The Haunted Rectory

Something isn't quite right in the town of Bend Oaks. Over the past few months, three priests have fled St. Francis Xavier Church, claiming the strange scratching noises and mysterious patches of darkness in the rectory made them fear for their lives. To the Church Hookers, the supposed haunting is just rumor, and they need to use the rectory to continue their tradition of hooking rugs for the annual church fundraiser. But things are about to change with the arrival of Father Rich Melo, sent by the archdiocese to determine if the haunting rumors are true, and if they are, to use his skills to exorcise whatever demon is holed up in the rectory before it can claim one of the Hookers.

The idea of a group of church rug hookers battling the show more forces of evil sounds silly, but following their adventures first with the eeriness of being alone in the rectory then to sneaking into an insane asylum to rescue one of their own, not letting a pesky little demon get in their way, had me hooked, so to speak. And the sub-stories -- Father Melo's previous experience with exorcism, the story behind Jane Edwell's extrasensory abilities, Gail Honeychurch's family troubles -- all meld with the darker aspects to create a fine story.

At times, I felt that too much information was being provided and in too abrupt a fashion -- such as when we learn within the second chapter of Jane's psychic powers. I enjoy to learn things like that subtly or as the story progresses rather than all at once. But that's just a personal preference.

"The Haunted Rectory" was a quirky and surprisingly fun adventure. The story does leave room for continuing adventures with the Hookers, and I hope to read more about them. show less

Something is wrong at the rectory of St. Francis Xavier Church in Bend Oaks, CT. The last three priests have fled screaming into the night, refusing to return. Enter Father Rich Melos, scholar of ancient languages. The good young Father has a secret in his past which threatens his future employability as a serious scholar, but which makes him the Archbishop’s obvious choice for St. Francis Xavier’s interim priest: his involvement in an exorcism in Rome.

St. Francis Xavier’s rectory is not just home to the parish priest, however. It is the meeting place for a bunch of hookers. No, not THAT kind of hooker. The hookers are an eclectic assortment of women who meet at the rectory to create beautiful hooked rugs – a New England show more tradition – to raffle at the annual Strawberry Festival. This is not your stereotypical bunch of demure “church ladies” – these are some tough cookies who manage to crack jokes even when the furniture is levitating and the fires of Hell are virtually crackling at their heels. (And when one of their own members is possessed, the resident demon is in for an etiquette lesson as well as an exorcism attempt!)

With the help of the “hookers,” Father Rich is forced to confront demonic forces at the Rectory, and his own possible divinely-pre-ordained destiny as an Exorcist. Along the way, he will learn of a secret order of priestly Exorcists to which he may be connected in unimaginable ways.

This book is an odd one.

First, to really get into this story, you need to accept the literal reality of "second sight," Hell, and demonic forces; and believe that the power of God can triumph over the real, physical forces of Evil (with a capital E). I have no problem with that, but that worldview may lose some readers. The more basic difficulty is dealing with a book that tries to mix shades of “The Exorcist” with a "cozy" format, and whispers of the "DaVinci Code" -- top secret Catholic orders/organizations and the like. There is also a great deal of moralizing along the way.

There are a few good, creepy moments; but, overall, the story doesn’t quite work for me. I’m probably not the only one: the book is clearly designed to be first of a series featuring “The Saint Francis Xavier Church Hookers,” but no sequels have been forthcoming (as far as I can determine) since its publication in 2006. Methinks that, somehow, demonic horror just doesn’t lend itself to the “cozy” treatment. However, I did keep reading to see how it would all end. The ending was an obvious set-up for a sequel; there was one other loose end, never tied up, that left me totally at a loss.

Note: the book (at least, the Large Print edition I read) also has "Reading Group Companion" at the end of the book, featuring questions for discussion. show less