Murder Makes a Pilgrimage: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery (Sister Mary Helen Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Sister Carol Anne O'Marie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2003 | Series: Sister Mary Helen Mysteries

Vivacious and outgoing, Lisa Springer was the most unlikely member of the free pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the birthplace of Christianity in Spain. And Sister Mary Helen soon had reason to suspect the auburn-haired knockout knew the other members of the tour group--and some of their ugliest secrets--all too well. So when Lisa was discovered strangled to death in a saint's crypt, Sister Mary faced no end of likely suspects-from Lisa's dangerously disaffected "best friend" to the group's charming, unreliable guide to the mild-mannered professor with a relentlessly snobbish wife. And when Sister Mary Helen becomes the target of a number of frightening "accidents," she and Sister Eileen must race to uncover Lisa's past and expose a clever killer hellbent on prematurely sending one sleuthing nun to her heavenly reward.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The escapades of Sister Mary Helen and Sister Eileen are delightful." -San Francisco Examiner

"Sister Mary Helen handles her cases with bustling efficiency and an elfin sense of humor."
-The New York Times Book Review

"Neatly plotted, entertaining mystery fare." -Booklist

From the Inside Flap

Eyes closed, Sister Mary Helen whispered a prayer and touched St. James' coffin lid. She didn't expect it to feel wet and sticky...

Distracted, she opened her eyes. What in heaven's name could be leaking down here?

Her heart gave a sickening jolt. A streak of red was smeared from the corner of the lid down one side-as though a bloody rag had been dragged over it. Then Mary Helen saw it on the marble floor below, awkwardly stuffed behind the ornate casket. Rivulets of blood snaked down from the body's gaping head wound onto its shimmering evening dress like scratches. Mary Helen peered at the face, half covered with strands of auburn hair. Vacant blue eyes stared back at her. Across the throat was a thick cruel welt.

Someone had strangled Lisa Springer...

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (November 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312985282
• ISBN-13: 978-0312985288
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #317,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Cozy Mystery, September 11, 2007

By 

drebbles (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Murder Makes a Pilgrimage: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery (Sister Mary Helen Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Sister Mary Helen is surprised to find out that she is one of ten winners of a trip to the shrine of St. James in Santiago Spain - she didn't know her good friend Sister Eileen had entered her name in the contest. At the urging of restaurant owner Senior Carlos Fraga de la Cueva, who would like her to keep an eye on his wayward nephew Pepe, Sister Mary Helen agrees to go to Spain with Sister Eileen. This is supposed to be a nice little getaway, but murder has a way of finding Sister Mary Helen and it's not long before she stumbles across the dead body of someone in their tour group. Her police friends in the United States, Dennis Gallagher and Kate Murphy, urge Sister Mary Helen to let the local police, headed by Comisario Serrano, do all the investigating and Sister Mary Helen be content with sightseeing. But Sister Mary Helen can't help being involved and soon there are several attempts on her life. Comisario Serrano, with the aid of several phone calls to Kate Murphy, scrambles frantically to solve the murder before Sister Mary Helen is fatally hurt.

I always enjoy reading Sister Carol Anne O'Marie's cozy mystery series featuring Sister Mary Helen and "Murder Takes a Pilgrimage" is no exception. Gray haired Sister Mary Helen is a delightful character who loves to read murder mysteries that she hides behind plastic prayer book covers so she doesn't shock others with her choice of reading material and she has an unfortunate habit of getting involved in real life mysteries. Sister Eileen is also a delight; especially with her habit of quoting what she claims are sayings back home in Ireland, although Sister Mary Helen suspects she makes them up as she goes along. Since much of the action in the book takes place in Spain, we don't see as much of Kate Murphy and especially Dennis Gallagher, which is a shame. But the few glimpses we get of Kate and her agonizing about whether or not to go back to work after the birth of her son are well done and add a lot of the book. While I did miss the absence of the other nuns, especially Sister Anne, throughout much of the book, characters like Maria Jose add some nice bits to the book. The mystery itself is well plotted and it was fun to try to figure out who the murderer was. The book isn't without flaws - it's obvious who will be murdered; readers will figure out why someone is trying to steal Sister Mary Helen's purse long before she and the police do; and the final scene where the murderer is revealed seems intended to be sad but was unbelievable to me. But these are minor flaws in an otherwise very enjoyable mystery.

"Murder Takes a Pilgrimage" is a delightful cozy mystery.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great little mystery!, September 11, 2009

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Makes a Pilgrimage: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery (Sister Mary Helen Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

This was the first Sister Carol Anne O'Marie book I read and it was truly delightful. Sister Mary Helen reminds me of Miss Marple. If you like Agatha Chrisie's works, you'll like Sister O'Maries books. Unlike other reviewers, I followed along quite easily and never felt left in the dark because I haven't read the other books in the series, though I mean to devour the rest of the series quite soon on my Kindle 2!

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder Makes a Pilgrimage, March 14, 2007

By 

A. Wolfe (Mexico, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Makes a Pilgrimage: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery (Sister Mary Helen Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I love all of Carol Anne O'Maries books. I am never let down when I pick up a Sister Mary Helen Mystery Novel. I have had trouble finding her books at the store. It was fabulous finding them on amazon.It enabled me to finish reading the entire series.