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Mortal Sin
Park Square. Mass Ave. The Combat Zone. All home to Boston's sex trade. Home also to runaways and lost souls, home to high rollers and politicians looking for action they can't find anywhere else. It is home, too, for Father Clancy Donovan, who spends his time here trying to get young girls off the street. Bone weary and frustrated, he has lost the joy in his life and has no idea how to get it back.
Divorced three times and not yet thirty-five, Sarah Connolly is trying hard to make a new start when life throws her a curve. Kit, her fifteen-year-old niece, has run away from home, and Sarah will need every ounce of her stubbornness and determination to track her down. Suspecting Kit has disappeared into the Combat Zone, and with no one else to turn to, Sarah appeals to Clancy for help.
The unlikely pair team up to find Kit, but in the process find something else -- something powerful, something unexpected and something that will shake them to their core.
Divorced three times and not yet thirty-five, Sarah Connolly is trying hard to make a new start when life throws her a curve. Kit, her fifteen-year-old niece, has run away from home, and Sarah will need every ounce of her stubbornness and determination to track her down. Suspecting Kit has disappeared into the Combat Zone, and with no one else to turn to, Sarah appeals to Clancy for help.
The unlikely pair team up to find Kit, but in the process find something else -- something powerful, something unexpected and something that will shake them to their core.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Laurie Breton
27 books204 followersLaurie Breton is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic suspense and women's fiction. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her two grown children and with her two grandchildren, who are the light of her life. If you went looking, you might find her at the beach, or attending a sidewalk art festival, or walking the streets of Boston. Laurie lives in a small town in Maine with her husband and two adorable dogs named River and Jasmine.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 29, 2019
What I thought was going to be a good mystery, wound up being a mediocre romance with some suspense. Breton is a great storyteller with her vivid descriptions, but it winds up becoming a little overdone. I don't need to read how a seedy hotel bathroom smells like urine 2 or three times, or how a man smells like bay rum and alter candles 5 or 6 times. I'm sure there are other things to describe.
The story started out a little slow and it's still unbelievable. A priest falling so in love with this woman with a missing teenager that he can't function as a priest, let alone a masculine human being. This really left a Harlequin Romance taste in my mouth.
The story started out a little slow and it's still unbelievable. A priest falling so in love with this woman with a missing teenager that he can't function as a priest, let alone a masculine human being. This really left a Harlequin Romance taste in my mouth.
April 21, 2021
I’m usually not a fan of romances but the plot of this one drew me in. I really enjoyed this author’s writing style as well. Good beach read. Or something for those Sunday mornings when NOT attending church.
December 16, 2022
I enjoyed the story line - the one about the girl that ran away. However, it was more of a love story than a mystery. Not my usual choice in books. I wish Goodreads had the opportunity to give partial points. This was more than a 3 but less than a 4. Perhaps a 3.5.
April 15, 2025
A mediocre read for me, emotionally rollercoaster for the two main characters.
September 20, 2012
4.5 stars. I was informed that I might love Clancy Donovan as much as Rob MacKenzie and I was skeptical. I should have known better! Listen to your elders. ;) The long and the short of it is that this was another great story by Laurie Breton that will make you want to sit down and read it until you are done. Though there is a crime element to the tale, at its heart it is a story about love and forgiveness, about accepting your mistakes and defining your life not by where you've been, but by where you are going.
I think in the hands of a lesser writer this story could have been a disaster. With weaker characters, the story could have been trite and even ridiculous. But once again, Laurie Breton crafts believable characters worthy of our empathy in a setting that makes the whole narrative feel very real. I lived in Boston for a little while and she definitely captures the feel of the city. She loves it, she knows it well and you can tell. I think it's too bad if this gets pigeonholed into 'romantic suspense', because good, character driven stories, to me, shouldn't be judged by their plots.
I can definitely see how this is a divisive book; I could probably write a 5-page essay about it. If ever a story had 'shades of grey', this would be it. I think if you read this story in black and white, you will miss so much that you will not be able to fully enjoy it. Read it in technicolor and you'll get the full effect.
