This is a nice compilation of stories featuring the famous ecclesiastical sleuths such as Fathers Roger Dowling and Ryan
Black. Short and sweet stories that are rather entertaining and easy to read.
The Dutiful Son (Ralph McINerny) A man came to
Father Dowling asking him to help fulfill his mother’s dying wish. She had buried a dead infant in the backyard of her old house; she wished for the child to be reburied in consecrated grounds. However when they started digging, they found the dead body of an adult instead.
The Second Commandment (Charlotte Armstrong) Reverend Hugh Macroy’s his new bride had fallen off the edge of a cliff. Visibility was bad due to the thick fog. The police found no evidence of a crime; however suspicion surrounded the widower. Macroy was too distraught to perform his duties at the church, so he was sent to a hospital. There he met a man who told him an incredible story of what happened that fatal night.
Straight Down the Middle (Thomas Adcock) Sister Nell Abbott was unhappy about the police suspecting her parishioners. Jewels from a robbery were missing, yet she was certain that Fredo Suarez was innocent. However he was shot dead by Donny Esposito. Donny was sent to the lethal gas chambers; he died swearing that he had handed the jewels to Fredo. So now it is up to Detective Larry Stein to look for the missing jewels, and clear Fredo’s name.
Death of an Alumnus (Janet O’Daniel) It was a rather grand event – the dedication of the new building at St Margaret’s Home; and many guests were expected, including ‘graduates’ of the home. Sister Maureen was up to her neck, coordinating the event with the help of her staff. Then one of her ‘graduates’ was murdered, and her gardener was suspected.
The Price of Light (Ellis Peters) Hamo FitzHamon hoped to insure his life thereafter, by obtaining some merits for his soul as cheaply and quickly as possible. He pledged the rent from one of his farms to provide light at the altar of a church. Furthermore , he insisted on displaying a pair of fine silver candlesticks at the church, as proof of his charity. When the candlesticks were stolen, FitzHamon was in an uproar - the abbot and the brothers were worried about the fury of the harsh and mean-spirited man.
A Face to Remember (Mary Amlaw) A woman had stayed in the Daughters of Elias for a year, hiding behind the nuns and the convent. She had feared being hunted down by a mobster who had suspected her of betraying him to the police. Now she planned to confess the truth to the prioress of the convent; however before she could do that, she was murdered.
The Man in the Passage (G K Chesterton) This is the best in the collection. Aurora Rome, the exquisite actress who inflamed men’s thoughts and emotions, had played the game too close to her heart. She was stabbed to death, and three men, her ardent admirers, are now suspected of the crime.
Father Brown was in the midst of it all; and he seemed to be the only level-headed male around.
Justina (Dorothy Salisbury Davis) Mrs Ryan met a nun who tried to get into her building, loaded with bundles and shopping bags. She invited the nun in for a cup of tea, after which the nun left. What roused Mrs Ryan’s curiosity was that when she went downstairs, she saw the nun, who had emerged from the basement of her building minus her many bundles.
In the Confessional (Alice Scanlan Reach) A bum hid himself in a church, hoping to steal money from the collection box for a bottle or two. He overheard the confession of a man who claimed to have murdered a missing girl.
Rumpole and the Man of God (John Mortimer) An amusing story of Horace Rumpole, a solicitor who took on the case of a clergyman accused of shoplifting. He was also trying to warn a good friend about his future wife, a woman whom Rumpole suspected of being involved in unsavory business dealings.
The active sleuths are of course Fathers Dowling and Black; the rest of the stories are set in the domains of the church and involve clergymen and women, either in solving the crime, or assisting the police in their crime investigations. Besides The Man in the Passage, the other notable stories are Rumpole and the Man of God and the Dutiful Son.