A Gentle Murderer

By Dorothy Salisbury Davis

Book Overview

He came to confess a murder. Then he vanished. Now a priest and a detective must race to stop him--one seeking redemption, the other justice.

In the quiet of a New York church, a shaken young man steps into the confessional. His voice is raw. He's killed someone--he says he didn't mean to--and he's still holding the hammer. Before Father Duffy can act, the man disappears into the night.

The next morning, a woman is found bludgeoned to death. For Father Duffy, the confessor becomes a moral burden he cannot ignore. For NYPD Sergeant Ben Goldsmith, it's a case of motive and madness. Neither man knows the other is searching for the same tormented soul--one trying to save him, the other to stop him.

With unforgettable psychological intensity and dual protagonists navigating justice from opposite moral grounds, A Gentle Murderer delivers a soul-deep confessional arc that lingers long after the final page. Grand Master Dorothy Salisbury Davis's classic noir combines elegant prose with haunting emotional depth, earning comparisons to Patricia Highsmith and Graham Greene.

Praise for A Gentle Murderer:

"A simmering tour de force of detection from both ends of the trail..." -- Kirkus Reviews

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1728271959
• ISBN13: 9781728271958
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

The title of this book is what first caught my eye.

I had never heard of the book or the author, but was intrigued by anyone being a "gentle murderer." And with this story, the reader knows who the murderer is from the very beginning. But I found myself quite caught up in following those who don't know who he is. The first person looking for the killer is the priest who tried to help him in the confessional. Father Duffy hopes that the killer will go to the police, but soon realizes that this isn't going to happen. So he begins his search for the man who reminded him of pictures of St. Francis. And when the murder is discovered, the police are soon also looking for this unknown killer. Sergeant Ben Goldsmith begins his search. The question becomes, can either the priest or the police find the killer before there is a risk that he might kill again? As the search continues, Duffy and Goldsmith's paths cross. And they both know how important it is to find this killer.