Precious Blood

Gregor Demarkian #2

by Jane Haddam

In high school, Cheryl was an outcast, tolerated only because the boys considered her easy. But one night at Black Rock Park, the popular kids were strangely kind, and for the first time in her life, Cheryl’s future seemed bright. Twenty heartbreaking years later, Cheryl is dying of cancer, and wants to return to the one place where she ever knew true happiness. But there is something she doesn’t know about that night in Black Rock Park—and the classmates who once pretended to befriend her will kill to keep the secret buried.

After Cheryl is found poisoned, the case falls to Gregor Demarkian, a former FBI agent with a knack for solving small-town murders. To discover who killed this terminally ill woman, Demarkian will have to peer into the mysteries of the local Catholic church—and find the killer who is hiding behind a pious facade.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Religion, Cozy Mystery, Detective, 20th Century

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1991

About the author

Aka Orania Papazoglou

Jane Haddam (b. 1951) is an American author of mysteries. Born Orania Papazoglou, she worked as a college professor and magazine editor before publishing her Edgar Award–nominated first novel, Sweet, Savage Death, in 1984. This mystery introduced Patience McKenna, a sleuthing scribe who would go on to appear in four more books, including Wicked, Loving Murder (1985) and Rich, Radiant Slaughter (1988).

Not a Creature Was Stirring (1990) introduced Haddam’s best-known character, former FBI agent Gregor Demarkian. The series spans more than twenty novels, many of them holiday-themed, including Murder Superior (1993), Fountain of Death (1995), and Wanting Sheila Dead (2005). Haddam’s most recent novels are Blood in the Water (2012) and Hearts of Sand (2013). Wife of William L DeAndrea.

Reviews

[Blaine DeSantis]

Book 2 in this series and I really enjoy our main character, Armenian-American Gregor Demarkian. Here he is pulled into a series of mysterious deaths in upstate New York all of which are tied into the local Catholic Church. There is a lot of Catholic tradition that is a part of the book and sometimes there is a bit too much minutia but the characters are all real and the plot is ingenious. I did feel the book was about 50 pages too long, but it did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the book. Lots of red herrings, lots of fascinating characters and a solid entry in this series.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Gregor Demarkian mystery. Tibor's friend, Archbishop O'Bannion, has a problem. A young woman has been found dead in suspicious circumstances and Gregor is asked to investigate. Twenty years ago, six classmates were friends. Now two are priests, one a nun, one a successful businesswoman, one a virulent anti-Catholic TV Evangelist and another a good Catholic wife. What happened between the dead woman and these six people so many years ago? Gregor Demarkian discovers a crime that has come back to haunt them. However, the joy in this book is in the detail, the characters and the enjoyment of the world Jane Haddam has created. The first book in the series is, "Not a Creature was Stirring."

This was a re-read for me. I have always enjoyed Jane Haddam's Gregor Demarkian series and was saddened to hear of her recent death. If you enjoy good, character driven mysteries, such as those written by P.D. James or Caroline Graham, then you would certainly enjoy Jane Haddam's series.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Precious Blood (Gregor Demarkian, #2) by Jane Haddam.

This was the 2nd in the Demarkian series but It was my 23rd. I've gone back to read the books I may have missed.
I began this book and thought it may not be as good as Haddam's usually are. Demarkian wasn't at his usual locale with his usual cast of characters/neighbors, but I continued. Demarkian had been asked by Cardinal O'Bannion to assist in a situation at St. Agnes's Roman Catholic Church. So Demarkian leaves Cavanaugh Street, Bennis (his significant other) and all his family of neighbors to answer the request that his talents are needed elsewhere.
This whole situation brought me back to my high school days and the way some classmates were treated. It was apparent that Haddam could hit the nail on the head with this situation and how it could relate to most of us if we're honest. As it turned out Haddam waved her magic wand aka her writing pen and brought the characters to life. The story became more intriguing as I continued and Demarkian was magnificent in solving the unsolvable.
I just love this whole series and will continue until I finish reading the last in this marvelous series. My many thanks to the author...may she rest in peace.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been on the TBR stack since 2014. I have many of the next books in the series waiting for me also. I read the first book Not a Creature was Stirring around that time and immediately ordered the next books.

I enjoyed the book. Jane Haddam does her research and wrote a twisty layered mystery. It starts out when a woman who is dying with cancer returns returns to her home town. She was bullied and rejected her whole life time while living there. To get approval or affection, she had a reputation of being a easy teenager who the teen age boys lined up for. She comes back saying that one day which is her second happiest day on this earth happened here. She wants to talk to the 6 teenagers who were there that day. The six teenagers are ashamed, want to keep that day hidden and it is one of the worst days of their lives. They are trying to erase it from their memories. She turns up dead in an alley after talking to the now adults who were there that day. At first, it was called a suicide.

The Cardinal of the local Catholic Church feels something it wrong and it keeps bothering him. Retired FBI agent Gregor Demarkian is asked by a priest friend as a favor to travel to the town and see what he can find out.

More deaths occur. It is a layered twisty plot. There were many suspects. I did not have it solved until the author divulged the ending. It was a good read and I am looking forward to reading book 3 in the series.

[Debbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a bit slower in the beginning but once Demarkian shows up the pace picks up. There was less of his circle of friends on Cavanaugh Street in this particular book, which was too bad. Otherwise, Precious Blood was an enjoyable book.

My favorite quote: "[Father] Tibor had books the way other people had dust."

[Sally Atlas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different…in a good way

I am finding this series very enjoyable. I like the way the author transitions from the “back story” to the detective weaving subtle humor into some of the recurring characters.

[Jazz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Haddam's way of introducing her characters in short vignettes at the beginning of every book. But as much as I like this series in general, this entry fell short for me. Of the six titles I've read so far, "Precious Blood" is my least favorite. Perhaps it was the absence of secondary characters I had come to enjoy. In their place were characters that I never found to be particularly sympathetic. Additionally, the development of the story seemed painstakingly slow with excessive background information and introspection that bogged it down further. Still, I couldn't abandon it, as I might with a lesser novel. I wanted to know whodunnit, and the howdunnit was intriguing, even if the motive in the end struck me as out of proportion to the threat posed. Read this series by all means, but don't start with this one.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable mystery. I liked being introduced to Gregor Demarkian, the 'Armenian - American Hercule Poirot' again. It's unfortunate that his two side-kicks, Father Tibor and Bennis Hannaford, didnt' accompany him on this trip to Chesterfield, NY as they do add something to the Demarkian mysteries. Having said that, it was still an excellent mystery, well-paced and interesting. The resolving of the mystery was somewhat pat, but didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. It was well-written, well-paced and had interesting characters.

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery set in a church and so different from the one I just read.
I appreciate that Haddam explains all the terms when she uses obscure religious ones.

It took a little bit of settling into this story. The opening segments drew me in, then I couldn't quite figure out what was going on with Gregor and why Tibor wanted him to go to Colchester. Once I got past that I couldn't quit reading. Okay, quitting reading would mean I had to clean house, so that was an incentive to keep going. Still I liked the tale a lot. I didn't figure it out, it kept me guessing to who and motive.

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually liked this who-done-it because it felt like an old school mystery. Plus, it's all about the Catholic church and goes into the rituals and beliefs, so I found that interesting, as well. There wasn't blood and guts, just a sort of Murder She Wrote feeling. I really did see Angela Lansbury poking around, too. This was the first of the freebie reads.

[Sharla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd probably give it three and a half. It was good but a little heavy on the religious minutiae to suit me and I always hate it when a character I really like is one of the victims. Still, it was a page turner and I'm on to the next book in the series.

[Art Enyedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third novel I have read in Haddam's series starring retired FBI investigator Gregor Demarkian, though it is the second in the series. Each book is a different case, so they can be read in any order.

Precious Blood was published in 1991. Already it seems to be easing toward "historical mystery" - the 1990s were a different era than today's world. There was no social media, no cellphones, no DNA analysis - indeed, forensics are barely mentioned despite more than one murder being committed. People still read newspapers. Three of the top six kids from a high school class became Catholic priests or nuns. The cardinal is the most powerful citizen in the town of Colchester, NY. It still snows, despite the fact that the action takes place in April.

Haddam seems to like filling her books with a full cast of suspects - there are multiple characters described in this book, and Haddam takes us into the thoughts of many of them (without, of course, revealing which one is the killer).

Cheryl Cass - we know she's not the killer, she's the victim. Cass returns to her hometown of Colchester because she is dying of cancer and wants to have some final conversations with her high school friends. But it turns out Cass's memories of "the second happiest day of her life" are about events that everyone else would like to forget. There are constant references to a shocking scene that happened one night at Black Rock Park while they were all in high school, but it takes awhile for Haddam to reveal the lurid details of just what happened there.

