On This Rockne

Notre Dame #1

by Ralph McInerny

On the football-obsessed campus of Notre Dame, Marcus Bramble, a wealthy alum with an unhealthy passion for the sport, says he'll contribute $10 million if it's put toward a memorial to Knute Rockne, the university's legendary football coach. When Madeline Rune, a Notre Dame trustee, is found dead after disparaging remarks about the donation, Bramble, along with Madeline's womanizing husband, is suspected of foul play. But when her husband also turns up dead, the case becomes more impossible than a Hail Mary.

As detective Philip Knight and his brother, brilliant philosophy professor Roger Knight, scour the campus for a killer, they're caught in a high-stakes scrimmage between the mega-bucks donor determined to resurrect Knute Rockne and the Notre Dame academia, dead-set on burying football for good. And in between this bitter campus infighting, the brothers must prevent the murderer's next play before football becomes the ultimate blood sport...

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

290 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Ralph Matthew McInerny was an American Catholic religious scholar and fiction writer, including mysteries and science fiction. Some of his fiction has appeared under the pseudonyms of Harry Austin, Matthew FitzRalph, Ernan Mackey, Edward Mackin, and Monica Quill. As a mystery writer he is best known as the creator of Father Dowling. He was Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Jacques Maritain Center, and Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame until his retirement in June 2009. He died of esophageal cancer on January 29, 2010.

Reviews

[Ted Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initial novel in McInerney's Notre Dame series. I was intrigued by the title, ON THIS ROCKNE; the story did not disappoint, combining mystery with Notre Dame and Knute Rockne history. This is my second read in the series. Eleven more nostalgic Notre Dame mysteries to go. Not quite a 5.0 plot and story, but the quirky characters (the Knight brothers), and the Notre Dame setting boosts On This Rockne to 5 stars.

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

:On This Rockne by R. McInerny has interesting characters and mystery plot line. I do believe others will enjoy this if they are already ardent fans of football. I, however, only watch football occasionally and just couldn't get into some of the game replay. This just isn't my kind of book. Still, the mystery is worth the read.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great start to the series. I love any book that is set at The University of Notre Dame.

[Mike Clinton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm reading this series and passing each book on to my uncle, who's a textbook ND "subway alum". The main appeal, of course, is the setting in and around Notre Dame, so there's some satisfaction from spending time in a place so familiar, especially as portrayed by someone so familiar with it. I don't share anything of McInerny's cultural prejudices, but these rarely - but sometimes do - intrude on the story, which, anyway, was really the least satisfying aspect of the book, a fatal flaw for a mystery. The story moves along in a desultory fashion, coming to a conclusion with evidence that doesn't make any sense because McInerney may not have effectively understood a certain type of technology. There's also a minor but annoying slip that he makes with a character named Whelan whom he sometimes refers to by the name Welsh. Anyway, I'm forging ahead with the remaining dozen books in the series, maybe another every other weekend or so....

[Heather Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet the Knight brothers. There’s Roger, who weighs over three hundred pounds (he’s happy to admit that). And there’s his brother Phil, a normal-sized private detective. Now meet the Olympian Aunt Lucerne who insists, even while facing the facts, that “No one in our family is fat.” And there’s some heft in the mystery she presents to her nephews; a mystery involving a piggy bank and a cheesehead. Enjoy this unusual, erudite, and very funny mystery from Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, Ralph McInerny.

“Dust Abhors a Vacuum” is from the collection Good Knights: Eight Stories (St. Augustine’s Press, 978-1-58731-335-6). The story is available for one week only from the Book Club as a free download.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

08/11/08
TITLE/AUTHOR: ON THIS ROCKNE by Ralph McInerny
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Mystery/1997/291 LP pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: #1 Notre Dame series
TIME/PLACE: 1990's/South Bend, Indiana
CHARACTERS: Philip Knight PI & his brother Roger Knight philosophy professor
FIRST LINES: When Marcus Bramble '57 decided to give the University of Notre Dame the wherewithal to raise a fitting monument to its legendary coach, Knute Rockne, he announced it to the world.

COMMENTS: Library book. When a wealthy alumni offers 10 million dollars to the University to pay tribute to Knute Rockne there are differences of opinions among the faculty & trustees. When a trustee is found murdered the Knight brothers look into it.

[David Peters · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short little mystery starring the Private Eye Phil Knight and his brilliant, morbidly obese, Notre Dame philosophy professor brother. This is the first of a series of mysteries set on the Notre Dame campus, which is where the author has a day job (he is also the author of the Father Dowling mysteries). Anyways, a university trustee has been murdered; then the prime suspect, her bitter ex-husband, is also killed. The duo quietly investigates until uncovering the conspiracy under it all. Not that gripping, but at a scant 200 pages it went fast.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an ok book, but I probably won't read anymore in this series.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book of the Notre Dame mysteries by McInerny. Fun reads, especially if you're familiar with the ND campus and the Michiana area.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great fun to read during a visit to the Notre Dame campus. McInerney himself is buried at the adjacent Cedar Grove Cemetery, also worth a visit.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting characters and well worked out plot. McInerny writes with rich language and subtle humor.

[Dave Gonzalez]

The main attraction is the setting at Notre Dame. For a mystery, it's a little light on mystery.