Father Jack Murphy became a priest after his son and wife was killed in a car accident. Looking for a way to make peace with the guilt he felt over the accident, Murphy turned to the priesthood. Now one of the young men in his charge, John Castle, is found dead. Though his death is ruled accidental, Jack hopes to make some atonement by getting to the truth of the events surrounding the death, even if it was accidental. Father Murphy, however, gets more than he bargained for as he begins the investigation.

He runs up against an administration that wants to bury as much unpleasantness about the college as possible. He also finds a lot of rampant homosexuality making the seminary seem more like a place to meet men than to prepare for the priesthood. Before Father Murphy realizes it, he is in grave danger, along with John's older sister Maggie and his former roommate Peter.

While Make Them Cry is a page-turning thriller, the portrayal of the seminary as a hotbed of homosexual activity, including young men who are willing to pay for sex, and unscrupulous administrators, is very distracting, especially in light of recent current events. Readers may quickly grow frustrated with Peter who acts like an infatuated schoolboy and who is either very naïve or who is so unsure about which path he is following he has a hard time seeing what is very clearly in front of him.

Father Murphy is a very sad character whose search for answers in John's death parallels many personal searches. As he sifts through the clues, both seem to come into more focus.

The one link that connects all the victims is very clever and fairly well concealed. Kevin O'Brien's careful attention to detail (the name of the college, a room number) will be appreciated by very careful readers. Make Them Cry is a book that is not easy to put down, even after the mystery has been solved.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry