A Cardinal Offense

The mystery elements of this Fr. Dowling novel aren't quite up to par with the best of the genre (they aren't even as good as some of McInerny's own work). But the characters are compelling, life-like, and well-drawn. The real mystery isn't in who killed/kidnapped whom, but in figuring out the real-life counterparts to the main characters, some of whom are thinly-veiled, others who are barely-veiled, and still others who are well-disguised. Anyone who's been a student at Notre Dame in the past twenty years has a considerable advantage, of course. McInerny does a fairly decent job of portraying the annullment problems within the Church. He has a perspective, of course, but it's not one that is easily dismissed as reactionary, unlike some other views. As with divorce, single-parent families, and a variety of other social problems, there are--regardless of the intentions and circumstances--consequences for the individual people involved.

The editorial reviews, collectively, are partly inaccurate and, even worse, give away too much. Suffice it to say that this book sees the return of many familiar characters and the introduction of intriguing new ones in a complex plot that takes place partly at Notre Dame, where the author teaches philosophy. Intermingled are numerous thoughtful philosophical asides.However, don't buy this for the climactic football game. There must be a half dozen implausibilities in McInerny's account -- but he describes impossible games in other novels too. This book is not about football.