Some minor points: not all priests are stodgy old men and truthfully, the most effective ones fully understand their congregation. Clancy isn't 'cool', or even 'hot', he's a young priest who has been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and hopes to prevent the local youth from getting their own souvenir apparel. No punk kid from Southie is going to walk all over a guy who has his number. His appeal is more about his personality than it is about his looks, though that doesn't mean he's ugly. And Sarah's use of the word 'sugar' conveys her still-strong ties to her southern roots, so it helps to remind us that she's not a native, unlike Clancy. She's one tough broad, but like she says, she was dirt poor but that didn't mean they were dirt; it's a sense of pride that's very different from the working poor in Greater Boston and her language is meant to help you recall the difference. Taking issue with all these things is, to me, a way to say you didn't like the characters, and that's fine; it doesn't mean they aren't well-written, just that they weren't people you'd like. You can't please everyone.
I don't personally have allegiance to the Catholic Church and frankly, the celibacy of priests is just one of the many things that confound me about it. But I think, like other reviewers have said, I have an expectation that a priest will honor his vows. Otherwise, why did he choose to be a Catholic priest? However, looking at this story in technicolor makes me realize that it's not about Clancy choosing love (or sex) over God. It's more about him coming to terms with the fact that the priesthood, as a vocation, was probably not God's plan for him so much as a means for God to keep him on the straight and narrow until Clancy was ready to embrace the plan. The saying goes that "People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime" and I think that's true not just of people but of things in our life, as well. This story is just one illustration of that principle. I believe it's unfair to expect priests to stay in the same career their whole life. Clergy that are the most effective are the ones who are happy in the job they are doing, no different than any other occupation. My own personal God knows that and reacts accordingly. But then, my God doesn't heap on the Catholic guilt.
I think in the hands of a lesser writer this story could have been a disaster. With weaker characters, the story could have been trite and even ridiculous. But once again, Laurie Breton crafts believable characters worthy of our empathy in a setting that makes the whole narrative feel very real. I lived in Boston for a little while and she definitely captures the feel of the city. She loves it, she knows it well and you can tell. I think it's too bad if this gets pigeonholed into 'romantic suspense', because good, character driven stories, to me, shouldn't be judged by their plots.
I can definitely see how this is a divisive book; I could probably write a 5-page essay about it. If ever a story had 'shades of grey', this would be it. I think if you read this story in black and white, you will miss so much that you will not be able to fully enjoy it. Read it in technicolor and you'll get the full effect.
Some minor points: not all priests are stodgy old men and truthfully, the most effective ones fully understand their congregation. Clancy isn't 'cool', or even 'hot', he's a young priest who has been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and hopes to prevent the local youth from getting their own souvenir apparel. No punk kid from Southie is going to walk all over a guy who has his number. His appeal is more about his personality than it is about his looks, though that doesn't mean he's ugly. And Sarah's use of the word 'sugar' conveys her still-strong ties to her southern roots, so it helps to remind us that she's not a native, unlike Clancy. She's one tough broad, but like she says, she was dirt poor but that didn't mean they were dirt; it's a sense of pride that's very different from the working poor in Greater Boston and her language is meant to help you recall the difference. Taking issue with all these things is, to me, a way to say you didn't like the characters, and that's fine; it doesn't mean they aren't well-written, just that they weren't people you'd like. You can't please everyone.
I don't personally have allegiance to the Catholic Church and frankly, the celibacy of priests is just one of the many things that confound me about it. But I think, like other reviewers have said, I have an expectation that a priest will honor his vows. Otherwise, why did he choose to be a Catholic priest? However, looking at this story in technicolor makes me realize that it's not about Clancy choosing love (or sex) over God. It's more about him coming to terms with the fact that the priesthood, as a vocation, was probably not God's plan for him so much as a means for God to keep him on the straight and narrow until Clancy was ready to embrace the plan. The saying goes that "People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime" and I think that's true not just of people but of things in our life, as well. This story is just one illustration of that principle. I believe it's unfair to expect priests to stay in the same career their whole life. Clergy that are the most effective are the ones who are happy in the job they are doing, no different than any other occupation. My own personal God knows that and reacts accordingly. But then, my God doesn't heap on the Catholic guilt.
