Unholy Murder begins suspensefully when a coffin is unearthed in a building site formerly the location of a convent. The construction workers want to open the coffin, but are told no by their boss. Some of the police on the scene want to open the coffin but are told no by DC Jane Tennison who says that wouldn't be respectful and so the coffin is taken to a police mortuary.
There, the open coffin reveals the body of a woman dressed in a nun's habit. However, the coffin itself is much bigger than necessary for the short woman, and the ornate materials of the coffin are not usually used for nuns, who are normally buried in wooden coffins. It has been years since the convent was active, so finding information will be difficult. And when they discover that some of her fingernails are broken and the silk lining on the top of the coffin is shredded, it's clearly Jane's next murder case.
While the plot seems to be winding up to be one full of secrets and deceptions, the dialogue is somewhat perfunctory and the narrative lacks the amount of descriptive detail that would make the first chapters easier for the reader to engage in. So, far, it's "just the facts," please.
There, the open coffin reveals the body of a woman dressed in a nun's habit. However, the coffin itself is much bigger than necessary for the short woman, and the ornate materials of the coffin are not usually used for nuns, who are normally buried in wooden coffins. It has been years since the convent was active, so finding information will be difficult. And when they discover that some of her fingernails are broken and the silk lining on the top of the coffin is shredded, it's clearly Jane's next murder case.
While the plot seems to be winding up to be one full of secrets and deceptions, the dialogue is somewhat perfunctory and the narrative lacks the amount of descriptive detail that would make the first chapters easier for the reader to engage in. So, far, it's "just the facts," please.