After the hefty biography of Theodore Roosevelt's early life, (The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris) I decided to go with some lighter fare.
I had a copy of Sine Qua Nun by Monica Quill gathering dust in a pile of books I'd collected intending to read them at some point, so I gave it a go.
"Monica Quill" is a pen name of Ralph M. McInerny, who was better known as a mystery writer for the Father Dowling mysteries that he published under his own name, and that became the basis of a television series. As Quill, he wrote a series of mysteries with a nun detective, Sister Mary Teresa Dempsey. I had read a couple other books in the series, and had enjoyed them, though I prefer the Father Dowling books. I view the Sister Mary Teresa mysteries as "second tier mysteries" - not great, but still decent reads. (For reference, I consider the mysteries of writers like Tony Hillerman, Ellis Peters, and Agatha Christie as "first tier.")
Sine Qua Nun is typical "Quill". A decent story, though sometimes a little implausible and dated (1980's). And McInerny, who was a conservative philosophy/theology professor (his full-time job), gets in all sorts of digs at post-Vatican II Church issues and changes. (Sister Dempsey dresses is a pre-Vatican II habit, for example.) So while mystery fans might enjoy the "Nun" mysteries, these might appeal more to conservative Catholics. Indeed, I found it in the discard pile at my local library used book sale, and when I checked the library's catalog I found few of the Sister Mary Teresa mysteries still on the shelves.
Still, it was worth reading, especially as something light.
Pax et bonum.
No comments:
Post a Comment