The Vandal

The Vandal is a novel based on the priest abuse scandals in Boston. The book is set in a working class neighborhood of that city. It is a portrayal of the machinations of a predator priest, Father Paul, and how he managed to operate unchecked within the Boston Archdiocese. The story focuses in particular on one of his victims, Colin Devlin, a sensitive, shy teenager whose father is an alcoholic and whose mother is emotionally distant. Sensing the boy's vulnerability, the priest draws him closer by becoming a mentor to him, and also by winning the confidence of the boy's mother.