Sacred Trust

by Meg O'Brien

When Abby Northrup's best friend, Marti Bright, is found nailed to a homemade wooden cross on a windswept hill in Carmel, California, Abby is thrust into a nightmare she may never escape from alive.

Compelled by grief and shock, she begins to piece together what happened to the woman she loved like a sister. With her marriage to an influential politician in tatters and her "perfect life" only a carefully fabricated illusion, Abby focuses instead on Marti - probing their past, the time the two friends spent in a convent, and the secrets they'd kept all these years.

But as Abby reaches further and further into the maze of Marti's last days, she realizes that the woman she thought she knew so well was keeping secrets from her - and that her own life is linked to her friend's in ways she never imagined . . . in ways that could make her a vengeful killer's next victim.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Reviews

[Josephine (Jo) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were several interesting themes running alongside each other in this story; a missing child, blackmail, murder, missing husband and involvement of the FBI. The heroin Abby is trying to avenge the dreadful murder of her best friend Marti Bright, she has a boyfriend who is a police officer and they work together to try and track down the killer and the missing husband and a child as well. It all goes pretty well for most of the book and it is an interesting read, the suspect changes in your mind through most of the main characters but the final chapter throws everything a bit off kilter and blows all previous speculation out of the water.
I think it was a little bit too much of a stretch of the imagination at the end but in general an entertaining read.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book from 2000, Abby Northrup used to be a nun when she was younger along with her friend Marti. Twenty years later, Marti is flogged, then crucified with the words I Lied painted on her body. Detective Ben Schaeffer, Abby's lover, works the case.

I read one of this author's books previously and her stories require readers to suspend disbelief. I don't mind doing that but readers should be aware upfront. I liked the dog Murphy. There was a lot of action at the very end of the book and here came a big twist. I never would have figured out who the killer was. I liked this one better than the author's book I read a couple of years ago with Abby Northrup in it.

[Janet York · Rating 2 out of 5]

A heroine I didn't like, a boring plot, and far too many unanswered questions at the end. I usually like this author, but despite the great premise, the story went off on odd tangents and by the end, I didn't care who did it. And who did it was not supported at all by the story lines.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up The Final Kill by this author, then learned that Sacred Trust should be read first. Sacred Trust was a wonderful book and kept my interest until the surprise ending. I am looking forward to starting The Final Kill in the morning, although my peers at work may think differently. Highly recommend this book.

[Kaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

could have been a good book but wasn't. The ridiculous idea that this woman would talk to secret service agents like she did or go off trying to solve a murder... No no no. I wouldn't say that it's badly written but it's not good.

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good easy read with a surprise twist and a murder mystery story I enjoyed.

[Dick Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a busy little book with several busy little themes. We have a bazaar murder, a kidnapped child, a missing husband, possible involvement with the POTUS, involvement by 2 secret service agents, the missing husband having an affair with the protagonist's (TP) sister, TP having an affair with a police officer, TP having had a close friendship with the murder victim, a former nun having been the teacher of both TP and the victim, a real estate scam, etc. The book is rather mediocre, but has a surprise twist at the end, which I didn't see coming. Nevertheless, I would give this only a 5 out of 10 rating (3 out of 5).

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste.....I am sooo disappointed! This was a great book, at least 4 stars, until the last 10 pages. The author BLEW IT! I can't believe no body caught her mistake!! The book was so suspensful I couldn't even attempt to get anything done until I knew the ending, unfortunately it didn't make sense. The secret service agent was sent to look for the missing kid but the kid doen't go missing until he decides to blackmail the lawyer....what???? HUGE MISTAKE. I think the author decided to change the killer at the end for more of a twist but really BLEW IT!!! Like I said I can't believe this wasn't caught in editing

[Veronique · Rating 2 out of 5]

L'intrigue est plutôt bien menée, basée sur une des turpitudes cachées de l'église catholique aux E.U (Dieu que les américains aiment détester les catholiques !). Mais l'écriture est factuelle, morne (la faute à la traduction ?), incapable de nous faire ressentir un minimum d'empathie pour des personnages transparents, prévisibles et sans profondeur. Une image de la société américaine qui me tient à distance.

[Anne Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

the whole story does not make sense and it is a pity, because you had some ideas which could be interesting. The author is trying to hard to prove that some people are evil, and it just gets out of hands.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, even though I figured out part of it almost immediately. Better than the sequel.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

good

[Rebekkila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty middle of the road stuff. I wasn't so happy with the ending.

[Callie S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Comincia con una crocefissione e si chiude con una robusta caduta di palle.
Evitabilissimo.

[Toesnorth's mom]

ok

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Mary Higgins Clark you'll enjoy Meg O'Briens books