Judas Priest: A Father Dowling Mystery [Hardcover]

Ralph M. McInerny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1991

Agreeing to speak with the only child of a hedonistic priest, who wants to become a nun despite her father's opinions of the church, Father Dowling is stunned when she is brutally murdered, and uncovers a killer with a calling of his own. Reprint. AB. PW.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of McInerny's ( Abracadaver ) Father Dowling series, especially those who abhor the young nun assistant added for the TV show, will be delighted with this tale that mixes corporal sins with questions of theology. A seminary friend of Dowling's, former priest Chris Bourke, and his ex-nun wife now promote sexual liberation as televangelists of Enlightened Hedonism (EH). Meeting Dowling one day after Mass, Bourke asks the parish priest to talk about the hard facts of religious life with his daughter, Sonya, who wants to enter the convent. Before Dowling can do that, Sonya is reported kidnapped and then found stabbed to death. Soon afterward, the vice-president of EH is discovered dead in his car and Bourke's wife files for divorce. Dowling, housekeeper Marie Murkin and his friend police captain Phil Keegan sift through steadily accruing facts to determine whether Bourke is killing those near him or is the victim of a horrible plot. Dowling, worldly-wise and armed with ready references to St. Paul and other Church fathers, is at his vintage best.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Father Dowling's quiet days at the rectory of St. Hilary's Church in Fox River, Illinois (The Basket Case, etc.), are dramatically interrupted one morning by the appearance of his one- time fellow seminarian Christopher Burke. Burke had been a priest and his wife Janet a nun when they broke away to become the gurus of a movement called Enlightened Hedonism, in which they scorned the tenets of Catholicism and preached (to great financial profit) the joys of sexual freedom. Now their grown daughter Sonja is threatening to enter a convent, and, as Father Dowling later learns, Janet is threatening divorce. Worse is to follow, with the murder of Sonja, whose body is discovered in the battered Toyota of seedy lawyer Tuttle, and the purported suicide of Craig Wilhelms, Burke's right-hand man. There's little sleuthing craft expended in turning up the murderer but considerable cleverness in Father Dowling's successful resistance to being added to the list of victims. Some non-boring religious love, mostly unhackneyed characters, and a lively flow of events make for one of the better efforts in this series. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (October 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031206375X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312063757
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,409,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty and satirical, March 29, 2000

By 

Sheila L. Beaumont (South Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Judas Priest (A Father Dowling Mystery) (Paperback)

The title refers to a former priest who, along with an ex-nun, has converted to a new "religion" of sexual liberation. The two host an outrageous TV show proclaiming their new gospel of hedonism. To complicate matters, their daughter has decided she wants to become a nun. This is wonderful satire, and Ralph McInerny's wit is even sharper than usual. All this, combined with ingenious plotting, makes "Judas Priest" a most enjoyable read.