Two abandoned souls are on the hunt for one powerful man. Soon, their paths will cross and lead to one twisted fate. Danny Hansen is a Bosnian immigrant who came to America with hopes of escaping haunted memories of a tragic war that took his other’s life. Now he’s a priest incensed by the powerful among us who manipulate the law for their own gain, uncaring of thes hattered lives they leave behind. It is his duty to show them the error of their ways, even if he must put them in the grave. Renee Gilmore is the frail and helpless victim of one such powerful man. Having escaped his clutches, she now lives only to satisfy justice by destroying him, regardless of whom she must become in that pursuit. But when Danny and Renee’s paths become inexorably entangled things go very, very badly and neither of them may make it out of this hunt alive.
!–EndFragment–
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Sexual Content - 3/5
3/5
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Violence - 5/5
5/5
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Language - 0/5
0/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 3/5
3/5
Summary
From: Isaac Scego
Book Title: The Priest's Graveyard
Book Author: Ted Dekker
What do you like about this book:
Summery::
This was not a "good" book, but it asked some interesting questions. Do we, as followers of Christ, need to concern ourselves with the sinful actions of others? and Can we change them? Yet, instead of treating these points considerately, Dekker is content in shoving the answers in his readers' faces violently and maybe a bit radically. After all, when I think of a follower of Christ wanting to change a sinful person, shoving them into a dark room and cutting out their tongue is the last thing that comes to mind. Dekker's typical "madman verses good-guy-with-a-dark-past" story may be overused and unrelatable, yet, it seems to work for him, and for the people who put him on the bestsellers list. It's content—one of the many factors that degraded this story—is intense and extremely heavy. It's questions are intriguing. But his dealings with them are poor and, perhaps, unwanted.
Spiritual Content::
Danny talks about how he is God's messenger and acts as a judge on His behalf. His targets are usually religious people with hypercritical habits and he utilizes several biblical analogies to get his point across, which is, in essence, repent or die (perhaps an unsubtle wink at Islam). There's frequent talk of angels and demons. Danny is a priest who works at a Catholic Church. Several sequences include confessionals and talk of purgatory.
Sexual Content::
Danny's sisters are found naked (no further details are described) and dead and had obviously been raped. Another woman in an alleyway is running from a man she thinks will sexually assault her and give her over to gangbangers. A congressman is said to have raped his maid frequently, and it's implied she's not the first, either. A pedophile is said to be emasculated. Renee is naked after returning from the hospital and she's inspected by a male doctor, who never acknowledges the fact that she's unclothed. Lamont and Renee quickly develop a relationship and move in together. They kiss several times and share some romantic moments, one of which ends with him asking if she'd sleep with him. A man is said to bed prostitutes (more on this in violent Content).
There's a story about a man walking outside unaware of the fact that he's without clothes. When his wife tells him so, he asks if she is sexually aroused. A woman does walk around naked from the waist down, but nothing is described and it is not sexual. However, the author does feel the need to mention the size of another woman's breasts. A man throws a woman onto his bed with the obvious intention to rape her, though nothing occurs.
As you can probably see from the things listed above, this story focuses on domestic violence and abuse and mentions of both are laced throughout the story. A comment about masturbation and another of a woman's husband having an affair with another man.
Violent Content::
A woman is found with her head almost severed, blood everywhere. Another breaks several bones, which is described painfully. People are shot. A thirteen year-old boy was involved in a hit-and-run and another is said to have been killed off brutally. Danny's methods of torture are disturbing and described in detail. He cuts off a man's tongue and shoots him through the head. A man is said to bed several prostitutes and kill them afterward, transporting their sawed off body parts in separate trash bags and buries all of them. Later, a man is shot in the head and sawed up in the same way—a particularly graphic sequence. Others are said to be wife beaters and molesters—some are disturbingly implied to be abused physically, mentally, and sexually.
Language::
A use of "whore" and "skank". God's name is misused once.
Drug/Alcohol Content::
The drug business is described to some extent. A woman had been injected with hereoin, and the effects are described in vivid detail—she is an addict. Couples drink wine and people smoke.
TCR:: 1.5/5
| R | Sequences of graphic violence and torture, disturbing content and some sexual references, including references to sexual assault
Your ratings of the level of sex, violence, language and drug/alcohol use on a scale of 1-5.
Sex:3
Violence:5
Language:0
Drug/Alcohol use:3