Details
Synopsis
Fox River, Illinois is abuzz with the news of Mitchell Striker's death and the reappearance of Jerome Winegar, a homegrown bad boy who left 20 years ago after impregnating Striker's daughter. Did Winegar kill Striker? Did his daughter Nancy, now married and respectable, have a part in it? As usual, Father Roger Dowling urges his parishioners to join him in his quest for the truth.
| Size | | Length: | 341 pages | | Height: | 10.0 in | | Width: | 6.5 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 23.2 oz |
Industry Reviews
Father Dowling investigates the connection between a wealthy parishioner murdered in the parish parking lot and the prime suspect, a man who deserted the victim's pregnant daughter some 20 years earlier. For the author's ready audience.
Breitman
McInerny's 17th Father Dowling novel (A Cardinal Offense, 1994, etc.) combines the familiar St. Hilary's parish setting and cast Fox River police Captain Phil Keegan; cops Cy Horvath, Agnes Lamb and Peanuts Pianone; lawyer Tuttle; rectory housekeeper Marie Murkin with the contemporary topic of adoption. When leading citizen Mitchell Striker is murdered, evidence points to Jerome Winegar, recently arrived in town. Twenty years ago, Winegar got Striker's daughter, Nancy, pregnant. Striker was financial adviser of St. Peter's School, where Winegar was then a top student. He had Winegar, an orphan, expelled, and Winegar subsequently disappeared. Nancy, now married to Jim Walsh and the mother of two boys, put the baby up for adoption. Shortly afterward, Striker and his wife adopted an infant daughter, Kate, who now wants to find her birth mother. The solution to the murder of Striker and two subsequent victims is no surprise, nor is the truth of Kate's parentage. But McInerny keeps readers engaged by expertly creating the insular world of the parish and leading widows, businessmen, priests, even the rectory janitor, through a circuitous plot with deadpan humor. His evenhanded treatment of the difficult choices facing a pregnant, unwed young woman is especially effective. (Nov.)
Lopate
YA Has Jerome Winegar returned to seek revenge on the man who ruined his career 20 years ago? When Mitchell Striker is found murdered, all leads point back to Winegar, who claims that he is being set up. Although the police feel that they have a solid case against him, readers are teased with bits of information that do not quite add up. Father Dowling must act as both investigator and counselor to the grieving family whose secrets may need to be revealed in order to catch the killer. A streetwise yet compassionate man, Father Dowling must address issues of inheritance, adoption, biological families, and hidden secrets. Although there are many characters to keep straight, the dominant people soon take center stage, and readers realize which of the personalities they should pay particular attention to. This easy-to-read novel will hold YAs' attention all the way through to the surprising ending. Anita Short, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Lopate
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