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Sister Mary Helen #1
Novena for Murder: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery
Sister Mary Helen, at seventy-five, had resisted retirement. She feared she'd find only prayer, peace, and little pinochle. But she'd no sooner arrive at Mount St. Francis College for Women in San Francisco when she was greeted by an earthquake, a hysterical secretary, and a fatally bludgeoned history professor.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1984
45 people are currently reading
608 people want to read
About the author
Carol Anne O'Marie
16 books34 followersSister Carol Anne O'Marie, CSJ was a mystery writer and a nun in the St. Joseph of Carondelet religious order.
She wrote eleven novels with the protagonist Sister Mary Helen, an elderly nun who solves crimes. Most of the books are based in San Francisco.
Her final book, Like a Swarm of Bees, is about the origins of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States.
Sister Carol Anne O'Marie and Sister Maureen Lyons ran a shelter for homeless women in Oakland, CA.
She wrote eleven novels with the protagonist Sister Mary Helen, an elderly nun who solves crimes. Most of the books are based in San Francisco.
Her final book, Like a Swarm of Bees, is about the origins of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States.
Sister Carol Anne O'Marie and Sister Maureen Lyons ran a shelter for homeless women in Oakland, CA.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
April 27, 2019
I enjoyed the following aspects about this cozy mystery:
1. Personable, funny sleuth (a retired nun living at a college)
2. Interesting literary quotes (spoken by the sleuth)
3. Colorful setting (foggy San Francisco)
4. Romance subplots
5. Nicely paced mystery plot
1. Personable, funny sleuth (a retired nun living at a college)
2. Interesting literary quotes (spoken by the sleuth)
3. Colorful setting (foggy San Francisco)
4. Romance subplots
5. Nicely paced mystery plot
December 22, 2018
Kind of predictable, but still very different from any other cozy mystery I've read.
October 25, 2008
I like these mysteries because the characters are consistent from book to book. Sister Mary Helen and her friend Eileen will become old friends, along with Sister Cecilia, the president of St. Francis College in San Francisco, young Sister Anne, who is in campus ministry and Sister Therese, who seems to be in charge of the convent. You will also meet Kate and Dennis, partners in the homicide department, and Jack, Kate’s significant other, and later husband.
In the first book Kate and Jack just live together and Kate doesn’t want it any other way – Jack’s the one who wants to get married. By the end of the fourth book, they are not only married, but have their first child. You will enjoy getting to know them as they unravel their relationship.
Sister Mary Helen seems to always be getting personally involved in murder cases. She is seems to be finding dead bodies all the time, or suspecting murder, or even witnessing murder. And it seems the police, even her friend Kate and her partner Dennis, can’t quite solve their cases without her help on the side. Kate and Dennis have told her many times to leave the investigations to them, but Sister Mary Helen just can’t help herself, and she sometimes barely misses being killed herself when she finally confronts the murderer.
I enjoy these books because they have clues I can notice and use to solve the mysteries along with Sister Mary Helen and the homicide detectives instead of having an unexpected twist at the end that could not really be predicted with the information the reader has. I also enjoy seeing inside the convent. I’m not Catholic, but I appreciate Mary Helen’s expressions of faith, her compassion, and her prayer life, along with her capacity to laugh at herself and portray the foibles of all the sisters that make them approachable. Mary Helen really cares about the people who are hurt physically and emotionally by murder in their families and communities. She gets involved because she cares. She is even concerned about the killers and often prays for them. Especially in Murder of An Angel, both killers had been abused by family members and their killing was a response to that abuse. Sister Mary Helen knows that we are all sinners, who need the grace of God, and she seeks to minister to people as well as to find killers before they strike again.
The books in this series are not thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat. You can read them in bed and quit before the end, unless you are very near the end. Unlike most murder mysteries I’ve read so far, I can come away from these books without getting too close to the seamy side of life. The characters are well-developed. The language is realistic but not laced with four-letter words. I wouldn’t care if my teens read these books. People aren’t perfect, but neither are they perfect in real life. Sister Mary Helen recognizes that not everyone believes as she does and is tolerant, not condemning. She is friend to those affected by murder even as she questions them. That’s why people tell her things they don’t tell the detectives.
If you need the constant stimulation and suspense of a thriller, you probably won’t care for these books. But if you want to solve the mysteries yourself, meet memorable characters you can care about, and don’t want to see lots of gore, sex, and foul language, you might want to give these a try. It’s best to read them in order, since later books refer back to earlier books.
