The Religious Body

Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan prays he will find a nun's murderer in this crime novel by CWA Diamond Dagger winner Catherine Aird The day begins like any other for Sister Mary St. Gertrude. When her alarm sounds at 5 a.m., Sister Mary begins rousting her convent sisters from their beds, starting with the Reverend Mother. Down the Order she goes with a knock and a warm blessing. But when the young nun reaches Sister Anne's door, there is no answer. She assumes that Sister Anne got up early, and continues on her way.   But later, when a fellow nun leaves a bloody thumbprint on the sheet music for a hymn, and Sister Anne is nowhere to be found, it becomes apparent that something is very wrong. Then Sister Anne's body is found at the bottom of a steep set of stairs, her veil askew and her head crushed.   Religious Body introduces the sophisticated Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan along with his eager and trustworthy sidekick, Detective Constable Crosby, and the acerbic Superintendent Leeyes in a mystery of holy proportions that will have readers guessing until the last page.