The Widow's Mate (A Father Dowling Mystery)

This is a complicated mystery with the regular characters in Fox River. I have read many of the Father Dowling bookd snf enjoyed most of them. Its nice to revisit the same people.

This is one of the best of the generally excellent Father Dowling books. The author claims a mystery writer does not need to know "who done it" until he gets to the end of the book. That may be true of this effort as well, but the key elements of the plot required a lot of planning with consequent reward to the reader. As always, there are plenty of wise philosophical one-liners.

Following his father's gift to him of a sizable amount of money, Wallace Flanagan vanished. His friends and family including his wife Melissa assumed he dumped his spouse to run off with his latest lover. However years later, Wally's body is found, mashed by a cement mixer. His father and his former lover want to know where he was when he vanished, why he suddenly reappeared dead in equipment owned by his family's firm, and who killed him. However, Melissa instead turns to Father Dowling of St. Hilary's in Fox River to pray for Wally's eternal soul. Unable to ignore the mortal concerns of an apparent homicide, Father Dowling begins investigating only to learn a friend of Wally, Greg Packer, has been killed too. THE WIDOW'S MATE is a terrific whodunit as Father Dowling prays for Wally's soul, tries to provide solace to the widow and also seeks the truth as to what happened. The story line is filled with twists and red herrings so that the audience is never sure what to expect next as Ralph McInerney keeps fans guessing (and reading). Father Dowling is at his best in this delightful parish cozy. Harriet Klausner