In the first book Kate and Jack just live together and Kate doesn’t want it any other way – Jack’s the one who wants to get married. By the end of the fourth book, they are not only married, but have their first child. You will enjoy getting to know them as they unravel their relationship.
Sister Mary Helen seems to always be getting personally involved in murder cases. She is seems to be finding dead bodies all the time, or suspecting murder, or even witnessing murder. And it seems the police, even her friend Kate and her partner Dennis, can’t quite solve their cases without her help on the side. Kate and Dennis have told her many times to leave the investigations to them, but Sister Mary Helen just can’t help herself, and she sometimes barely misses being killed herself when she finally confronts the murderer.
I enjoy these books because they have clues I can notice and use to solve the mysteries along with Sister Mary Helen and the homicide detectives instead of having an unexpected twist at the end that could not really be predicted with the information the reader has. I also enjoy seeing inside the convent. I’m not Catholic, but I appreciate Mary Helen’s expressions of faith, her compassion, and her prayer life, along with her capacity to laugh at herself and portray the foibles of all the sisters that make them approachable. Mary Helen really cares about the people who are hurt physically and emotionally by murder in their families and communities. She gets involved because she cares. She is even concerned about the killers and often prays for them. Especially in Murder of An Angel, both killers had been abused by family members and their killing was a response to that abuse. Sister Mary Helen knows that we are all sinners, who need the grace of God, and she seeks to minister to people as well as to find killers before they strike again.
The books in this series are not thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat. You can read them in bed and quit before the end, unless you are very near the end. Unlike most murder mysteries I’ve read so far, I can come away from these books without getting too close to the seamy side of life. The characters are well-developed. The language is realistic but not laced with four-letter words. I wouldn’t care if my teens read these books. People aren’t perfect, but neither are they perfect in real life. Sister Mary Helen recognizes that not everyone believes as she does and is tolerant, not condemning. She is friend to those affected by murder even as she questions them. That’s why people tell her things they don’t tell the detectives.
If you need the constant stimulation and suspense of a thriller, you probably won’t care for these books. But if you want to solve the mysteries yourself, meet memorable characters you can care about, and don’t want to see lots of gore, sex, and foul language, you might want to give these a try. It’s best to read them in order, since later books refer back to earlier books.
May 20, 2015
I have taken time collecting this series second-hand. Imagine my thrill and incredulity to receive this one.... AUTOGRAPHED! Sister Carol Anne O’Marie passed away recently, in 2009! I’ve received a gift that endures after the person, whose hand wrote a personal message to her recipient. To whet my whistle and try this book, is a long-savoured pleasure. Four stars leave room for better novels, which first volumes usually precede. I liked my introduction.
Foremost to me is an original premise and a heroine much more mature than a buxom twenty year-old. Sister Mary Helen gives us an intelligent, brave, loveable, guide on an adventure. This is a whole new world for me. Two ex-nuns have been my ‘Tantes’ since I was born. They were ‘civilian’ by the time I could walk and my family isn’t catholic, so I am entirely new to this community and active nuns. It is established that among her peers, Mary Helen is hip and a sprightly 75, thus we can relate to her spirit. What I usually find lacking in ‘cozy mysteries’, probably because light-heartedness is their base definition, is a good jolt of suspense. That tone dissipates by the end but I was pleasantly surprised to find this novel’s first pages greeting me with nervousness that was palpable.
The mystery involves immigrant pupils, how they chose the school. I felt we could have sunk our teeth into that matter more. This novel also had the potential to be sinister more often. I didn’t find the ultimate motive plausible and cared nothing for Kate Murphy’s boyfriend. However home scenes showed Mary Helen as a non-intrusive new friend, to a pupil turned detective. Along with a unique protagonist age, I’m impressed that Mary Helen was realistically frightened; en route to her favourite park bench for example.
Foremost to me is an original premise and a heroine much more mature than a buxom twenty year-old. Sister Mary Helen gives us an intelligent, brave, loveable, guide on an adventure. This is a whole new world for me. Two ex-nuns have been my ‘Tantes’ since I was born. They were ‘civilian’ by the time I could walk and my family isn’t catholic, so I am entirely new to this community and active nuns. It is established that among her peers, Mary Helen is hip and a sprightly 75, thus we can relate to her spirit. What I usually find lacking in ‘cozy mysteries’, probably because light-heartedness is their base definition, is a good jolt of suspense. That tone dissipates by the end but I was pleasantly surprised to find this novel’s first pages greeting me with nervousness that was palpable.