The cigar smoking Cardinal John O'Bannion rules the upstate New York community. Although the police initially rule that Cheryl Cass committed suicide, the Cardinal is not convinced. He gets on the phone to Philadelphia and has his friend send the famous FBI detective Demarkian up to Colchester to investigate. When Demarkian gets to Colchester, he learns a lot about the six high school friends who were present at Black Rock Park on that infamous day. Those six are:

• Father Andy Walsh - the flamboyant pastor of St. Agnes parish, handsome, smart and cynical. He drives the Cardinal crazy with some of his stunts. Easter services are coming up, and Walsh has instructed that a live goat be brought to the church. Why? The Cardinal can only shudder to imagine what Walsh will do next. When Cheryl Cass returned to Colchester, she called the church and asked to meet him.

• Barry Field - once intended to enter the seminary and become a priest, but now hosts an anti-Catholic radio show that is growing in popularity. Andy Walsh was a high school friend, and regularly appears on the show, despite the anti-Catholic diatribes that Field spouts over the air. Might he harbor a secret that Cheryl Cass threatened to expose?

• Judy Egan - a wealthy woman who runs a catering service for the elite. It is her responsibility to bring the communal wine for the Easter mass to the church. Judy is married to Stuart, the local representative in the New York legislature - she loathes Stuart and finds him intolerable.

• Father Tom Doland - perpetually tired, Tom is the Cardinal's right hand man. Tom is tasked with more work than any man can handle, and his responsibilities are doubled during the Easter week. Coming from a poor family, Tom was the most sympathetic to Cheryl Cass of the six friends who were the rulers of their high school class.

•Kathleen Burke is now called Sister Scholastica, a brilliant nonsense nun that treated Cheryl Cass badly back in their high school days. Kathleen was dating the popular Andy Walsh, but Cass was known as a girl of easy virtue - might she still harbor resentment for events that happened twenty years prior?

•Peg Morrisey - pregnant and set give birth to twins. She too was at the infamous Black Rock Park, a crime scene so disturbing it made all the newspapers two decades ago.

Demarkian talks to all of these suspects, and the reader learns what he is thinking (but not everything!), and this propels the novel along. I was interested enough to keep reading to discover whodunnit, and why. Also, what was the deal with that goat that Father Walsh had brought to the church?

At one point, Demarkian thinks about the murder mystery novels he has been reading - he finds them mostly absurd - the detective figures out who the villain is, but then fails to arrest the culprit immediately. No real detective would act that way! Demarkian then realizes that logic points to only one possible the culprit, but he doesn't have any evidence to make an arrest. And of course, Precious Blood ends just like those Agatha Christie novels - where Demarkian gathers all the suspects into a room and then proceeds to explain his case before the gathered party before revealing who is the murderer and why.

At the end, I thought the murderer's actions were implausible. I doubt anyone has ever been killed in the described manner that causes the second death (Yes, it is not only Cheryl Cass who gets killed). But the story is interesting enough up until Demarkian points to the killer and explains why he/she acted as they did. I will probably read more books in the Demarkian series (there are 30 of them!)

[Lizzytish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first. Very heavy on Catholic terms and rituals. A good mystery though. Let’s see what the third book has to offer.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually, when a church is involved in a murder, it's around Christmas. This murder is around Easter, which is a nice change. It's set in northeast Pennsylvania, which is ridiculously cold around Easter, and the book points this out at every opportunity, although that is not at all relevant to the plot. The town is a very strict Catholic town, so Holy Week (the week before Easter) is a big deal. The various observances are intertwined with the murders, and everyone is so busy that there are lots of distractions to sidetrack Gregor from solving the case. Not to mention that some of the religious rules actively interfere with collecting and analyzing evidence. This is all mixed up with events that happened a number of years ago involving many of the characters in the story. Even though he doesn't like being compared to Hercule Poirot, Gregor really does have to pull off something out of one of those stories, including the dramatic group reveal at the end.

This is a pretty good mystery, but there is a LOT of religion involved. The book isn't out to convert anyone, but the religious observances and the details around them are important to the plot, so I learned a lot more about Catholicism than I thought I would from a mystery. I was raised Protestant, so some of the info was new to me and some was not. It does help to have an understanding of the ceremonies in Holy Week as well as the general layout of a church going into this book, but it's not necessary to be able to enjoy the mystery. I don't know much about how Catholic nuns live or what happens in parochial schools, but there's enough info in the book to get by. The twists in the mystery center around Catholicism, so the info about it is relevant. But you can still figure out what happened with only what the book gives you, which is nice.

The characters in the book are great. I wish Andy had more face time, since his perspective on everything was remarkably modern for a Catholic priest in the 90s. The relationships among Scholastic, Peg, Tom, the bishop, and a few of the other characters were fun to see as well. All of these characters went to the same school, and this is key to the events in the book. The dialogue is well-written, and the character motivations are consistent, although they may be revealed slowly. The plot drags a little in the beginning, which is weird because the first murder happens in the first chapter or two. I think the dragging feeling is because it takes a while to get things moving between that murder and the second one. Things pick up about a third of the way in and keep you reading after that. The end reveal is great. I wasn't too surprised by who was behind everything, but the way the murders were carried out was clever.

