Ashes to Ashes

John Putnam Thatcher #12

by Emma Lathen

Murder in the name of God…
or of the Sloan Guaranty Trust?

The St. Bernadette’s Parents League was formed to save the old, bankrupt parochial school from being replaced by a twenty-story apartment house. The irate protesters had sentiment and Francis P. Omara on their side. Unger Realty had John Putnam Thatcher of Sloan Guaranty Trust, $4 million and the archdiocese of New York behind them.

Francis P. Omara was a powerful spokesman for his cause—but so was an unknown killer with a butcher’s mallet who was determined to have the last word.

(Publisher’s description)

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction

189 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 1971

About the author

Aka R.B. Dominic

Emma Lathen is the pen name of two American businesswomen: an attorney Mary Jane Latsis (July 12, 1927 -October 29, 1997) and an economic analyst Martha Henissart (b. 1929),who received her B.A. in physics from Mount Holyoke College in 1950.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/31/boo...

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Sloan writes a mortgage for a new apartment building, Queens' residents of the area where a parochial school must be demolished form a protest movement. Surprisingly, the group of sincere lay Catholics and community leaders become involved in murder--and so does John Putnam Thatcher and his perfect secretary Miss Corso.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Archdiocese of New York has decided that the St. Bernadette's parochial school is no longer viable. The costs outweigh the benefits and there just aren't as many teaching nuns as there used to be. So, when Unger Realty shows interest in buying up the school with an eye to building a high-rise apartment building on the spot, the Archdiocese is pleased as punch. The parents of Flensburg, not so much. They all went to St. Bernadette's and they want their children to go to St. Bernadette's. And, by golly, they're not going to take this lying down.

So, they organize themselves into a group called the St. Berbadette's Parents League and decide to take on big business and the Church. They file an injunction under the name Francis P. Omara (their leader) vs. Joseph, Cardinal Devlin to put a halt to the sale. And John Thatcher, acting president of the Sloan Guaranty Trust, finds himself smack in the middle of it all. The Sloan has agreed to advance Unger Realty the money for the sale and now Thatcher finds himself served with a subpoena to testify in the case.

But before much can be done about the court case, Omara is killed by a blow to the head with a butcher's mallet. Who wanted to stop the Parents League badly enough to commit murder? Was it someone from the realty company? Or one of the local business owners who hoped to make huge profits once the new apartments went up? Or--would one of the Church officials behind the sale stoop to killing to finance the Church? Things become very murky when the Parents League is joined by other groups with a gripe against the Church--including women fighting for the right to birth control to Hare Krishna Catholics intent on a merger of faiths. Very disruptive protests break out...and then bomb threats cause even more upheaval. A chance remark by one of the concerned parents makes Thatcher aware that everyone has been looking at the murder from the wrong angle.

Of the three Lathen books I have read so far, this one has been the best. I found Thatcher's subtle humor and not-so-secret siding with "the angels" (that is the parents fighting for their children's school) very amusing and well-drawn. Thatcher's view of his Wall Street world is wry, humorous, and honest:

It was John Thatcher's private theory that during such major downward shifts [in the Dow Jones average], the financial community as a whole went slightly and temporarily insane. Orders went undischarged. Syndicates fell apart. Drinking men went on the wagon and abstainers swilled four martinis before lunch.

The mystery is also nicely executed. It mixes the mystery plot with pertinent issues of the time--issues that are still pretty relevant (especially in the Catholic world) today. So, the book doesn't feel nearly as dated as it might. I didn't put the clues together, so the reveal at the end was a pleasant surprise. For one thing, I just couldn't connect that butcher's mallet to anyone.... ★★★ and 1/2. [rounded up here]

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma Lathen is a favorite mystery writer who has unfortunately not been remembered as she should be.

Good Story #91. Julie and Scott form a committee. Scott wants the committee to immediately review who's marching in which parades, while Julie wants a school to stay open and thinks we better vote before someone kills Guy. Will they ever agree?

[Cynthia Grove · Rating 5 out of 5]

It must be a decade or more since I last read this book but it is very good. There is a comment someone makes in the book about people working well together and this person goes on to say that then they were all poor and poor is one thing no-one has ever wanted to be. Yes, it ties in with the book's theme about personal greed.
The book's only weakness is that it is about 50 years old so there are a few cultural differences compared with 2019. The monetary figures woul be considered paltry today but were big bikkies then.
A book to love and I do love the consistent good sense of Thatcher in this and other books. The author "Emma Lathen" was a beautiful collaboration between two friends and I miss their stories.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A parochial school can no longer afford to stay open. Left with a soon-to-be-empty school, the diocese decides to sell the property to a company that intends to replace it with modern apartments. The community is up in arms - the parents want their kids to be educated as they were. But the conflict has attracted the representatives of other causes, and one murder. It takes banker John Thatcher to sort out why, and therefore to whom, murder became necessary.

Read 3 times

[Silvia Verona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a rather intriguing sojourn into the politics of a Catholic diocese and the characters who might deploy the intricacies of a working class neighbourhood to their own ends. I learned a bit about Catholic structures, but as always, John Putnam Thatcher finds the money. Another great Emma Lathen.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cardinal has made the decision to close St. Bernadette's Parochial School. They can't find enough teachers, enrollment is down, and costs are up. They have an offer to purchase from a real estate developer, and the church can't afford to turn it down.

However, the parents in the neighborhood are not ready to let the school close its doors without a fight. They organize a Parents League and file a lawsuit. Negotiations begin, but neither side is willing to give in. The Sloan Guarantee Trust is handling the multimillion mortgage, so John Putnam Thatcher is stuck in the discussions. Things are at a stalemate, when the president in the league - and the accusing party in the lawsuit - is found murdered in the church.

Soon things are really out of control. Protesters flock to the little neighborhood, tempers flare, and the violence mounts. Thatcher better figure out what's going on before riots start breaking out.

I was so excited to find this one at the used bookstore. I totally love this series, and even though there are lots of little ways in which this books gives away its age (references to the Dow Jones losing a whopping 30 points in one day!), the conflicts are still real. And although each book opens with a few paragraphs about Wall Street, it doesn't take an economist to appreciate these little gems. Definitely worth reading, but extremely hard to find!

[Emmanuel Gustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like so many of the works of the duo behind Emma Lathen, this is a grimly witty comment on society, wrapped around a murder plot. This time, somehow, Thatcher gets entangled with the efforts of the Catholic Church to close a school and sell the plot, an eager real estate developer, and angry parents. When a lawyer hell-bent on making legal history joins the fray, events in a formerly quiet neighbourhood of New York freakishly spin out of control. Even before the Baghavad Catholics (who are ecumenical in the extreme) join in with their outrageously weird contribution.

The murder plot is this time very secondary and though there are a few clues strewn around, you would have to be very attentive indeed to spot the culprit. It doesn't really matter that much.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

While reading this book I kept on being reminded of 'All in the Family'. Not surprising, since both the TV series and this book are situated in Queens, NYC. Mr. Bunker may have been Protestant working class and Lathen's book may treat of a Catholic parish, but the atmospherics are the same. Both are very funny and serious in parts. Although published in 1971, this book has worn very well indeed, complete with wafts of tea parties to come. I highly recommend it.

[Vicki Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more satisfying than the previous book because it took place in NYC. A local diocese is planning to sell the parochial school and the head of the parents' committee trying to stop the sale is killed. Thatcher is involved because the Sloan is providing the loan for the buyer, who plans to build an apartment building on the site.

[Naomi Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't honestly say I followed the puzzle. But if you had told me that a whodunit would be one of the more enlightening books I have read about the chaos in traditionally Catholic parts of the US after Vactican II, I would have been QUITE skeptical. But it is -- and much funnier than murder novels usually manage to be.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another more somber piece about murder, the church closing a school, and gentrification. The ladies had a good spot of humor when describing the riots! Not an easy murder to figure out, you really had to watch things carefully... which of course Thatcher does.

[Yoshin van Hek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as my "train-ride-reading" for this month. Although it was a bit difficult to get through at the very first few pages it soon became a good read that kept me looking forward to the next train ride.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

catholic politics, bah humbug!

[Gabrielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very boring! I had a tough time reading it.