The mystery involves immigrant pupils, how they chose the school. I felt we could have sunk our teeth into that matter more. This novel also had the potential to be sinister more often. I didn’t find the ultimate motive plausible and cared nothing for Kate Murphy’s boyfriend. However home scenes showed Mary Helen as a non-intrusive new friend, to a pupil turned detective. Along with a unique protagonist age, I’m impressed that Mary Helen was realistically frightened; en route to her favourite park bench for example.
June 22, 2022
Almost a fun read. Almost. A Novena For Murder showed some promise then just fell flat. The murder investigation was both too slow and too fast. Sister Mary Hellen spent much too long just mulling over everything, then the plot spent too long bringing in new players. But ultimately, the whole thing was solved in like three pages.
This was also grating because it had one of my least favourite tropes: the communication breakdown (not sure that's its official name), where everything would progress a lot faster if everyone just communicated with each other. With all the facts SMH had uncovered, the police could have solved this on like the fourth day. Plus there's really no reason for her to be keeping information from the detectives. It's not like she did it to protect herself, so it was just a pride thing.
One last thing... Something about how this is written just screams "trying too hard". I almost really got into the story, but this is punctuated with quotes from Classic books and famous old timey authors, which serve no real purpose. Other than, in my opinion, to let the reader know that the author has, indeed, read books by famous old timey, classic authors.
Anyway, this book just left me wishing it was... More. More something... I can't really say what, but it was overall quite meh.
This was also grating because it had one of my least favourite tropes: the communication breakdown (not sure that's its official name), where everything would progress a lot faster if everyone just communicated with each other. With all the facts SMH had uncovered, the police could have solved this on like the fourth day. Plus there's really no reason for her to be keeping information from the detectives. It's not like she did it to protect herself, so it was just a pride thing.
One last thing... Something about how this is written just screams "trying too hard". I almost really got into the story, but this is punctuated with quotes from Classic books and famous old timey authors, which serve no real purpose. Other than, in my opinion, to let the reader know that the author has, indeed, read books by famous old timey, classic authors.
Anyway, this book just left me wishing it was... More. More something... I can't really say what, but it was overall quite meh.
March 10, 2008
This is a rare book - one I started,but didn't finish.
My roommate happened to notice it, and thought I might enjoy a catholic mystery story. And I probably would, just not this one.
It's a pleasant enough cozy mystery, but not good enough that I wanted to keep reading it. The writing was okay, and the plot wasn't too terrible. The painfully stereotypical characters were grating, and despite my affection for Miss Marple, I thought I might scream if Sister Mary Helen mentioned her again.
My roommate happened to notice it, and thought I might enjoy a catholic mystery story. And I probably would, just not this one.
It's a pleasant enough cozy mystery, but not good enough that I wanted to keep reading it. The writing was okay, and the plot wasn't too terrible. The painfully stereotypical characters were grating, and despite my affection for Miss Marple, I thought I might scream if Sister Mary Helen mentioned her again.
July 6, 2008
A fun little murder mystery...a nice little escape from heavy reading (or something you can read in bed all afternoon while it is raining).
December 20, 2020
Sister Mary Helen is now back at Mount St. Francis College for Women in San Francisco. She made her novitiate her fifty years ago and was now back in retirement, after working in education at various parishes over those years. At 75 years old, it was time to retire…according to the diocese.
Instead of immersing herself in research, Sister Mary Helen finds herself investigating the murder of Professor Villanueva, which has happened shortly after her arrival. The investigation turns up some ugly doings that are known of by many of the Portuguese at the college. Villanueva helped them to come to the US for a better life. It seems Villanueva is not the saintly man he portrays to people.
Detectives Murphy and Gallagher, assigned to the case, find that the information Mary Helen finds is more pertinent to the case that what they are able to find, and worth paying attention to. Sister Mary Helen has learned quite a bit, during her school years. What people say, what is actually meant, the appearances and what is perceived are not always the truth.
The story is along the lines of Miss Marple. An older character who uses her observations of life to unravel the clues to who “dunnit.” I believe there are two more books of this character and I plan to find them. Enjoyable reading.
Instead of immersing herself in research, Sister Mary Helen finds herself investigating the murder of Professor Villanueva, which has happened shortly after her arrival. The investigation turns up some ugly doings that are known of by many of the Portuguese at the college. Villanueva helped them to come to the US for a better life. It seems Villanueva is not the saintly man he portrays to people.
