Murder Most Holy

Parker Noble Mystery #1

by Mike J. Manno

When a young nun, the daughter of a despised newspaper publisher, is killed by a bomb planted in her dad's car, the state police is called to investigate and Detective Sergeant Jerome (Stan) Stankowski is assigned the task. Unfortunately for Stan, the Attorney General's office sends its former star prosecutor, the now burned out and persnickety Parker Noble, to assist. To Stan's dismay, the local officials assume that Parker, a deputy attorney general, is in charge of the operation. Intimidated by Parker, Stan tries to take charge while silently wondering if his days as a detective are numbered. Trying to re-gain control of the investigation, Stan utilizes the assistance of one of the dead nun's friends, the flirtatious Buffy Coyle, whose interest in Stan may be greater than her interest in helping the police. Complicating matters for Stan, Buffy had recently been fired from the newspaper by her friend's father. Confusing investigators is the fact that the nun's visit was a surprise, known only to her family and a neighbor. To add to their troubles, the father suffers a seizure at the scene. A mayor under attack by the paper, a police chief with a mysterious four year gap in his resume, a contractor whose development was blocked by the publisher, a gay group angry at the newspaper for "outing" a gay teacher, and a man whose life was ruined by one newspaper photo, all become suspects in the effort to solve the crime.

259 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Sergeant (Stan) Stanowski narrates this tale, as he strives to solve the mystery of a young nun murdered at her father’s home—mistaken identity perhaps? Meanwhile persnickety Deputy Attorney General Parker offers help and hindrance, with a lot of the story told through dialog between the two protagonists, and between Stan and other characters.

There’s a fine collection of characters in this story, and a suitable number of red herrings. It’s a fast read with hints of romance, excitement, and danger, and a nicely-crafted plot, reminiscent of black and white TV mysteries of long ago.

Disclosure: I was intrigued by the title, so I had to read this one.

[Diane Large · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a pleasant surprise of a mystery. Loved the dialogue between Stan and Parker and Buffy was very spunky. Will look for more by Manno.

[Candrya Bonin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the opening moves at a slower pace, the book gains momentum halfway through and becomes hard to put down.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A popular young nun is killed in an apparent car bombing just weeks before taking her final vows, and Detective Jerome "Stan" Stankowski is called to solve the case. Paired with the moody yet instinctive deputy Attorney General Parker Noble, Stan finds he is getting more than he bargained for in The Deadly Habit: a victim with no apparent enemies whose father, a tyrannical newspaper publisher, may or may not have been the actual target. That the father collected enemies the way some people collect baseball cards is no help to Stan in whittling down a list of names. When Buffy Coyle, an amorous young ex-reporter, wants to play detective herself (and eventually play "house" with Stan), the detective soon finds some things are more aggravating than solving a crime.

Manno's style in The Deadly Habit is to the point, much like a "Dragnet" police procedural. Stan, telling the story in first-person narrative, offers the reader little in the way of personal information, and that makes him all the more appealing. Viewing Parker Noble through his eyes is a fascinating exercise as well, and it is fun to see Stan continually grow agitated with Parker's quirky behavior: his constant phone calls to check on the well-being of his dog, his acquired taste for flavored coffee, and an appetite for food that would normally stop the heart of a healthy man -- equally deadly habits depending on one's point of view.

I must admit, though, I felt somewhat frustrated while reading, yet I was compelled to finish because I just had to know the killer's identity. Manno offered a number of reasonable motives and slyly planted the clues where I could not easily find them as I have in other mysteries. He had me literally guessing until the end; I suppose in a way the gruff Parker Noble got to me the way he did to Stan -- he just grows on you, and becomes quite a habit himself.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unexpected delight! The author is a master of subtlety. I did not pick up on many of the specific clues that indicted the guilty party, but from early in the book I suspected who-did-it. The author excelled at making you realize something wasn't right about that character without spelling it out. I hope I can find this author's other books.

[Jan Blazanin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A murder mystery with plenty of red herrings and false leads that kept me wondering until the end. I especially liked Buffy, who was brave and spunky.

[Indie Book Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not the best crime novel I have ever read.

[Neko Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although, I kind of figured who it was from the beginning, during most of the book I was doubting and switching murderers :P

Personally I found it a great mystery and loved it.

[Gail · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of those books so badly written that I couldn't finish. Didn't get though the first chapter.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- not much to say, but I liked it.