Gregor somehow manages to shred all of his ties in this book. I don't remember that from the first book, but maybe that will be a running joke in this series. I'll have to keep an eye out for that in future books.

4/5 for a slow start but an otherwise good mystery.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid mystery with one or two flaws that probably wouldn't bother most people. The main investigator is Armenian American who's been asked to consult in a case of a death in a town in upstate New York. The Cardinal Archbishop of the local Catholic diocese, a friend of Demarkian's pastor has asked him to look into the death, supposedly by suicide, of a newcomer to town who was found not too far from the Cathedral. Turns out, she's a sort of long lost parishioner, part of a group of students involved in something pretty unsettling back in HS -- half of those students are now religious and connected to the cathedral in some way.

Minor spoiler: for me, the most intriguing question was, how do you perform forensic tests on the Chalice if the liquid in it is suspected to contain a poisoning agent but the Consecration has already happened. The Cardinal's position is that no one is allowed to touch it. The police feel differently; it's evidence. Demarkian gets this, as the Armenian Church has similar beliefs, but, in the end, they didn't really address this at all beyond an off hand comment that both the police posted officers to watch it and the Cardinal posted priests to be present at all times.

A further detail that grated for me is that, though the first murder happens on Ash Wednesday, the main action, and further deaths, occur during Holy week. They keep referring to the Tridium, when the word is actually "Triduum". I fully recognize most people won't care. :)

Anyway, as noted, it was a solid mystery and the faults I found are pretty much all because I am extremely familiar with Catholicism and the Mass so the small inaccuracies that wouldn't bother most people definitely caught my eye. I do expect to continue reading the series.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman shows up in Colchester and is found dead next to a hotel and it is thought she committed suicide. The town is very religious and they are preparing for the festivities of Holy Week. The Cardinal asks a favor of his friend Tibor to get Gregor Demarkian to come help him with a priest who causes a lot of problems. When Gregor arrives he is left waiting for several days before actually having a meeting with the Cardinal. He doesn't know what he can do and then the troublesome priest is killed in front of the congregation during mass. Gregor jumps into the investigation and realizes that the death of the woman several weeks earlier is also connected. There is a group of 7 people who all knew each other growing up and their lives have all converged to bring them to Colchester at the same time.
They 7 had all gone thru an incident at Black Rock Park twenty years prior and thou people know what happened they don't know who was involved and the people would like to keep it that way as it would upset their current lives. One woman is a nun, two are priests, one is TV host, one head of the church council, one a mother w/lots of kids and the dead woman who was the town tramp.
The story weaves all the different peoples activities throughout and how Gregor goes about trying to prove who did the killings. He works with a local cop who he comes to have grudging respect for. Lots of talk about the different symbolism of the religious activities and how much control the Cardinal and priests have over the congregation and how the church effects everything in this town.
A good mystery, interesting characters (some I like some I didn't), good pace.

[Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

in this mystery, a retired FBI agent who happens to be Armenian is called in to investigate one suspicious death, which becomes a series of suspicious deaths, during the week before Easter in a very Catholic neighborhood.

this was pretty enjoyable to read. I didn't realize it was published in 1991, although that makes more sense - I was checking that, actually, because the repeated statements about how crime in the Catholic church is so minimal seemed a bit out of place. but back then I guess the coverup was still going strong. the characters were fully formed, the mystery was pretty interesting. the resolution seemed a bit abrupt to me? throughout the story, Demarkian keeps making comments about how he doesn't like the things people do in mystery novels, and then he does the same things (not reveal the killer immediately; call everyone together for a big reveal at the end, etc). he repeatedly refers to how he's been called the Armenian-American Hercule Poirot, although he claims to hate this kind of publicity. I actually felt like I never really go to know Demarkian very well - he didn't have a strong personality or a voice or anything outside of his existence as a person who can solve crimes. I liked the detective John Smith, he was fun. there were an awful lot of details about the Catholic church and that went a bit over my head at times, but overall I did enjoy the writing and would consider reading more of this series.

[Carole Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

From characters to plot, I enjoy this series so much! While the first book took place at Christmas, Precious Blood covers the time between Ash Wednesday and the Saturday before Easter. The mystery is well crafted and complex, involving a group of friends with an event 20 years earlier as the catalyst for the current crisis of events. Retired FBI agent, Gregor Demarkian, is a fascinating lead character.