Detectives Murphy and Gallagher, assigned to the case, find that the information Mary Helen finds is more pertinent to the case that what they are able to find, and worth paying attention to. Sister Mary Helen has learned quite a bit, during her school years. What people say, what is actually meant, the appearances and what is perceived are not always the truth.
The story is along the lines of Miss Marple. An older character who uses her observations of life to unravel the clues to who “dunnit.” I believe there are two more books of this character and I plan to find them. Enjoyable reading.
April 14, 2011
I've never before come across a mystery novel, or any novel come to think of it, written by a nun, but curiosity got the better of me with this one as I love the genre
Sister Carol Anne O'Marie presents a sweet and cozy little mystery novel in this first part of a series. The main protoganist, Sister Mary Helen, is a retired nun that's just a bit like good old Miss Marple, always stumbling over dead bodies and consequently snooping around to find out who murdered a professor at her alma mater. With the help of her close friend Sister Eileen and young Sister Anne, she sets out to find out who is responsible for even more deaths.
While the storyline was somewhat forseeable I really liked the characters and how smoothly the story flowed, plus I loved the setting and its description.
I wouldn't say this is a Christian mystery novel, even though, upon the introduction of Kate Murphy, who's working on the case, the topic of "living in sin" is touched and "resolved" after Kate finally agrees to marry her friend Jack.
In short: A cozy, enjoyable mystery for a lazy afternoon!
Sister Carol Anne O'Marie presents a sweet and cozy little mystery novel in this first part of a series. The main protoganist, Sister Mary Helen, is a retired nun that's just a bit like good old Miss Marple, always stumbling over dead bodies and consequently snooping around to find out who murdered a professor at her alma mater. With the help of her close friend Sister Eileen and young Sister Anne, she sets out to find out who is responsible for even more deaths.
While the storyline was somewhat forseeable I really liked the characters and how smoothly the story flowed, plus I loved the setting and its description.
I wouldn't say this is a Christian mystery novel, even though, upon the introduction of Kate Murphy, who's working on the case, the topic of "living in sin" is touched and "resolved" after Kate finally agrees to marry her friend Jack.
In short: A cozy, enjoyable mystery for a lazy afternoon!
August 20, 2010
-I really enjoyed this quaint, easy to read mystery. It wasn’t difficult to solve, but the author didn’t insult the reader’s intelligence either. A newly retired nun becomes a detective when there is a murder on the college campus where she now resides. It was cute, if a murder mystery can be called that.
August 19, 2019
What a delightful find in my local library's annual book sale! Sister Carol Anne O'Marie's Sister Mary Helen is Mrs. Marple in a Catholic college for women who helps solve a series of crimes by the use of native intelligence and a little divine assistance. I highly recommend this series.
July 17, 2021
I enjoyed the characters and the dialog, but thought the quotes from other authors was to much.
June 15, 2020
San Francisco: Mount St. Francis College for Women; Sister’s Residence (on college campus); community room; Room 203 – Professor’s office in main college building; Hanna Memorial Library;
Sister Mary Helen: 75 years old; 50 years a teacher – mostly middle school; masters degree in History; (gently) forced retirement; assigned research at the St francis; she’s adjusting to retirement – and gets caught up in trying to solve the murder; she does like to quote various classical references (Shakespeare, Socrates, etc)
Sister Eileen: Mary Helen’s pinochle partner; and partner in solving the crime;
Sister Anne: young nun; counselor; partner in solving the crime;
Sister Cecilia: president of college;
Sister Therese: nervous; she’s the one who starts a novena for the professor (9 days of prayer) – with the belief it will be solved within 9 days’
Marina Alves and Joanna: Portuguese immigrants; Marina is the Professor’s secretary; Joanna a grad student; Joanna studying immigration – and tracks the Portuguese immigrants here with the professor’s support – when she learns of his dirty dealing…
Professor Villanueva: perpetuates Dom Sebastiao myth of a Portugal king of lost causes; he goes to Portugal, arranges for young men (and a few women) to come to US, gets them jobs, and charges them a lot of money – and it there is no legality to it…
Luis: janitorial work; Leonel: assistant cook; Tony: gardener; Portuguese immigrants – from same town as Marina & Joanna;
Inspector Kate Murphy: father was a SFPD lifer… and without his stamp of approval (he believed women belong in the home), she joins the SFPD; she is strong, smart… and she doesn’t plan to ever let a man tell her what to do… she’s in love, and living with Jack – who is doing his best to patiently persuade her to marry him;
