Irish Tenure: A Mystery Set at the University of Notre Dame

Combine Notre Dame's Knight brothers, an arrogant senior faculty member, a rare book dealer, a spurned husband, an undiscovered G.K. Chesterton "Father Brown" story, several priests, and the dead body of a young faculty member up for tenure and you have the ingredients for McInerny's entertaining mystery.At times the book is a bit hard to follow. Set exclusively at the University of Notre Dame, the book is so detailed in this regard that anyone unfamiliar with the campus may feel like an outsider reading the book. The book is formulaic, a bit predictable, and McInerny has the habit of assuming that his readers are schooled in foreign languages as he frequently tosses in Latin and French expressions that the lay reader may find frustrating.However,the book offers an insightful and witty look at tenure and the politics of a university campus, and takes some shots at the "political correctness" found on campuses. The author of more than 20 books, including the Father Dowling mysteries, McInerny does know how to tell a tale.Those familiar with the University of Notre Dame, fans of McInerney's mysteries, or fans of G.K. Chesterton will find this mystery particularly enjoyable.

Ralph McInerny, best known for his Father Dowling mysteries, has here produced not so much a mystery story but rather a slice of life from the campus of Notre Dame, which he knows so well. Anyone expecting a clear-cut mystery story where someone turns up dead at the start, with the rest of the book devoted to a singleminded pursuit of the culprit, will be sorely disappointed and should look elsewhere. The murder happens very late in the book and the murderer is pretty obvious. IRISH TENURE is more like Malcolm Bradbury than Agatha Christie. McInerny shows the dark side of academic life (even at so august an institution an Notre Dame): the catfight for tenure. The structure is loose and seems at first rambling and discursive, but McInerny winds it all together eventually. Until then, he gives subtle character studies of the sorts of people who drift into academia: those intelligent enough to be professors but somehow haven't managed into the tenure track; those who are tenured and probably shouldn't be; those who need and or deserve to be tenured; the evil necessity to publish or perish . . .He also takes long overdue pot-shots, sometimes poignant and sometimes hilarious, at political correctness, especially regarding draconian modern ideas of sexual harrassment. The plot, such as it is, is centered on the discovery of every Chestertonian's dream, a long-lost Father Brown story. IRISH TENURE will prove a joy for fans of G.K. Chesterton, for most of the main characters live and breathe his works. For the uninitiated, therefore, the book will doubtlessly prove confusing. Chesterton enthusiasts will find piquant prose, and enjoy spending time with like-minded characters who have found that Chesterton adds zest to life.The main disappointment is that there is no genuine long-lost story appended to the end of the tale; but that's just as well, for McInerny's work would've suffered in the comparison. And we can be thankful that McInerny didn't attempt a pastiche.

Fans of G.K. Chesterton will enjoy this witty and entertaining mystery. It centers around the discovery at Notre Dame of an unpublished Father Brown story. The book is full of references to GKC, and the professor-detective Roger Knight is an unusual and likable character. The first two books in this series are also worth reading.

This is a mystery that fans of G.K. Chesterton will especially enjoy. The story revolves around the discovery at Notre Dame University of an unpublished Father Brown story. References to Chesterton abound, and there's lots of GKC trivia that will appeal to Chestertonians. All this, combined with Ralph McInerny's usual satirical wit, makes for very entertaining reading. And the professor-detective Roger Knight is an unusual, likable and winsome character.