Haddam writes with great detail, which I find rich and fulfilling. His Armenian friends from Cavanaugh Street in Philadelphia are back, although only at the beginning and end of this story. I missed them, but enjoyed the Catholic-dominated town in New York which serves as the setting. My 4-star rating is because the detail was a little too much at times, yet the story moves at a steady pace and I found it hard to put down.

Jane Haddam died in 2019, with 30 Demarkian books to her credit. I hope to read them all!

** Mainstream fiction, mild profanity

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retired FBI agent Gregor Demarkian gets dragged into matters of murder, religion and childhood friendships, when he responds — as a favor to a friend — to a query of the Cardinal Archbishop in Colchester, New York. A young woman with a "past" returns to Colchester and meets with several people including members of the Catholic Church and then is found dead. Cardinal John O'Bannion is concerned that Father Andrew Walsh is involved.

But what the religious leader doesn't quite know yet is that the circle of people who are tied to the murder victim and any one could have had reasons to murder her, perhaps because of something that happened 20 years ago at Black Rock Park.

Once again, Jane Haddam has created a smart, multilayered mystery and the tensions felt by both religious community members, the community overall and police, including Demarkian. The writing is terrific, the characters believable and the action well paced. A highly enjoyable tale.

[Claudia Sorsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this series late, so I've been going back and reading these earlier books (which can be a bit hard to get hold of).

The series deepens and improves as it goes, so the early ones feel a bit rough. But it's interesting to see how they start off bound to the marketing schtick of holiday-themed mysteries, but even in just the second volume that theme already feels sort of tacked-on. Yes, the mystery centers on a church during Lent, and there are occasional references to Easter decorations, but the cover design/marketing elements feel false, somehow.

But it's always nice to visit with Gregor Demarkian. He reminds me of Louise Penny's hero, the fifty-ish Surete officer who's an excellent detective but an even better man, compassionate and wise.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had just started reading this book, set at least partly in Philadelphia, when the news broke about the latest cover-up of child abuse in the Catholic Church, this time in Pennsylvania. It could have spoiled this book for me, and it did bring in some thoughts that I wrestled with, but in the end, this book reminded me that religious people are not immune to sin. And especially not immune to rationalizing their own sin.

I am really liking this series of books. I'm not sure how I missed Jane Haddam during the 90's when she started having this series published, but I'm kind of glad because I get to read it now. I love the characters and the plotting is good enough to keep me guessing.

[FM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't ever remember reading this one and I didn't like this one as much as usual. First of all, I hated the references to killing animals (no spoilers here--it was an event that had happened in the past that they kept referring to) and also the whole religious stuff got tiresome.
I'm reading these because I find reading murder mysteries satisfying when I'm stressed out (look! they caught the murderer and justice is done!). So I'm not looking for anything deep and this book was diverting . . . just not one of my favorites in this series.

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well-written mystery but this second book in the Gregor Demarkian series was heavily concerned with the Catholic Church, its rites and beliefs. Demarkian is asked to help solve the mystery of a priest who dies on Good Friday after sipping from the chalice during communion. I liked the story but was rather put off by all the blind obedience to church rules and precepts exhibited by many of the characters.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a 3.5. An atypical mystery with a great deal of information about the inner workings of a Catholic church and Archdiocese. It bogs down somewhat in the middle, but the ending is satisfying. Nuns and priests are not treated as one-dimensional. Instead, they are full, interesting people with pasts.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at the Catholic church. Haddam may be the most opinionated writer who ever lived, but she delivers a good story and this one is no exception. Gregor looks into a death at the request of a Catholic Cardinal, a friend of his neighbor Father Tibor. This is a tricky one and the ending is very satisfying.

[Mrklingon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second of Haddam's Demarkian stories, this has lots of interesting tension and puzzles. I can't say I care for the Cardinal, but his insistence on NOT allowing the police to inspect the possibly poisoned sacramental wine added a clever dimension to the story.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second Gregor Demarkian book by Jane Haddam was as intriguing as the first. Precious Blood deals with Catholic school classmates instead of family members, but the ties that bind are just as deadly.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story takes place around Easter in Colchester, New York. Gregor is off to solve another mystery on behalf of his friend Father Tibor. A pretty good mystery, although the book is also interesting to read for its inside look at the workings of a Catholic church and its parochial school.

[Juliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Gregor Demarkian book I've read, and I'll be reading more.

In this book, you will find a lot of good characters, a mystery, and a lot of information about Catholicism in the 90s.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gregor Demarkian is an Armenian-American retired chief of the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit. He is smarter than the average bear, does not suffer fools gladly and has great friends. Well written mystery!!! Recommend the series highly. Kristi & Abby Tabby