Grave Undertakings: A Father Dowling Mystery [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Ralph M. McInerny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2000

Father Roger Dowling's latest investigation revolves around the small town of Fox River, Illinois. A local mobster, Vincent O'Toole, has just died and is buried in the local cemetery. While questions still surround the cause of the gangster's death, someone has been attempting to dig up his grave. And when the town's police finally disinter the coffin, they find it empty.

Who and why would anyone wish to steal the mobster's corpse? And how does this relate to the mysterious death itself? Father Dowling begins to realize that the answers involve a manuscript by an Italian poet, and a love triangle between two very different young men and the woman they both covet.

Full of ingenious twists and turns, and the warm, humorous wisdom that fans of McInerny's Father Dowling mysteries have come to love, GRAVE UNDERTAKINGS is a delightfully clever puzzle.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mimi O'Toole is hoping for a miracle when she asks Father Dowling in the hospital for absolution for her dying husband, a shooting victim. Vincent O'Toole was known to be an associate of the Pianone crime family, and his funeral draws every notable in the local underworld to St. Hilary's church in Fox River, Ill. The cops don't seem all that anxious to find O'Toole's killer, until someone tries to dig up his grave on Halloween and his casket is later discovered to be empty. In his effort to figure out what happened to O'Toole both before and after death, Father Dowling remains the calm center in a swirl of events involving gangster Salvatore Pianone, his daughter Angela and nephew Giorgio, the grieving widow and her cult-member son, as well as a couple of private investigators and even friends on the police force. Dowling finds that Sal Pianone is a very different man in private, a collector of rare books and manuscripts (one of which has disappeared), who is perhaps too close to his daughter but not close enough to Giorgio. Shifting from one character's point-of-view to another, McInery (Seed of Doubt, The Tears of Things) keeps the reader on edge as his intrepid sleuth-priest solves the crimes in question and bit by bit gets to the bottom of the bitter rivalries simmering below the slickly tailored surface of this 19th installment of a deservedly popular series. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-While on hospital rounds to visit parishioners, Father Dowling is summoned to the bedside of a local mobster, Vince O'Toole, to administer the last rites. He agrees even though he recognizes the dying man. Shortly thereafter, the cemetery workers can't seem to keep people from trying to dig him up. O'Toole's death triggers a number of strange events in Fox River, IL: the fianc? of the local mob head's daughter disappears, a local private eye is forced into taking on a business associate, a strange suit is found hanging in a church closet, Vince's son is killed, and no one can decide where it would be best for O'Toole to rest in peace. It is up to Father Dowling to piece the puzzle together. McInerny has created a good story with a case that is hard to solve. The pace is relaxed, but the intrigue never falters. A fascinating choice for mystery fans.
Linda A. Vretos, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 511 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (November 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078622925X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786229253
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,793,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great new Father Dowling!, April 3, 2000

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"foxmuldr" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grave Undertakings: A Father Dowling Mystery (Hardcover)

This is one of the best Father Dowling books ever. It is very good. The only one better than this one is Judas Priest.