Other editions of book Sacred Sins

New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts serves up a sizzling novel of explosive suspense and sensual romance as the search for a murderer ignites passion between a beautiful psychiatrist and the sexy, brooding detective determined to crack the case. In the unbearable heat of another sultry Washington, D.C., summer, a serial killer is on the loose. Dr. Tess Court, one of the capital’s most successful psychiatrists, wants nothing to do with the case—until the police convince her to lend a hand to the lead investigator, legendary ladies’ man Detective Ben Paris.Scarred by his family’s history, Ben has even less use for shrinks than Tess has for him—but the forces of animal magnetism and a shared desire to catch the demented criminal known as “The Priest” inexorably erode the walls they’ve built. They’re opposites in so many ways, yet that seems only to fan the flames of attraction for which danger has supplied the spark. To stop a killer who thinks he can absolve sins through murder, Ben will need every ounce of psychological insight Tess can offer him. And she’ll need the help of a lawman willing to stare fear in the face if she’s going to avoid becoming the madman’s next victim.

In the last lazy days of summer, the merciless two-week heat wave is the biggest story in Washington, D.C. But the weather is finally knocked off the front pages when a young woman is found strangled to death - a priest's white silk amice pulled taut around her throat. Pinned near the scarf is a note that simply reads, "Her sins are forgiven her." It is a chilling crime, made even more terrifying when it is followed by a second murder...and then a third. Suddenly every headline is devoted to the killer the press has dubbed "the Priest." The slayings have piqued the interest of Dr. Tess Court, a top-notch psychiatrist dedicated to treating the problems of the human mind. Called in to create a detailed psychological profile of the murderer, she comes up with a disturbing and frightening portrait of a twisted soul who believes he is not murdering - but ministering. Detective Ben Paris doesn't give a damn about the killer's soul or his psyche, and he makes it clear that he thinks calling in a psychiatrist is on a par with ringing up a psychic hot line. What he can't dismiss is his immediate and irresistible attraction to Tess. Tall, dark, and good-looking, Ben has a reputation with women that is legendary. But the coolly elegant Tess doesn't react to Ben like other women - and he finds the challenge enticing. Now, as the two are thrown together in a perilous quest to stop a serial killer, the flame of white-hot passion flares.