The Priest's Graveyard

Ted Dekker

Summary:

Two abandoned souls are on the hunt for one powerful man.

Danny Hansen is a Bosnian immigrant who came to America with hopes of escaping haunted memories of a tragic war that took his mother’s life. Now he’s a priest. Yet that does not stop him from acting as an avenging angel on those who stay within the criminal law but live outside the laws of love and compassion.

Renee Gilmore is the frail and helpless victim of one such powerful man. Having escaped his clutches, she now lives only to satisfy justice by destroying him, regardless of whom she must become in that pursuit.

Danny and Renee: Soon their paths will cross and lead to one twisted fate.

Plot:

Woah...this story will take everything you believe in, make you question it and then make you question the fact that you questioned it. An incredible story, although at times almost too dark and brutal to take, it’s thrilling and horrifying and mind-altering. The strange perspective of a killer for a hero, and the incredible twists throughout makes this a completely unique and very unsettling story.

Characters:

The characters in this book is way too complex to explain. I didn’t always understand their motivations, or their reasoning, but I still connected to them. I wouldn’t call them relatable exactly and yet I really started rooting for the main characters, even though they were doing truly awful things. The main male character is a serial killer, and it’s fascinating to see his reasoning and justifying of the truly horrible things he does. The female main character is a little less impressive in my eyes, but still a very interesting character.

Who should read this:

16+, the violence is truly disturbing, and so is the overall feel of the book. I would definitely recommend caution with this book. If you enjoy thrillers and want something different I don’t think I could think of a better choice for you...except maybe another one of Dekker’s books. This is the darkest book I’ve read by him, but I think it’s my second favourite, after Thr3e, it's definitely one I'll remember. Brad Meltzer said-'The Priest's Graveyard will haunt you-long after you want it to', and I agree.

My rating:

This book scared the living daylights out of me. Not just because of the violence etc, but because of the way it made me think. It’s an incredibly well-written book that is completely original and unlike anything I’ve read before. In the end I loved it, but the violence was a bit extreme. 4/5

Quote:

I had done some right to fix the wrong, hadn’t I?