multiple directions. Alan finds it frustrating at times that there seems to be so many threads. But, someone finds the two researchers to be frustrating, too, and the couple finds themselves in danger.
The mystery was intriguing, with two amateur sleuths who are retired from their first careers, and a little too old to be action heroes. That doesn’t mean they’re incapable, though. They’ve developed computer and networking skills, and they’re capable researchers. They rely on their brains and experience, their abilities to size up people, rather than physical skills. Readers looking for capable amateur sleuths, or mysteries involving a church, or art mysteries, will not be disappointed in this puzzle.
I have one complaint. The book needed a copy editor. There were too many inconsistencies with names. In multiple places, a librarian was referred to as Edna or Mrs. Johnson on one page, and Edna Larson on another. One character was referred to as David Klein, but sometimes David Kline. I proofread my high school yearbook for two years, with an emphasis on accuracy of names. These inconsistencies threw me out of the story because they jumped out at me. But, this was a copy editing problem, not a problem with the story itself.
There’s no problem with the puzzle, the amateur sleuths, or the story itself in Brookins’ mystery. Read Sins of Edom for the story. Ignore the few errors.
Carl Brookins’ website is http://carlbrookins.com/
Sins of Edom by Carl Brookins. 9780996999137 (paperback), 265p.
FTC Full Disclosure – The author sent a copy of the book with no expectations of a positive review.
