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Ninth Square
Product Description
New Haven detective William Shute is having
a bad day, one which begins in divorce court,
then goes downhill from there.
Investigating the death of a well-to-do man
in one of the city’s sleazier no-tell motels,
Shute discovers that not only was the victim
a bigwig for the ultra conservative religious
group, the Sons of God (60,000 members of
which are about to descend upon New Haven for
a pray-in at the Yale Bowl) . . . but he
wasn’t a victim after all.
Shute, however, can convince no one that the
escort wanted for the killing, was in fact
only protecting herself. And when other
members of the Sons Of God meet similar bloody
ends, it becomes a race against the clock to
find the girl. Shute wants to save her . . .
everyone else wants to put her away.
Exploring the worlds of religious hypocrisy,
internet prostitution, and made-for-order
porn, while dreaming he just had the guts to
strap back on his old Fender Tele to play some
rock n’ roll, Shute discovers secrets about
himself and the city that he never wanted or
needed to know. But once those doors are open,
there’s no turning back . . .
Reviews:
“Bechard has hit one of the early home runs of the new year.”—The Dallas Morning News
“Compelling.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“It’s everything it should be: twisty, sexy, violent and taut. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, Bechard pulls yet another fast one on you.”—Andrew Klavan, bestselling author of Don’t Say a Word and Man and Wife
-- Review
From Publishers Weekly
When Midori, a part-time hooker, vanishes from a New Haven motel into the night after stabbing a customer through the neck with a sharp pencil (he'd been praying for her salvation while trying to kill her), cop William Shute takes the case in this fast-paced noir caper from Bechard (Balls, etc.). The dead guy is Richard Deegan, family man and second in command of the Sons of God, a group of southern-based fundamentalists with strict morals and deep pockets due shortly to rally in the Connecticut city. When another Son of God gets similarly dispatched, the powers that be start looking for a serial killer. But Shute isn't so sure. For one thing, Deegan had an unhealthy interest in pornography, a hatred for hookers and most upsetting personally images of Shute's former wife on his laptop's hard drive with a bewildering series of sexual partners. A loose cannon in trouble with his superiors, Shute is haunted by his '53 Fender Telecaster (the first year of the legendary guitar's production), an object that represents all his adolescent dreams. Nonetheless, the suspense level remains high to the end, as Shute, suspended from the force, attracted to a female cop but entangled with one of the likable and believable hookers he encounters in the escort industry, strives to find all the answers.
From Booklist
A man apparently murdered by a prostitute turns out to be an influential figure in a religious group called the Sons of God, which is planning a major rally in New Haven, Connecticut. Among the victim's possessions are a lot of very odd and scary-looking tools. New Haven police detective William Shute must determine if the dead man was just a nutcase who was saintly by day and satanic by night or if more mayhem is on the way.
New Haven detective William Shute is having
a bad day, one which begins in divorce court,
then goes downhill from there.
Investigating the death of a well-to-do man
in one of the city’s sleazier no-tell motels,
Shute discovers that not only was the victim
a bigwig for the ultra conservative religious
group, the Sons of God (60,000 members of
which are about to descend upon New Haven for
a pray-in at the Yale Bowl) . . . but he
wasn’t a victim after all.
Shute, however, can convince no one that the
escort wanted for the killing, was in fact
only protecting herself. And when other
members of the Sons Of God meet similar bloody
ends, it becomes a race against the clock to
find the girl. Shute wants to save her . . .
everyone else wants to put her away.
Exploring the worlds of religious hypocrisy,
internet prostitution, and made-for-order
porn, while dreaming he just had the guts to
strap back on his old Fender Tele to play some
rock n’ roll, Shute discovers secrets about
himself and the city that he never wanted or
needed to know. But once those doors are open,
there’s no turning back . . .
Reviews:
“Bechard has hit one of the early home runs of the new year.”—The Dallas Morning News
“Compelling.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“It’s everything it should be: twisty, sexy, violent and taut. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, Bechard pulls yet another fast one on you.”—Andrew Klavan, bestselling author of Don’t Say a Word and Man and Wife
-- Review
From Publishers Weekly
When Midori, a part-time hooker, vanishes from a New Haven motel into the night after stabbing a customer through the neck with a sharp pencil (he'd been praying for her salvation while trying to kill her), cop William Shute takes the case in this fast-paced noir caper from Bechard (Balls, etc.). The dead guy is Richard Deegan, family man and second in command of the Sons of God, a group of southern-based fundamentalists with strict morals and deep pockets due shortly to rally in the Connecticut city. When another Son of God gets similarly dispatched, the powers that be start looking for a serial killer. But Shute isn't so sure. For one thing, Deegan had an unhealthy interest in pornography, a hatred for hookers and most upsetting personally images of Shute's former wife on his laptop's hard drive with a bewildering series of sexual partners. A loose cannon in trouble with his superiors, Shute is haunted by his '53 Fender Telecaster (the first year of the legendary guitar's production), an object that represents all his adolescent dreams. Nonetheless, the suspense level remains high to the end, as Shute, suspended from the force, attracted to a female cop but entangled with one of the likable and believable hookers he encounters in the escort industry, strives to find all the answers.