Inspector Dennis Gallagher: Older detective; part;ner to Kate; knew Kate’s father;
Jack Bassetti: Vice cop; good guy;
Sister Mary Ellen, et al, insert themselves into the case, trying to figure out what happened… she inadvertently discovers the graves that Portuguse gardener was burying – he had been blackmailed by the professor…
And Jack and Kate get married at the end… Mary Ellen’s dinner conversation about her commitment and the ups and downs, etc… convinces Jack to give an ultimatum, and for Kate to put her heart on the line and say yes…
Sister Mary Helen: 75 years old; 50 years a teacher – mostly middle school; masters degree in History; (gently) forced retirement; assigned research at the St francis; she’s adjusting to retirement – and gets caught up in trying to solve the murder; she does like to quote various classical references (Shakespeare, Socrates, etc)
Sister Eileen: Mary Helen’s pinochle partner; and partner in solving the crime;
Sister Anne: young nun; counselor; partner in solving the crime;
Sister Cecilia: president of college;
Sister Therese: nervous; she’s the one who starts a novena for the professor (9 days of prayer) – with the belief it will be solved within 9 days’
Marina Alves and Joanna: Portuguese immigrants; Marina is the Professor’s secretary; Joanna a grad student; Joanna studying immigration – and tracks the Portuguese immigrants here with the professor’s support – when she learns of his dirty dealing…
Professor Villanueva: perpetuates Dom Sebastiao myth of a Portugal king of lost causes; he goes to Portugal, arranges for young men (and a few women) to come to US, gets them jobs, and charges them a lot of money – and it there is no legality to it…
Luis: janitorial work; Leonel: assistant cook; Tony: gardener; Portuguese immigrants – from same town as Marina & Joanna;
Inspector Kate Murphy: father was a SFPD lifer… and without his stamp of approval (he believed women belong in the home), she joins the SFPD; she is strong, smart… and she doesn’t plan to ever let a man tell her what to do… she’s in love, and living with Jack – who is doing his best to patiently persuade her to marry him;
Inspector Dennis Gallagher: Older detective; part;ner to Kate; knew Kate’s father;
Jack Bassetti: Vice cop; good guy;
Sister Mary Ellen, et al, insert themselves into the case, trying to figure out what happened… she inadvertently discovers the graves that Portuguse gardener was burying – he had been blackmailed by the professor…
And Jack and Kate get married at the end… Mary Ellen’s dinner conversation about her commitment and the ups and downs, etc… convinces Jack to give an ultimatum, and for Kate to put her heart on the line and say yes…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2018
Sister Mary Helen is retired and sent to the college to relax and do research if she wants to after years of teaching middle school. She feels put out to pasture, but her old friend Sister Eileen is there as well. The chair of the history department is a rather pompous young fellow and there are many Portuguese immigrants on campus doing menial jobs that he is sponsoring. An earthquake hits and the professor is dead knocked on the head with a statue, but is it murder or freak accident. An alumna of the college is the homicide detective assigned to the case. Sister Mary Helen thinks something is off about the solution and investigates more deeply. She forges a friendship with the cop which is fun. But lots of name drop quotes and call outs to mystery solvers like Miss Marple are a bit cutesy. The author is a nun herself so no stupid contrived ideas about what a nun is or rude Catholic jokes that so often appear in stories featuring religious orders.
February 23, 2018
A friend of mine highly recommended this series! She knew she enjoyed them but couldn't remember the author. She was a nun; the story took place in a San Francisco Women's College; the author's name was "O'Marie, or "O'Carol" or something like that. Hence, a big investigation ensued on my part and I did find it--in the "Stop you're killing me" web site.
Novena for Murder is the first book and the protagonist is Sister Mary Helen--henceforth just called by her first name as are all the other nuns at "St Francis College for Women"! There is an apparent murder and septugenarian Mary Helen can't keep her fairly intelligent nose out of the case.
We meet all the nuns and the police detectives who I hope I'll remeet in future books. We also meet St Francis College (which I always knew as "Lone Mountain", which was next door to USF where I attended). We meet San Francisco, fog and all and I am so happy to have found this series!
Novena for Murder is the first book and the protagonist is Sister Mary Helen--henceforth just called by her first name as are all the other nuns at "St Francis College for Women"! There is an apparent murder and septugenarian Mary Helen can't keep her fairly intelligent nose out of the case.
We meet all the nuns and the police detectives who I hope I'll remeet in future books. We also meet St Francis College (which I always knew as "Lone Mountain", which was next door to USF where I attended). We meet San Francisco, fog and all and I am so happy to have found this series!
July 23, 2025
"Sister Mary Helen, at seventy-five, had resisted retirement. She feared she'd find only prayer, peace, and a little pinochle. But she'd no sooner arrived at Mount St. Francis College for Women in San Francisco when she was greeted by an earthquake, a hysterical secretary, and a fatally bludgeoned history professor.
"Homicide inspectors Katy Murphy and Dennis Gallagher promptly made a very human error. They arrested an innocent. Perhaps it was divine inspiration, but Sister Mary Helen knew a mistake had been made. So as another sister invoked aid from St. Dismas, patron saint of murderers, Sister Mary Helen turned her own talents in to a hunt for the guilty . . . and found that nothing is sacred when it comes to catching a killer with a habit for murder."
~~back cover
This is the first book in the series and I just couldn't get into it, nor connect with Sister Mary Helen. So I gave up at 76 pages.
"Homicide inspectors Katy Murphy and Dennis Gallagher promptly made a very human error. They arrested an innocent. Perhaps it was divine inspiration, but Sister Mary Helen knew a mistake had been made. So as another sister invoked aid from St. Dismas, patron saint of murderers, Sister Mary Helen turned her own talents in to a hunt for the guilty . . . and found that nothing is sacred when it comes to catching a killer with a habit for murder."
~~back cover
This is the first book in the series and I just couldn't get into it, nor connect with Sister Mary Helen. So I gave up at 76 pages.
June 25, 2017
It was fun to be immersed in a different aspect of San Francisco culture through the eyes of Sister Mary Helen. Characters were interesting and well developed. Plot was complex enough to keep you guessing towards the end. Nice to find a mystery that isn't cluttered with lots of profanity, sex, and overly descriptive violence!
June 20, 2024
Hmmm… a bit outdated, I think. Stereotypes of Irish, “Eyetalians”, Portuguese, as well as the rumpled detective with the traditional views of marriage. I wanted to scream every time the Sisters referred to themselves or each other as “old girl”. San Francisco was a nice character, and I’m glad that Sister Mary Helen wasn’t a know it all. But I won’t be continuing this series.
August 24, 2017
Sadly, this version is rife with typos, but the story itself is not bad. It's definitely an easy read with an interesting mystery. I'm probably game for the next one, but we'll just have to see how things continue.
January 6, 2018
I'm partial to cozies and I enjoy stories with Catholic themes, so I am delighted to meet Sister Mary Helen. The author's clever use of single lines of poetry is marvelous...no long, ponderous quotations--just a few words to emphasize a point.
February 3, 2018
Very much reminds me of Father Dowling tv series. Cute, but slow pacing. Sister goes for lots and lots of walks which eventually tie in, but really keeps pace quite sedate. Some parts seem rather obvious and others were obscure. Don't think I will be reading any more
August 29, 2025
I loved this book! Very cute, felt like you were reading about Jessica Fletcher in MSW. It's very dated, they're still using pay phones, but I thought that was part of the charm. Storyline was decent and timely too. Looking forward to the next book.
October 8, 2017
I like these books for light, fast reading.
March 27, 2018
Cute whodoneit if u are fans of the nuns....I might read another one....
March 10, 2019
Nun as sleuth is a new one on my, but it worked out nicely. A lot more intrigue than I would have expected, considering the cast, but a good read.
July 30, 2019
Hopefully the second book in the series will be better. The writing seemed repetitive, the characters were enjoyable; so maybe the author improves as the series goes on? I’ll give it a try.
May 29, 2020
Sister Mary Helen, a seventy-five-year-old nun, is sent to retire at a college in San Francisco and finds herself involved in a mystery when a professor is murdered.
June 13, 2020
I was looking for a cozy mystery after two disappointing reads. This fit the bill. Not the best book I ever read, but it fit my mood and I found the characters engaging.
January 22, 2023
I'm a big Brother Cadfael fan, and Sister Mary Helen is now right up there with him. I like this old girl!
July 14, 2023
A nice cosy mystery, not very exciting as far as the investigation goes, but an enjoyable read nevertheless. Gave me sort of "Murder, she wrote" feeling.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews