Blood Ties: A Father Dowling Mystery [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Ralph McInerny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2005 | Series: Father Dowling

Henry Dolan's granddaughter, Martha Lynch, adopted 23 years earlier, wants to find her birth parents. Her adopted parents are frantic over the idea of losing her, so Henry seeks out Father Dowling for help.
Meanwhile, Martha's birth father, Nathaniel Fleck, who left before Martha's birth, has contacted Martha's real mother, Madeline, for details about Martha. Madeline panics, afraid he won't leave her alone, and turns to Amos Cadbury, a lawyer, for advice. When Nathaniel is found murdered two days later, Dowling and Amos must juggle the responsibility of spoiling the peace of the families involved while uncovering the truth behind the murder.
Blood Ties is an absorbing and suspenseful addition to this beloved series.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The engaging 24th Father Dowling mystery (after 2004's Requiem for a Realtor) explores the moral ambiguities of the choices people make in the wake of a young woman's unwanted pregnancy. McInerny uses a full palette of nothing but grays as Martha Lynch seeks to learn the identity of her birth mother on the eve of her engagement. At the same time, Nathaniel Fleck, who turned his back on Madeline years earlier when she was pregnant, is determined to learn the fate of his child and to make amends. Almost everyone involved, from a lecherous oldster to a sleazy lawyer, shows at least a modicum of decency. And some, like Father Dowling and lawyer Amos Cadbury, both privy to Madeline's and Martha's identities, carefully weigh the one's need for secrecy and the other's for knowledge. When Fleck dies in a suspicious accident, the question becomes not only how the ramifications of Martha's parentage will play out but did someone resort to murder to keep Fleck from finding the answer? McInerny's nimble characterizations and subtle soundings of the moral issues make this a strong entry in the long-running series.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Father Dowling, the parish priest who seems to spend an inordinate amount of time solving crimes, returns in this intricate tale of murder and family history. The murder part is pretty straightforward: Nathaniel Fleck, who has been trying to reestablish contact with his estranged daughter (she was adopted by another couple 23 years ago), turns up dead. The rest of the story is more complicated. Fleck's daughter has been trying to find her birth parents. Fleck, her birth father, contacted the girl's birth mother (from whom he was also estranged), who then turned to a lawyer for advice. Now, Father Dowling and the lawyer, Amos Cadbury, not only have to solve Fleck's murder but they also must try to keep his death from destroying the young woman's two families. The Father Dowling mysteries have always combined mystery and morality effectively, and this one is no exception. Fans will be pleased. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur (June 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031233690X
• ASIN: B000KHXC8U
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 3.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,197,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars interesting morality play that turns into a solid murder mystery, June 29, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Ties: A Father Dowling Mystery (Father Dowling Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Sheila and George Lynch were depressed because they could not have children of their own until they adopt a little girl after meeting the mother, Northwestern student Madeline, abandoned by her boyfriend. Madeline gives birth to Martha, who is raised by the Lynches with love. Over two decades later Martha works in the Loop as a paralegal at Foley, Farnum and Casey when Bernard Casey, the son of a senior partner, falls in love with her and asks her to marry him.

At the same time Martha considers the proposal, her biological father Nathaniel Fleck returns into Madeline's life wanting to meet his daughter. Madeline fears her indiscretion will destroy her happy marriage. However, Fleck dies in a hit and run at the same time that Martha, over the trepidation of the loving Lynch couple, seeks her biological parents so her future blueblood in-laws will know exactly the color of her blood. She starts with Father Dowling and lawyer Amos Cadbury, who already knows the identity of the mother but feels trapped in a moral dilemma while Fleck's death comes under suspicion.

The story line is at its best in the first half as several individuals struggle with what is right in areas that are so gray that no sound bite response will work. Father Dowling, Cadbury, Madeline, Lynchs, and Nathaniel internalize what is morally the correct thing because what is right for one person could harm another. When the homicide and subsequent investigation takes over, BLOOD TIES remains a fine who-done-it, but loses some of the strength of characters facing a complex dilemma. In his letter X appearance, Father Dowling starts with an interesting morality play that turns into a solid murder mystery.

Harriet Klausner