Triple Pursuit: A Father Dowling Mystery [Hardcover]

Ralph M. McInerny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2001

"McInerny has created the most engaging, irascible priest-detective since Chesterton's Father Brown." - Booklist

In his many years of service to the St. Hillary's congregation, Father Dowling has often helped untangle intricate problems among the faithful. This time, a young woman who occasionally attended mass at St. Hillary's has been killed in a car accident, struck down by speeding traffic. Conflicting eyewitness reports have Detective Phil Keegan wondering if it really was an accident. In the meantime, the church's new senior center erupts in chaos when one woman attracts multiple suitors, and the amorous old men come to blows - with deadly repercussions. It's up to Father Dowling to solve the puzzles and restore the peace.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In McInerny's 20th Father Dowling mystery in 24 years, the pensive, perceptive priest figures out a not very difficult case involving three seemingly separate murders that affect his St. Hilary's Catholic Church parish in Fox River, Ill. The usual cast of characters includes Dowling's nosy housekeeper, Marie Murkin; his longtime friend, police captain Phil Keegan; tenacious police detectives Cy Horvath and Agnes Lamb; and lethargic cop Peanuts Pianone. A young woman recently moved to town falls or is thrown into traffic and dies. Two more are strangled to death: bright, flirtatious young lawyer Aggie Rossner and motel housekeeper Ruby Otter. The investigation is confused by a fight at the St. Hilary's Senior Citizen Center between two elderly widowed brothers-in-law, Jack Gallagher and Austin Rooney, over an attractive widow. Jack was having an affair with Aggie and confesses to her murder, trying to protect his married son who was also involved with her. In addition, Jack's daughter and her lawyer fianc‚ interfere, causing mild complications. The Dowling books are comfortable leisurely and repetitive with familiar situations and issues. McInerney's strengths are his dry wit and realistic depiction of the elderly, as well as his all too human characters such as down-at-the-heels lawyer Tuttle; his temporary secretary, the frighteningly efficient Hazel Barnes; and the senior center busybody, Desmond O'Toole. (Apr. 23)Forecast: A predictable entry in a generally lackluster series should still please the older audience who are Dowling's principal fans, but it will take a miracle for this novel to increase McInerney's reader base.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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

From Booklist

The indefatigable Father Roger Dowling solves another mystery steeped in human drama and spiritual significance. When two seemingly unrelated homicide investigations begin to intertwine, Captain Phil Keegan of the Fox River Police Department relies on his old friend Father Dowling to assist in the investigation. Since several of the prime suspects are members of St. Hilary's Parish, Dowling is able to offer a more intimate assessment of the probable motives. The romantic fates of two elderly gentlemen feuding over a septuagenarian femme fatale and the tenuous future of a young couple about to exchange wedding vows are profoundly altered by the ruthless murders of an anonymous young hotel maid and a high-powered female attorney. Less introspective than Kienzle's cerebral Father Koesler and more credible than Greeley's quirky Father Blackie Ryan, Father Dowling has a down-to-earth demeanor that will appeal, as always, to a variety of readers who enjoy mysteries with a religious twist. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 547 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Pr (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786232951
• ISBN-13: 978-0786232956
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,292,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars told with insight and humor, January 14, 2002

By 

Karen Sampson Hudson "Karen Sampson Hudson" (Reno, NV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Triple Pursuit (Father Dowling Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Ralph McInerny is one of my favorite mystery writers. A philosophy professor who has taught at Notre Dame for forty years, he is a noted scholar whose novels reflect his knowledge of the vagaries and virtues of the human heart. In "Triple Pursuit" we are again in Fox River with Father Dowling, his staunch housekeeper, Marie Murkin, and his pal Detective Phil Keegan. This is a marvelous yarn whose theme might be "cherchez la femme." Once again McInerny treats us to the interior lives of characters large and small, like the pretty young mother, Jane, who looks forward to private morning time after her husband is off to work and her children to school; or to the aging priest who continues to serve a parish despite nearly crippling arthritis. McInerny is a mature fiction writer who writes equally well of women and men, something that cannot be said for a lot of younger male writers. Kudos to him for this latest novel, and may he give us many more to enjoy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not enough action, February 18, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Triple Pursuit (Father Dowling Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In Fox River, Illinois, the St. Hilary Senior Center under the auspices of Father Dowling has become quite an interesting place. The recent addition of two senior citizens, former radio star Jack Gallagher and retired college English professor Austin Rooney have joined the group. These two rivals are simply not the best of friends even though they were related through blood. They both love Jack's daughter Colleen and would do anything for her, perhaps even murder.

After praying endlessly to Saint Anne for a man, Colleen is going to marry attorney Mario Liberati. However, Colleen's elation is disturbed when someone kills legal siren Aggie Rossner, who tries to seduce Mario. The police suspect Jack, but Captain Phil Keegan turns to Father Dowling to help sift through the clues.

Fans of the Father Dowling series will enjoy TRIPLE PURSUIT though the tale seems even more leisurely than the usual cozy. The story line slowly simmers as readers meet all the key players in such a way that the audience comprehends what makes the individual tick. Any person, who relishes action, should pursue a different type of novel. However, those fans of the series or who just likes a gradually evolving who-done-it starring an interesting amateur sleuth will find the latest entry quite the thing.

Harriet Klausner