- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (March 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0740712268
- ISBN-13: 978-0740712265
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 635 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The latest in the author's long-running series of didactic mysteries featuring Detroit priest Father Robert Koesler (following Till Death) restores a better balance between mystery and religion. As usual, a thorny religious issue is at the center of things, and Kienzle has posited a doozy. Father George Wheatley, an Episcopal priest of some renown, has undertaken to convert to Roman Catholicism. That decision has caused great consternation in Wheatley's family as well as shock in the Episcopal and Roman communities. In addition to continuing to flog the changes wrought by Vatican II, the author explores such issues as the differences and similarities between Anglicans, Episcopalians and Romans (all of whom consider themselves Catholics), and whether Catholic priests should be permitted to marry and women allowed to become priests. Sharing center stage, and danger, with Wheatley are Father Koesler, who has befriended him during his conversion, and Father Zachary Tully, whose church will be the site of Wheatley's ordination. Plenty of folk are opposed to Wheatley's ordination, including his (Episcopal) priest son, Ron; his seminarian daughter, Alice; and various lay and clerical Roman Catholics who see Wheatley's conversion as one more assault on their venerable church. When a murderer strikes before the ordination can take place, Koesler and the police must scramble to unmask someone willing to kill for his or her beliefs. In a series that has not been aging well, this is a refreshingly strong entry. (Apr. 1)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The impending ordination of a former Episcopal priest into the Catholic church in Detroit turns into murder when an explosion at the altar kills a priest. Homicide detective Tully, retired detective Koznicki, Father Robert Koesler (series "resource person"), and George Wheatley, the "changeling," immediately analyze, inform, and hypothesize. Suspects are numerous, including two of Wheatley's own children one an Episcopal priest, the other a closet lesbian seminarian so police face an uphill struggle. A tedious exposition, argumentative and/or didactic digressions, and cheap narrative tricks label this a potboiler; nevertheless, buy for Kienzle's (The Rosary Murders) steady following.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Mystery and Excellent Exposition,
By
This review is from: The Sacrifice (Mass Market Paperback)
One doesn't really read William Kienzle without expected a little religio-cultural edification. Indeed, I ended up learning more about Romano-Anglican relationships than about the criminal mind. Like another reviewer here, I suspect that the dear Fr. Koesler's appearance in this story was a little tired. Still, I'm hopeful that he might resurrect (as it were) in yet another tale or two.I especially value the author's ability to tell stories about powerful, even holy, institutions with rich characters who suffer the flaws that all mankind have borne: Neither the "good guys" nor the "bad guys" are stereotypical. There are rich grays in the personalities of our priests, cops and work-a-day Joes and Janes here while the heights to which some of them aspire are supremely lofty, and the depths for which others yearn are dank and noisome indeed.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Journey to Priesthood,
By
This review is from: The Sacrifice (Hardcover)
I've been a fan of William X. Kienzle since way back when. In this case, "when" being my introduction to the thoughtful clerical detective, Father Robert Koesler, in Kienzle's first two mysteries, "The Rosary Murders" and "Death Wears a Red Hat." In "The Sacrifice," Father Koesler's twenty-third appearance, Kienzle explores an ecumenical setting dear to my heart: the relationship between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, two denominations that are remarkably similar, vastly different, and deeply misunderstood by the other. To facilitate the plot, the author not only brings Father Koesler out of retirement, but his friend and Watson, the courtly and devout Inspector Walter Koznicki, as well.Father George Wheatley is an Episcopal priest who is taking advantage of the so-called "Anglican Use Provision" in the Roman Catholic Church that allows priests in the Anglican Communion to be reordained in the Roman church despite being married. Father Wheatley's motives for his switch are complex and engender opposition both from his family and from Anglican and Roman traditionalists. The result is a bomb explosion at his ordination, missing the target but killing another priest. Despite the beguiling plot and Kienzle's sensitive and informed understanding of Anglicanism (one flaw though: he doesn't really know how Episcopal bishops are selected), "The Sacrifice" fails to deliver as a mystery. Father Koesler spends more time explaining the Anglican ethos than solving the mystery. And the plot has too many weaknesses, including a number of separate crimes masquerading as one, a multiplicity of suspects and detectives, a plethora of one-dimensional characters, and myriad plot threads that are never really resolved -- for instance, the fates of Wheatley's closeted lesbian seminarian daughter and his ambitious daughter-in-law. The Father Koesler series may have run out of steam. Kienzle has tried various ploys to revive it in recent years, most notably the introduction of a second-string priest/detective team, the long lost Tully brothers. None have really worked. Much as I hate to say it, it might be more merciful to let Father Koesler retire in peace.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightening Mystery,
By algerina "algerina" (Saint Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Sacrifice (Hardcover)
I could not agree with the Library Journal rather negative editorial printed here. I found this to be another excellent addition to the Father Koesler series. The Detroit now-retired parish priest solves the crime once more calling on his knowledge of church politics and scripture. The plot deals with a famous and popular Anglican priest, who decides to sacrifice it all and be a Catholic priest. His reason for doing so remains a mystery to the end. Neither a Catholic nor Anglican I found the narrative fascinating. The murder almost becomes a backdrop to the hate surrounding this sacrifice and a black priest. The author presents us with several red herrings to this complex puzzle. I can honestly say I believe that The Sacrifice has breathed new life into the series. I recommend this book to both fans of the series as well as readers, who enjoy a good intellectual story
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