Eminence

January 1, 1989
Burnishing the reputation he has earned with The Rosary Murders , Kienzle again sets series hero Father Koesler among criminals in Detroit. The priest visits a dark, cheerless cloister where four monks draw the media and swarms of citizens when one of the friars reputedly works a miraculous cure. Although skeptical, homicide detective ``Zoo'' Tully takes his ailing lover to the cloister and the monk heals her instantly. There is no perceived connection between the murder of an old bum, a case assigned to Tully, nor to the attempted murder of Koesler's friend, reporter Pat Lennon, as she writes about the secretive community. But Koesler, versed in Catholic rituals and wise to the ways of con artists, performs wonders of his own. Proving that faith does move mountains, the author entertains and educates.

April 1, 1989
The recent sudden notoriety of Brother Robert's miraculous "cures" in Detroit brings the small, newly founded Congregation of St. Stephen under scrutiny by press, police, and church fathers. The interests of all three factions merge when someone tries to murder Patricia Lennon, star reporter for the Detroit News . Kienzle renders a slick presentation, pumped up with a large, varied cast and the standard background filler. However, the unsubtle prose and presence of multiple protagonists lends an uneven quality to the whole. Father Koesler's mere ancillary involvement may also disappoint series fans ( The Rosary Murders, Deathbed, etc.). Purchase where demand merits.-- REK

Copyright 1989 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.