Customer Reviews

Irish Gilt

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I was excited about the setting and eager to get into this book, but found it hard to stay focussed. There were a great many characters introduced, and an undertone of misogyny that distracted from the book as a whole, as the hissing and popping of omnipresent scratches would distract from enjoying an old vinyl record. Most of the women except the always-serene love object (and she's always described exactly that way, too) are devious, disloyal, highly flawed schemers, petty and competitive in shallow ways for unworthy ends.

Still, the major problem was that there were so many characters with so little to do that the whole book felt choppy. This is the ninth book in the Notre Dame series, but the first I've read, and maybe that's the problem. Experienced aficionados of these books might welcome the return of old friends, instead of feeling assaulted by an onslaught of unlikable strangers. Having fewer characters and spending more time making them distinct individuals might have made a stronger book and a better read, for old fans as well as newcomers. On the plus side, the Notre Dame lore was a pleasure; more of that would have been most welcome.

This is no fast-paced thriller but rather a gradually unraveling mystery featuring the surroundings of Notre Dame combined with literacy superior to most mysteries. Notre Dame alumni and fans will find it gently amusing, with some excellent turns of phrase. The occasional poor joke or pun should just be ignored because the overall read is enjoyable.

South Bend, Indiana is known as the home of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Brotherly private investigators Roger and Phil Knight love the college atmosphere, the sports, and the occasional intrigue.

Roger, recently appointed to the Huneker Chair in the Catholic Studies Department, teaches a course on the renowned Father John Zahm, a Renaissance man who many believe found the legendary El Dorado Mine. However, Roger nd his students are not the only people interested in Zahm. Alumni Boris Henry possesses Zahm's diaries that provide clues to the El Dorado Mine. He wants to mount an expedition that he hopes will lead to a center based on Zahm's works. Another alumnus Xavier Killock is also interested in finding the El Dorado Mine; Boris believes Xavier stole the diaries from him, but if he did he will not be able to confess as someone killed him.

The tour of the famous university will be enjoyed not just by alumni, but also fans of teams who until recent years spent many a defeat in Rockne Stadium. The who-done-it is fun to follow as Ralph McInerny provides lots of misdirection, which also turns into to many dead ended sidebars. Still this is a pleasant read in an amiable series.

Harriet Klausner

This was an okay book - I finished it, which in itself says it is bearable. I just didn't get all excited or wrapped up in it. I think the main problem is that in mystery series you need to get invested in the main characters...and this book really never spends that much time with the two investigators. I was much invested in Rebecca and Josh's relationship than anything to do with the Knights. I just think the book needs to concentrate more on the central characters and hence more on a forward plot.