2.5
Prayer
ByPublisher Description
Acclaimed for his historical mysteries, the New York Times bestselling author of the Bernie Gunther series seamlessly shifts to a present-day setting in this intense psychological thriller.
Gil Martins, an agent with the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Unit in Houston, sees the violence wrought by extremists of all kinds. Gil has always been on the side of justice—until he learns something that shakes his faith in the system, in himself, and in God. Desperate, he prays, begging to know God is there. When a serial killer begins targeting the morally righteous at the same time that a number of secular icons come under attack, Gil realizes that his prayers are being answered in a most terrifying way.
Gil Martins, an agent with the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Unit in Houston, sees the violence wrought by extremists of all kinds. Gil has always been on the side of justice—until he learns something that shakes his faith in the system, in himself, and in God. Desperate, he prays, begging to know God is there. When a serial killer begins targeting the morally righteous at the same time that a number of secular icons come under attack, Gil realizes that his prayers are being answered in a most terrifying way.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesPrayer Reviews
2.5
“First, Kerr is one of my favorite authors. His 14 Bernie Gunther novels are among my favorites in the historical fiction category.
Second, "Prayer" is a dog that won't hunt.
I won't hold it against him, as the book feels like he just turned in something to the teacher in order to comply with his homework assignment. This could have easily been a short story instead of a 400-page novel, but alas...
"Prayer" is a horror/crime thriller that finds the reader following the protagonist, Gil Martins, who is a Scottish-born American, ex-Catholic, now evangelical Christian turned atheist FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer who may not exist.
More succinctly, the killer is Azrael, the Angel of Death, straight out of the Old Testament, who has come to slay atheists because some people in a secret church cult prayed for God to kill these people.
Cool. Like I said, should have been a 50 page short story.
I have read many interviews with Kerr, and he made it clear that he was always looking to experiment with genres different from his Gunther series. The problem is that his Gunther series is just too good. The stories are extremely well-researched, and Gunther's "voice" is clearly Kerr's, especially the humor. It just works, and unfortunately, this high expectation can be a burden on his other work.
Forget about "Prayer" and check out these two "Not Bernie Gunther" novels by Kerr - "The Shot" and "Esau." Both are very good.
2 stars”
“1.5 stars. the concept would have been amazing IF the plot and the dynamics of the story were executed well. skimmed to DNF.”
About Philip Kerr
Philip Kerr is the New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Bernie Gunther novels, two of which—Field Gray and The Lady from Zagreb—were finalists for the Edgar® Award for Best Novel. Kerr has also won several Shamus Awards and the British Crime Writers’ Association Ellis Peters Award for Historical Crime Fiction. As P. B. Kerr, he is the author of the much-loved young adult fantasy series Children of the Lamp.
Other books by Philip Kerr
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