The Scientology Murders

February 6, 2017
Edgar-winner Heffernan’s ambitious if flawed sequel to 2010’s The Dead Detective offers an engaging critique of the Church of Scientology. Det. Harry Doyle tangles with the secretive church in Clearwater, Fla., its spiritual headquarters, after his adoptive father is shot and seriously wounded while trying to rescue a young Scientologist who was targeted by the office of church discipline, then later found dead. As Doyle investigates outside his jurisdiction and off the books, the body count climbs. The crimes give Heffernan a chance to explore the bizarre tenets of the faith, sometimes through overly explanatory dialogue. The dual-procedural approach that chronicles both the police pursuit and the moves of the villains highlights the cartoonish nastiness of senior church officials. A slapdash pursuit to a remote Alaskan town feels tacked on and contrived, though the good guys—Doyle; his detective partner, Vicky Stanopolis; and Clearwater police sergeant Max Abrams—remain entertaining and appealing throughout. Agent: Gloria Loomis, Watkins Loomis Agency.

June 5, 2017
Heffernan works in a critique of the Church of Scientology into this cat-and-mouse tale, the second installment in his Dead Detective series. Det. Harry Doyle’s hunt for the person who shot and nearly murdered his adoptive father leads him to the secretive church in Clearwater, Fla., after he learns his dad was wounded while trying to rescue a young Scientologist who had gone rogue before turning up dead. Reader McLain, whose deep voice tends to be more relaxing than compelling during the expository sections, compensates for it when Heffernan revs up the action, focuses on sudden deaths, and lifts the lid on a couple of surprises. And he’s very good at embodying the author’s well-developed characters, especially the series’ protagonist. His Doyle experiences frustration, anger and even romance, and underlying all is his determination to apprehend the villain. An Akashic paperback.

March 1, 2017
Harry Doyle is finally back, after The Dead Detective (2010), and he's up against the Church of Scientology. (Harry, whose mother tried to kill him when he was 10, was revived after being clinically dead and left with the ability to intuit messages from murder victims.) Here ex-cop Jocko Doyle, Harry's adoptive father, tries to help an old colleague whose daughter has become involved in Scientology; it all goes bad when the young woman drowns and Jocko is shot. That sets Harry after the shooter, psychopathic Tony Rolf, who takes his task of enforcing Scientology's rules so seriously that he's leaving a trail of murdered women behind him. To preoccupy Harry, Scientologist leaders hire security-company honcho Meg Avery to lure him into bed, then defend his mentally ill mother, who comes after Harry after being released from prison. Action moves from Florida's Gulf Coast to the wilds of Alaska, where a most satisfying conclusion takes place. Heffernan pulls no punches in taking on Scientology (and, briefly, Tom Cruise) in this long-awaited return of Harry Doyle. Hard-boiled action with a layer of controversy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)