Murder in Ordinary Time [Paperback]

Carol Anne O'Marie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1992

When Channel 5's star investigative reporter dies from eating a cyanide-laced Christmas cookie, Sister Mary Helen investigates the murder. Reprint. PW.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The unusual insight into human nature gained by followers of the religious life is again demonstrated by Sister Mary Helen, semiretired from teaching at San Francisco's Mount St. Francis College and last encountered in The Missing Madonna . Appearing on a local TV news show, Sister Mary Helen finds herself plunged into a murder case when investigative reporter Christina Kelly dies on the air, poisoned with a cookie mysteriously delivered to the studio. Although police inspectors Dennis Gallagher and Kate Murphy (the latter in the last month of pregnancy), her old friends and antagonists, order her not to interfere, Sister Mary Helen feels she is morally obligated to solve the murder when the Greek mother of the victim asks her to avenge her daughter. Interpol comes into the picture when it turns out that Christina had been investigating a ring that smuggled Greek antiquities, but Sister Mary Helen's knowledge of human nature uncovers an older source for the tragedy. Sister O'Marie's unsensational and warmhearted portrayal of convent, family and police life, tied into a tidy mystery with modern trappings, makes for a satisfying read.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

San Francisco's elderly, sleuthing Sister Mary Helen is once again barging in where Police Inspectors Kate Murphy and Dennis Gallagher have begged her not to go (Advent of Dying, etc.). This time, Sister Mary Helen was among others waiting to be interviewed on a local TV news program when newswoman Christina Kelly died of cyanide poisoning, having eaten the only tainted cookie in a plateful from an unknown donor. It's soon apparent that Christina was not the intended victim, but the reader will have latched onto the murderer long before the police are led to the solution by Sister Mary Helen. Strained and tedious, padded with chitchat on menus, interior decor, weather, the Super Bowl, Catholic ritual, and the imminent birth of Kate Murphy's baby. In all: unpretentious but unrewarding. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Dell (November 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440213533
• ISBN-13: 978-0440213536
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good mystery novel, September 13, 2009

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grandma (Kansas) - See all my reviews

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I have read all of the books of this author. Enjoy her novels very much. Easy reading. Relaxing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another super book, December 13, 2008

By 

kwajkat (Silverdale, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in Ordinary Time: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery (Sister Mary Helen Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

You just can't find a bad book in any of her books. Have them all and love them all. Just wish they were all available in Kindle format as well.

5.0 out of 5 stars Older women are still vital!, January 16, 2012

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Janet Nail "reading junkie" (YAZOO CITY, MS, US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder in Ordinary Time: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery (Sister Mary Helen Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Sister Mary Helen and Sister Eileen find themselves once again involved with murder as a debonair priest who has been embezzling from his church is murdered after they deliver some Irish Soda Bread on St. Patrick's Day. As Gallaher tries half-heartedly to find a way to blame the elderly nuns, the Sisters talk to and listen to all the suspects to zero in on the murderer. Cozy, exciting, and very interesting.