Stained Glass

August 17, 2009
Isolated by demographic changes, St. Hilary's of Fox River, Ill., struggles for its very survival in McInerny's timely 28th novel to feature Father Dowling (after 2008's Ash Wednesday
). When the archdiocese decides to close half a dozen parishes, including Father Dowling's, the congregation of St. Hilary's joins the priest in a campaign to prevent the action. Meanwhile, the discovery of a nude female body hanging from the cross strut of a garage door points to a ritual killing. More murders follow. The police, local reporters and Father Dowling get on a trail that comes dangerously close to the Devere family, longtime church benefactors who donated the magnificent Menotti stained-glass windows to St. Hilary's. The outcome will surprise even the most astute reader. Series fans will enjoy catching up with old friends, while everyone will find much to savor in the fresh and challenging plot.

September 15, 2009
Fox River parishioners face the closing of St. Hilary's.

What's a cardinal to do when his flock diminishes and there are empty pews in too many churches? St. Hilary's, home to Father Dowling for 30 years, is on the endangered list. Its shaken cadre of senior citizens form a group called Save St. Hilary's ("Ssssh," notes one disgusted member). Even more appalled is nonagenarian Jane Devere, whose forebears were not only among the parish's first worshipers but donors of the handsome stained-glass windows by Peoria artist Angelo Menotti. If anything can save St. Hilary's, it will be those windows. Jane has commissioned a book on Menotti's church art, antagonizing other family board members by paying for it from the sizable Devere Trust. Is someone antagonistic enough to kill? When people start dying, there seems to be a link to the publishing house. Fox River Tribune reporters Tetzel and Rebecca nose around; lawyers Tuttle and Cadbury defend various clients; and a beautiful young Adonis keeps popping up under different names, some known to the Merchant Marine, others to the warden at Joliet. Meanwhile, Father Dowling remains calm even as the body count threatens to surpass the dwindling numbers of his congregation.

Despite the use of a notorious genre clich to resolve all those murders, an affable, at times witty tale that will undoubtedly please the many fans of the Illinois cleric (The Wisdom of Father Dowling, 2009, etc.).

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 15, 2009
In the thirtieth full-length novel in McInernys long-running series, Father Roger Dowling of St. Hilarys Parish in Fox River, Illinois, has to confront a number of problems. First, it seems that the parish is on the verge of being closed by the diocese. Second, the wealthy Devere family, who donated the famous stained glass windows in the church, appears to be at the center of some murders related to that same stained glass. Father Dowling does not get very actively involved in either issue, although he manages to keep abreast of developments. Instead, we watch as clues are collected by lawyer Amos Cadbury; detectives Phil Keegan, Agnes Lamb, and Cy Horvath; reporters Gerry Tetzel and Rebecca Farmer of the Fox River Tribune; and housekeeper Marie Murkin. In the end, though, it is once again Father Dowlings sense of balance and compassion that makes possible satisfying resolutions to the problems at hand. The role of stained glass in both plot threads adds an appealing fine-arts element to McInernys winning formula of cozies with a religious twist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)