Irish Coffee: A Mystery Set at the University of Notre Dame (Hardcover)

by Ralph McInerny (Author) "ONE GOLDEN OCTOBER DAY..." (more)
Key Phrases: coffee cannister, sports information director, Notre Dame, Fred Neville, Jimmy Stewart (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In McInerny's seventh pleasant page-turner set at the University of Notre Dame (after 2002's Celt and Pepper) featuring professor Roger Knight and his PI brother Philip, Fred Neville, assistant sports information director, yearns for a career in literature. (He even writes poetry when no one is looking.) When Fred dies mysteriously in bed, it comes out at his funeral service that he had another, more interesting, life: he was secretly engaged to at least two women, to the surprise and consternation of each. Suicide is initially suspected, but the coroner's discovery of strychnine in a cup containing the remains of coffee and bourbon points to murder. After one of the fiancees turns up dead in Fred's apartment, having drunk another poisoned Irish coffee, things start to get complicated. Snappy dialogue touched with humor propels the plot. Readers are unlikely to solve the puzzle, but will have a lot of fun trying.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Everybody likes Fred Neville, who works in Notre Dame's sports information office. Everybody but one person--the person who killed him. A different side of unassuming Fred surfaces when two women arrive at his funeral, each claiming Fred as their fiance. Because South Bend, home of Notre Dame, is always deferential to the university, the locals have no objection when the Knight brothers become unofficial consultants on the case. Phillip Knight is a streetwise PI, and his immensely rotund brother, Roger, is an amateur sleuth and a revered professor of Catholic studies. Their investigation, set against the backdrop of academia and an exciting women's basketball season, explores the often contradictory concepts of moral responsibility, legal guilt, and justice. McInerny, author of the Father Downing mysteries, has taught at Notre Dame for 40 years. His Knight brothers are a modern Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin who manage to poke gentle fun at the insularity of the university while solving the crime. A fine effort by a deservedly respected genre veteran. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur; 1st edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312309015
• ISBN-13: 978-0312309015
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #529,383 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fum Notre Dame Mystery, November 7, 2003

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In South Bend, Indiana, literature professor Roger Knight and his brother retired private detective Phil are big fans of Notre Dame sports. The siblings especially enjoy talking sports past and present with the university's assistant sports information director Fred Neville, a fellow bachelor. However, that pastime ends when Fred suddenly dies from poisoned coffee.

Fred's death shakes the Knight siblings, but not as much as the appearance at the mass of two women claiming to be his fiancées. Naomi McTear wears an engagement ring and sat in the family pew while departmental secretary Mary Shuster dresses in widow black. Adding to the confusion of the Knights is that they thought Fred was falling in love with point guard Griselda Novak. As they assist South Bend police Lieutenant Stewart on the investigation, Roger and Phil wonder whether a good Catholic could have committed suicide or did one of his women slam dunk him?

Though the mystery is decaf, the insight into the university especially its sports program and history is a delight and will recruit more fans. Using the women's basketball team as a prime backdrop adds depth especially since they won the national title three years ago. The Knight brothers retain their charm and Griselda is an intriguing student athlete. Though this is the seventh game at Notre Dame, Ralph McInerny provides a fresh tale that showcases the university with a lighter than usual case as the mechanism.

Harriet Klausner