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Overview
Tough times and the unsolved murders of anyone with ties to the Deveres---a family of wealthy parish patrons---back Father Dowling up against a wall in his struggle to save his church from the chopping block.
With too many churches and not enough people to fill them, the Archdiocese has to make some cuts, and many of them, including the proposed closing of St. Hilary’s, are dangerously close to the bone. Father Dowling rushes to drum up support from church officials and parishioners, including the Deveres, who don’t want to see the stained glass windows they donated go anywhere other than the church they were meant for, but they can hardly be of help when those closest to them start turning up dead.
Church politics, long-kept family secrets, and a determined killer come together to put St. Hilary’s---a church that countless characters and devoted readers have come to love---and its parishioners in peril in Stained Glass, the latest in Ralph McInerny’s treasured mystery series.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Isolated by demographic changes, St. Hilary's of Fox River, Ill., struggles for its very survival in McInerny's timely 28th novel to feature Father Dowling (after 2008's Ash Wednesday). When the archdiocese decides to close half a dozen parishes, including Father Dowling's, the congregation of St. Hilary's joins the priest in a campaign to prevent the action. Meanwhile, the discovery of a nude female body hanging from the cross strut of a garage door points to a ritual killing. More murders follow. The police, local reporters and Father Dowling get on a trail that comes dangerously close to the Devere family, longtime church benefactors who donated the magnificent Menotti stained-glass windows to St. Hilary's. The outcome will surprise even the most astute reader. Series fans will enjoy catching up with old friends, while everyone will find much to savor in the fresh and challenging plot. (Oct.)Kirkus Reviews
Fox River parishioners face the closing of St. Hilary's. What's a cardinal to do when his flock diminishes and there are empty pews in too many churches? St. Hilary's, home to Father Dowling for 30 years, is on the endangered list. Its shaken cadre of senior citizens form a group called Save St. Hilary's ("Ssssh," notes one disgusted member). Even more appalled is nonagenarian Jane Devere, whose forebears were not only among the parish's first worshipers but donors of the handsome stained-glass windows by Peoria artist Angelo Menotti. If anything can save St. Hilary's, it will be those windows. Jane has commissioned a book on Menotti's church art, antagonizing other family board members by paying for it from the sizable Devere Trust. Is someone antagonistic enough to kill? When people start dying, there seems to be a link to the publishing house. Fox River Tribune reporters Tetzel and Rebecca nose around; lawyers Tuttle and Cadbury defend various clients; and a beautiful young Adonis keeps popping up under different names, some known to the Merchant Marine, others to the warden at Joliet. Meanwhile, Father Dowling remains calm even as the body count threatens to surpass the dwindling numbers of his congregation. Despite the use of a notorious genre cliche to resolve all those murders, an affable, at times witty tale that will undoubtedly please the many fans of the Illinois cleric (The Wisdom of Father Dowling, 2009, etc.).From the Publisher
Praise for Ralph McInerny’s Father Dowling Mysteries
“Father Dowling’s twenty-seventh gently probes questions of guilt, intention, and absolution while having a bit of fun with small-town nattering.”
—-Kirkus Reviews on Ash Wednesday
“In his usual gentle, thoughtful way, Father Dowling makes compassionate decisions. . . . Readers who long for a down-to-earth story of ordinary people and events will be well rewarded.”
—-Publishers Weekly on Ash Wednesday
“This series continues to deliver, with a fascinating protagonist, intelligent plotting, and dry humor.”
—-Booklist on The Widow’s Mate
“Father Dowling is not the average priest. . . . He has been through the mill himself, is tough, yet has compassion.”
—-The New York Times Book Review
“You don’t have to go to church to worship mystery lovers’ esteemed Father Dowling.”
—-Entertainment Weekly
“Mystery at its bloodless, cerebral best . . . Dowling is the perfect father confessor, dealing with moral dilemmas and the weakness of man with compassion and understanding.”
—-The Chicago Tribune