In a prequel to the popular Deadstick, seminary student Owen Keane and his former love, Mary Fitzgerald, investigate the disappearance of another student and find a mystery involving murder, drugs, and an elusive lost sonnet by John Keats.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this assured, consistently surprising prequel to the Edgar-nominated Deadstick , divinity student Owen Keane struggles to find both his wandering sense of vocation and a missing classmate. Michael Crosley has vanished from the Southern Indiana seminary of St. Aelred late in the summer of 1973, leaving behind a past littered with perplexities and outright contradictions. Among the elderly to whom he ministered was a woman who claimed her family had a link to the English poet John Keats. Did Michael disappear after gaining possession of a heretofore unknown Keats sonnet? Was that the sonnet he declaimed, tears streaming down his face, during a recent poetry reading at the St. Aelred campus pub? Father Jerome, spiritual advisor to both Owen and Michael , thinks it makes poetic sense to send one troubled seminarian in pursuit of another, especially since Owen seems more interested in detective fiction mythology than matters of biblical doctrine. This ambitious work sensitively probes its protagonist's emotional uncertainties (intensified by the arrival of his former lover Mary) and garners much wry humor from the image of Owen, cigarette in mouth, spluttering through rural Hoosier backwoods in his beat-up sports car. A near-faultless performance from start to finish.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
In August 1973, Owen Keane (in this prequel to Deadstick, 1991) is AR--At-Risk of dropping out--of a southern Indiana seminary when his spiritual advisor, Father Jerome, suggests that he look into the disappearance of his classmate Michael Crosley, who simply up and left the premises two weeks back. Tracking Michael leads to nursing-home-bound Sarah Morell and her tale (hallucination?) of a family-owned, never-before-published Keats sonnet. Did Michael steal the poem and abscond? With an assist from ex-girlfriend Mary, Owen runs down the clues and red herrings, stubbornly focused on the Keats poem, while Sarah is suffocated, a young child is abused, and Michael's uncle suggests another reason for his nephew vanishing: despair over misreading his father. Marijuana and further violence come into play before Michael's whereabouts are known--and before Owen comes to terms with why Father Jerome set him on the quest in the first place. Less metaphysical intrigue than in last year's Live to Regret, but still this reflects Owen's attempts to reconcile his feelings with his actions--and it's told with the self-deprecating humor of Deadstick. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting read for mystery lovers,
By A Customer
This review is from: Lost Keats (Paperback)
If you are a serial mystery fan I would recommend the Owen Keane books. The Lost Keats is by far the best of the group and although it is the 3rd in the series it is a prequel to the first 2 written. You will be best served starting the series with this book. Terence Faherty's writing style is only slightly above average but never condesending and the references to poet John Keats elevate this book above your basic mystery. This book's strongest attribute though is its protagonist- Owen Keane, a seminarian with more questions than answers, still longing for the woman he may or may not have ever really had. Told from Owen's self-depricating point of view, Faherty pulls off a difficult accomplishment- creating a character you feel sorry for but never totally pity. Although this book is not great literature by far, it's plot twists will hold your interest and you will find yourself rooting for its main character. In short, an easy but absorbing read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Young investigator Owen Keane unravels a fascinating mystery,
By mswilliams@herff-jones.com (INDIANA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lost Keats (Paperback)
Author Terence Faherty in his third novel provides readers of the now well established Owen Keane mystery series with a "prequel" to his first two novels in "The Lost Keats". The young seminarian Keane continues his struggles with his own sense of direction as he attempts to solve a riveting mystery of a missing fellow student that has a multitude of plot twists and delightful diversions. Keane's travels throughout the small towns and backroads of rural Indiana and description of it's inhabitants are very much on target. The pace quickens to an exciting ending that has Keane finding answers to the mystery while still searching for his own identity and sense of purpose. Terence Faherty's skillful development of characters, description of human frailties and story-weaving makes this novel a mystery of first rank. Readers will find themselves ready for the next Faherty offering in this very interesting evolution of "investigator" Owen Kea! ! ne !!
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