From Booklist
A man apparently murdered by a prostitute turns out to be an influential figure in a religious group called the Sons of God, which is planning a major rally in New Haven, Connecticut. Among the victim's possessions are a lot of very odd and scary-looking tools. New Haven police detective William Shute must determine if the dead man was just a nutcase who was saintly by day and satanic by night or if more mayhem is on the way.
- GenresMystery
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
12 people want to read
About the author
Gorman Bechard
9 books16 followersGorman Bechard is the author of seven novels: THE SECOND GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, UNWOUND (under the pseudonym Jonathan Baine), NINTH SQUARE, THE HAZMAT DIARY, GOOD NEIGHBORS, BALLS and the upcoming NOT SO PRETTY.
He directed/wrote the indie features FRIENDS (WITH BENEFITS) (2009) and YOU ARE ALONE (2006), the horror comedy cult-classic PSYCHOS IN LOVE (1986), as well as the award winning shorts OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE FURTHER THAN THEY APPEAR (2003) and THE PRETTY GIRL (2000), and most recently completed COLOR ME OBSESSED, A FILM ABOUT THE REPLACEMENTS, which Rolling Stone named one of the seven best music docs of the year.
Bechard is in pre-production on ONE NIGHT STAND, a psycho-sexual horror film, and BROKEN SIDE OF TIME, a dark drama set in the world of internet modeling, which are parts two and three of his planned ALONE trilogy, and PIZZA, A LOVE STORY, a documentary on the holy trinity of pizza joints, Sally’s, Pepe’s, and Modern in New Haven, Connecticut.
He directed/wrote the indie features FRIENDS (WITH BENEFITS) (2009) and YOU ARE ALONE (2006), the horror comedy cult-classic PSYCHOS IN LOVE (1986), as well as the award winning shorts OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE FURTHER THAN THEY APPEAR (2003) and THE PRETTY GIRL (2000), and most recently completed COLOR ME OBSESSED, A FILM ABOUT THE REPLACEMENTS, which Rolling Stone named one of the seven best music docs of the year.
Bechard is in pre-production on ONE NIGHT STAND, a psycho-sexual horror film, and BROKEN SIDE OF TIME, a dark drama set in the world of internet modeling, which are parts two and three of his planned ALONE trilogy, and PIZZA, A LOVE STORY, a documentary on the holy trinity of pizza joints, Sally’s, Pepe’s, and Modern in New Haven, Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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December 21, 2021This guy wrote one of my favorite books ever - Balls. He's written a couple of others but now he's writing mysteries!! I was excited to hear it and not at all disappointed in his effort. This has great components - porn, hookers, a promise keepers like organization, police corruption… I mean it's got it all and it all works together to make a great tale.
December 5, 2018
Was hoping for more New Haven description, but it was entertaining.
February 11, 2016
The New Haven police department has a nightmare of epic proportions on its hands. A highly respected officer in the "Sons of God" religious movement has been found in a sleazy motel room with his throat slashed and it is obvious that the gentleman was engaged in a sexual encounter. When another of the group is found murdered in a similar manner a few days later it looks like someone wants to keep the religious group from moving their headquarters to New Haven's ninth square. Detective William Shute doesn't believe that the group is being targeted but, rather, the first man was killed by an escort in self-defense and the second man is a copy-cat murder. His theory is unpopular among the New Haven police brass, the mayor and local businessmen who will certainly make a good deal of money should the Sons of God move to their city. Shute is stripped of his badge and gun when he refuses to back down but he doesn't stop his investigation. Searching within the darker side of New Haven, Shute finds his own life in danger as he comes closer and closer to the truth.
I really didn't like this book at all. The only thing that saved it from being a 1 star rating is that I had no idea who the murderer was so that, at least, was a surprise. The characters are horrible people, the subject matter is distasteful, and the author's choppy sentences (i.e. "Another crash. Another explosion of flames. Turning. The case. Snatching it up. That was all.) made for a difficult read. Stay far, far away from this one.
I really didn't like this book at all. The only thing that saved it from being a 1 star rating is that I had no idea who the murderer was so that, at least, was a surprise. The characters are horrible people, the subject matter is distasteful, and the author's choppy sentences (i.e. "Another crash. Another explosion of flames. Turning. The case. Snatching it up. That was all.) made for a difficult read. Stay far, far away from this one.
November 21, 2011
I took an interest in this book because it mentions several times the town of East Haven, the town in which I reside. The book is fast paced end enjoyable although at times I had to go back and reread due to the amount of characters. The city of New Haven would never be the same if the Sons of God were to locate there. The city would end up in worse shape than it is now with the "don't do as I do, do as I say" Sons of God running things. This book hints at how religious fanatics can make life worse than better.
July 19, 2008
A death of unknown man in New Haven, CT opens a pandora's box of troubles for a detective that ties together greed, sex and religion. A good detective mystery with a likable main character. Author is a screen writer and I could see book as a film someday.
August 30, 2014
fairly good mystery. sentences a bit choppy. characters nondescript.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews