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Father Koesler #3
Mind Over Murder
Hardcover with dust jacket. Pages are clean and unmarked. Covers show minor shelving wear. Binding is tight, hinges strong. Dust jacket shows edge wear.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
30 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
William X. Kienzle
28 books29 followersWilliam X. Kienzle was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1954 and spent twenty years as a Roman Catholic parish priest. Kienzle left the priesthood in 1974 because of his disagreement with its refusal to remarry divorcees. He became an editor of MPLS Magazine in Minneapolis, later moving to Texas where he was director of the Center for Contemplative Studies at the University of Dallas.
He was married to Javan Herman Andrews, a journalist from the Detroit Free Press, from 1974 until his sudden death from a heart attack on December 28, 2001.
Kienzle was the author of twenty-four crime fiction/mystery novels featuring Father Robert Koesler, a Catholic priest who doubles as a detective. One of his best known novels is his first, The Rosary Murders (1978), which was made into a 1987 movie starring Donald Sutherland as Father Koesler. Kienzle's books are set mostly in Detroit, Michigan.
His biography, Judged by Love, by Javan Kienzle, was published in 2003.
He was married to Javan Herman Andrews, a journalist from the Detroit Free Press, from 1974 until his sudden death from a heart attack on December 28, 2001.
Kienzle was the author of twenty-four crime fiction/mystery novels featuring Father Robert Koesler, a Catholic priest who doubles as a detective. One of his best known novels is his first, The Rosary Murders (1978), which was made into a 1987 movie starring Donald Sutherland as Father Koesler. Kienzle's books are set mostly in Detroit, Michigan.
His biography, Judged by Love, by Javan Kienzle, was published in 2003.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 21, 2024
Mind Over Murder (Father Koesler, #3) by William X. Kienzle.
...And I thought I had figured this whole mystery out from the victim to the obvious murderer. What a shocker when I was dead wrong. And the shock continued and continued and continued. This story made or forced me to think beyond the words offered. All that appears is not always as it seems. That's the critical difference between this book and what is usually presented in a mystery. This may be an older mystery, written in 1981, but it remains a gem and so worthy of attention.
If you're looking for a mystery that goes off in a direction never before traveled you may appreciate this one. I'll be continuing with this author (although deceased) and his Father Koesler series.
...And I thought I had figured this whole mystery out from the victim to the obvious murderer. What a shocker when I was dead wrong. And the shock continued and continued and continued. This story made or forced me to think beyond the words offered. All that appears is not always as it seems. That's the critical difference between this book and what is usually presented in a mystery. This may be an older mystery, written in 1981, but it remains a gem and so worthy of attention.
If you're looking for a mystery that goes off in a direction never before traveled you may appreciate this one. I'll be continuing with this author (although deceased) and his Father Koesler series.
December 17, 2013
Third in the Father Koesler series of mysteries. This time a Monsignor mysteriously disappears. After the vanishing, his latest volume of his diary is discovered and five suspects who had enough reason to kill him possibly are revealed. Kienzle then portrays ways each of them could have accomplished the deed and made the body disappear. Koesler is called in early by a friend of his within the police department and identifies the final correct explanation for "The Case of the Missing Monsignor".
July 11, 2012
"Mind Over Murder" may be one of the most boring mystery novels I have ever read. The first third of the book, or even more, sets up the reader for the big 'mystery' to follow by explaining the Catholic Church's teachings on marriage, annulments, and divorce. As a former Catholic, I found all of this to be incredibly mind-numbing. Not only is nobody murdered in the book, but apparently no crime was committed either! I know this series of Father Koesler mysteries were very popular when they came out several years ago, but I just could not get into it.
April 20, 2019
Mind Over MurderThis story was much better than I expected it to be. Written by a former Catholic priest in 1981, the story centers around six suspects, each with a motive for revenge against a highly placed Monsignor Thompson. The Monsignor's Cadillac is found stripped of tires and bloody tissues inside, but where is the Monsignor'? Msgr. Thompson is not a very nice person as we soon learn when his diary is found as the police search for him. One by one we enter the mind of the six suspects and learn what could have happened to the detested Monsignor. There are twists and turns as Father Koesler tries to help solve the mystery. Is Msgr. Thompson dead or alive? Not a religious story as it mainly centers around one problem that some Catholics might encounter - marriage outside the Church. As a Protestant, I only knew a little bit about it. In this mystery, all of the suspects hated Monsignor Thompson enough to see him dead!
December 20, 2021
I read this before but forgot. Oh well. It is a mystery told in "Roshomon" style as each suspect reveals an elaborate plot to kill the victim and we are left guessing which one did it.
It wasn't a huge success. Too often the structure is redundant. However, it is still worth it spending time with Father Koestler.l
It wasn't a huge success. Too often the structure is redundant. However, it is still worth it spending time with Father Koestler.l
June 20, 2024
One of my favorites!
June 11, 2025
I read a couple books in this series when I lived in the Detroit area and they had just come out. Then I moved to the other side of the state, so I lost track of Father Koestler. Recently ran across some of the series again so gave it a try, and very glad I did. Not only a good plot and characters, but also a nice echo of the Detroit of the 1980s.
January 21, 2025
Reading through some of my dads old books to decide which to donate because my bookshelf runneth over. Will not be sad to part with this one haha. May have enjoyed the story more if it were not framed as a “murder” mystery
March 10, 2019
The author tried a new process for this novel and it only partially worked.
Still a good read, still the bad old attitudes.
Still a good read, still the bad old attitudes.
October 10, 2025
Quick-look at the Book
Nope, I don't remember this one at all. Even the blurb's telling me nothing but someone got murdered, and Koesler used his diary to figure which of the six suspects killed him.
Thoughts on this Series
This is a nice enough cozy mystery series. The central character is Father Koesler who by no actions of his own--mostly--keeps tripping over murdered people and getting roped into police investigations.
While the characterization and motivation behind each suspect are well-described, there can be often too many POVs or too many details that detract from the action.
That said, the author repeatedly hits you over the head with the same details about priesthood and religion. If you can bear with that, and are okay with the protagonist arriving at the euphoria! moment while in the bathtub or car or...you get what I mean...read on.
My advice? Space em out. Or, they start to become a blob (Lily & Marshal style).
Review of Book 4 here
Nope, I don't remember this one at all. Even the blurb's telling me nothing but someone got murdered, and Koesler used his diary to figure which of the six suspects killed him.
Thoughts on this Series
This is a nice enough cozy mystery series. The central character is Father Koesler who by no actions of his own--mostly--keeps tripping over murdered people and getting roped into police investigations.
While the characterization and motivation behind each suspect are well-described, there can be often too many POVs or too many details that detract from the action.
That said, the author repeatedly hits you over the head with the same details about priesthood and religion. If you can bear with that, and are okay with the protagonist arriving at the euphoria! moment while in the bathtub or car or...you get what I mean...read on.
My advice? Space em out. Or, they start to become a blob (Lily & Marshal style).
Review of Book 4 here
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews