The Rosary Murders is the first in a series featuring Father Koesler, by the late William X. Kienzle. The mystery is set in Detroit, Michigan during the '70's. At that time, Detroit was famous for its monstrous murder rate and widespread crime. Contributing to this madness, is a murderer who is killing priests and nuns, around the holy season of Lent and Easter. Father Koesler is the editor of the " Detroit Catholic"', a newspaper for the city's Catholics, including both clergy and church followers. He knows a wide range of people....priests, nuns, parishioners, and city officials. In his spare time, he enjoys reading"who- dunits", as he calls them.Since these murders are taking place in the '70's, Kienzle includes lots of interesting cultural details, which made for a nostalgic read for me. On occasion, Father Koesler is reading The First Deadly Sin, a widely popular book that I read during that time. One of the victims has a membership at a gym called Vic Tanny's, which was one of the early franchise gyms in the 60's and '70's. My mom had a membership there when I was in high school. You get the picture. For anyone who remembers this era, there are lots of references to take you down memory lane, if you are so inclined.Not being Catholic myself, it was quite interesting to find out details about the daily routines of priests and nuns, and to have a peek inside how some rituals work, especially the concept of confession. Additionally, there is some suggestion that there were vast differences of opinion among priests, nuns, and parishioners, about the content and impact of Vatican Two. Kienzle was a priest for more than two decades, but left the Catholic Church in 1974 because he did not agree with its position regarding the remarriage of divorcees. So, the behind the scenes glimpse he provides are realistic, adding to the interest I had in the book's progression.Father Kienzle joins forces with the police, in an attempt to solve the "Rosary Murders"', thereby introducing us to some interesting characters along the way- some of whom, I suspect, may show up in the next instalment in the series. There are 24 books in the series. I am not committing yet to reading them all, but my curiosity has been aroused. The next one is Death Wears a Red HatIncidentally, The Rosary Murders was made into a movie starring one of my favourite actors and fellow Canadian, Donald Sutherland. Thanks to my friend Michael of GR, who suggested this book to me when I was looking for a book set in Michigan, for my Road Trip USA Challenge.
I just finished a reissue of William X. Kienzle's first mystery novel, The Rosary Murders. I hadn't read it when it first came out in 1978, but I did recall that Donald Sutherland had starred in the movie of the same name. The book , set in Detroit, opens on Ash Wednesday, and an elderly priest is killed while waiting to die in a hospital. Two days later, a nun is murdered in her bathtub. Soon, other priests and nuns are murdered, each left with a rosary in their hand. Soon a police task force and newspaper reporters are investigating. Father Koesler, editor of the Detroit Catholic, and an avid mystery fiction fan, is drawn into the case as well.The book is half police procedural, half amateur sleuth, and includes lots of priests and nuns. Kienzle had been a priest for 20 years before leaving the priesthood and launching a writing career. There is much talk about the gulf between the laity and the priests and religious, and the changes in the church in the recent past. There is also many examples of priests eating and drinking and resenting their parishioners. Father Koesler smokes a lot, but then it was the 1970s. The Rosary Murders wasn't a hard book to read, although I had a hard time keeping track of all the priests. There is no graphic violence or language.I will look for the second in the series, Death Wears a Red Hat.
What do You think about The Rosary Murders (1989)?
This was an interesting read. Light, chock-full of the Catholic church. Interestingly, it was written the year I was born, and it was fascinating to put that in perspective. It was a bit difficult to get into at first, but I don't blame this book - it's been a while since I read this genre and for various reasons was interested in getting back into it. I've got a stack of Kienzle's books on my shelf to read, borrowed from a friend, and I'm looking forward to reading them in-between the heavier stuff I've got on my to do list.
—Sare Gordy
