The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith

 

In what may be their most challenging case, Robin and Strike are asked by a father to help him return his son from the church where he has been for four years.  The father believes that the church is a cult and that there are illegal things going on.  Their son is living at the church's farm estate where he uses his intelligence and resources to hoe gardens and clean bathrooms.  Strike and Robin do a preliminary investigation and agree to take the case against the Universal Humanitarian Church.

But the church is wily and guards against revelation of its secrets  Those few who have escaped have often found death on the outside, perhaps tied to their association.  The two investigators agree that the only effective way to handle the case is for someone to go undercover.  Robin is the one chosen and she will only have contact with Strike and the company once a week through a hidden stone with a place for a note.  She goes to a service and before she knows it, she is on the farm.

Church members are expected to revere Papa J as the leader is known and his wife, who is in charge of discipline.  The members are given little food or sleep and as the days go by, Robin finds herself falling into the mindset of those who are true members.  She starts to hear of deaths and punishments and everyone is expected to sleep with whomever asks.  Will Robin get to the church's secrets before her identity is stolen?

This is the eighth Comoran Strike novel and it is definitely one of the best.  Robin is dating a police officer and Strike always has a woman around but the two are starting to admit to themselves that their true interests are in each other.  The church's secrets are slowly revealed which builds the tension around whether Robin will be able to escape their clutches.  It is very long, over nine hundred pages, but it's hard to see what could have been left out as everything comes to a head.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.