February 17, 2012
My mother had picked this book up at Goodwill and when she finished with it, she passed it on. Romance novels are, for me, a special kind of book; I read them when I want a quick, exciting, interesting read that I don't really have to spend a lot of time thinking about. I know how it's going to end before I read it...let's face it, no one wants to read a romance where the guy & girl don't end up together, so it's the getting there that is important. I think it takes a special talent to make a book interesting when the end is predetermined, and this book, in my opinion, didn't do that very well.
First, the subject matter was a little sketchy; (falling in love with a priest), so maybe I should have passed on this one. I'm not Catholic, but it really goes against my ethics for someone to make vows and promises to so many people and then just walk away from them, (I lose respect for the person who walked away and also the one who lead him there), so the idea of a priest falling in love didn't do much for me. Regardless of those feelings, I chose to read this book and I attempted to enjoy it. It wasn't bad, I just didn't think it was good.
I have never read anything by Ms. Breton before, so I'm not sure if this is merely her style of writing or not, but she seemed to be working very hard to make her dialog cutesy...if the main character called another person "sugar" I was literally going to throw the book across the room. The priest never passed the sniff test for me; there was way to much description that reminded me of a teenager trying to describe the "cool" priest and I didn't find it believable.
Probably the most disappointing aspect of the book was the end. It was quite silly, nothing that I found the least bit credible, and very forced. It was as if the author suddenly got tired of writing so she quickly wrapped it up. Everything was neatly tied up in a bow in about a minute.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book but, as I said, it wasn't terrible. It seems like the author didn't research anything for authenticity but just threw together a story to get a book out.
First, the subject matter was a little sketchy; (falling in love with a priest), so maybe I should have passed on this one. I'm not Catholic, but it really goes against my ethics for someone to make vows and promises to so many people and then just walk away from them, (I lose respect for the person who walked away and also the one who lead him there), so the idea of a priest falling in love didn't do much for me. Regardless of those feelings, I chose to read this book and I attempted to enjoy it. It wasn't bad, I just didn't think it was good.
I have never read anything by Ms. Breton before, so I'm not sure if this is merely her style of writing or not, but she seemed to be working very hard to make her dialog cutesy...if the main character called another person "sugar" I was literally going to throw the book across the room. The priest never passed the sniff test for me; there was way to much description that reminded me of a teenager trying to describe the "cool" priest and I didn't find it believable.
Probably the most disappointing aspect of the book was the end. It was quite silly, nothing that I found the least bit credible, and very forced. It was as if the author suddenly got tired of writing so she quickly wrapped it up. Everything was neatly tied up in a bow in about a minute.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book but, as I said, it wasn't terrible. It seems like the author didn't research anything for authenticity but just threw together a story to get a book out.
July 22, 2014
I have read the author's Jackson Falls series and I was interested in reading other books she has written. I am a fan of romance novels and was looking for one with a different slant. This one fit the bill perfectly... a divorcee (Sarah) and a Catholic priest (Father Clancy) who join forces to find Sarah's runaway niece. The story delves into the sordid world of sex trafficking and pornography but not in a graphic way. Sarah and Clancy grapple with their feelings towards each other and the moral struggle within themselves. Well written and one I could not put down.
June 24, 2011
This is my favorite type of book. The story has romance, mystery and suspense. Our hero is a priest, Father Clancy Donovan. I loved how he was written. He has a mystery from his past that needs resolution. He comes to see how he has denied himself love while seeking some sort of redemption. Our heroine is flawed but has learned from her past mistakes. Set in Boston, part of a series the situation here is a missing run away teen girl. Loved this book.
March 18, 2010
Not even close to spectacular. But you know, mystery-romance paperback. I wasn't expecting spectacular. I don't even bother speaking critically about novels like this, unless they are especially horrendous.
September 1, 2009
romance and the church
August 15, 2012
This is a book of my heart. I refuse to loan it out for fear something will happen to it. I highly recommend it and Laurie Breton's exquisite story-telling.
June 16, 2011
nice beach read
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews