Her Death of Cold

Father Dowling #1

by Ralph McInerny

Her Death of Cold is set in the Midwestern town of Fox River, Illinois, where recently—arrived Father Dowling is woken by a phone call at 3 a.m. from one of his parishioners, a frightened 75-year-old widow called Sylvia Lowry. He tries to calm her fears - but it is not long before her murdered body is discovered on her kitchen floor.

Dowling is pleased to meet up again with Phil Keegan, now Chief of the local detectives, who had begun training for a priest at the same seminary as Dowling but had left "after a year of theology".

"Who could blame you?" sympathised Dowling.


This leads to their collaboration on the strange case of the murdered Sylvia Lowry, who, it turned out thoroughly mistrusted her family and had taken out $150,000 dollars in cash from her account. And the money had disappeared.

Her Death of Cold, the first of the new Father Dowling Mystery series, promises satisfaction ahead for detective-story readers everywhere, far beyond the limits of Father Dowling's parish.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Mystery Thriller

210 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1977

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

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A phone call from an elderly parishioner wakes Fr. Roger Dowling in the middle of the night. She thinks her children are out to get her, and when she disappears a few days later, Fr. Dowling thinks she might be right. When her body turns up, he's not sure if her kids killed her, or if someone else did.

This book is from the 1970s, and I had to get an interlibrary loan on it, since our library didn't have it. I became interested after watching the Father Dowling Murder Mysteries on DVD. That show is really a cozy show, with a sweet priest, a nun and a housekeeper that keeps them fed.

But the book is quite different. There is quite a bit of theological discussion, and I really enjoyed hearing Ralph McInerny's thoughts on things. Fr. Dowling is a bit more worn than the Tom Bosley character on TV, and to me it made the book that much more interesting.

If you're looking for a cozy read, this isn't it. But if you want a book that is a straight murder mystery, then the Fr. Dowling series might be just the thing for you.

[Almeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the dustcover shows a silhouette of a slim pipe-smoking character (think Bing Crosby) and the very brief description of him as of a tall man with the slight stoop that tall people adopt---I can not get Tom Bosley out of my head. (or Mary Wickes as the cook for that matter.) Not important.

To me, there was a noticeable, change in writing style in a couple of places. It was as if a light story was being told and then suddenly a philosophical point that had crystallized in the author’s mind a long time ago was pulled out of the drawer and “Insert Here” was written on the manuscript.

Oddly enough one of these points made the book worth the preponderance, and an argument for why a Catholic priest makes a good detective. “Apprehension? Punishment? That was not the essential thing. Far more important was the spiritual condition of the one who had killed Sylvia Lowry ” (committed a crime). In other words, the criminal must be found and be repentant and absolved…to save the soul. Secular justice is not a priest’s goal.

I had already read others in this series. This one was the first of the series, and I had not read it. Enjoyed all of them. Don’t let the TV series influence your decision to give them a try.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just happened to be in the library when this book was removed from their collection. When I realized that it was the first Father Dowling mystery, I gladly offered to take it off their hands. Father Dowling is now to the parish of St. Hilary's in Fox River, Illinois. In fact, this is his first parish because he had worked for years on the Archdiocesan Marriage Court. An elderly woman in his parish calls Father Dowling in the middle of the night saying that she is thinks that she is going to be killed and that she is afraid of her family. Then she suddenly disappears. And is found a few days later lying dead on her kitchen floor. Suspects abound in this introduction to an interesting series that explores the workings of a Catholic parish in a small town which appears to have its fair share of murders.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her Death of Cold by Ralph McInerny is a delight! It is a dated delight, but a delight non-the-less. As you read this 1977 novel, money is pre-inflation rates, where $150,000 is a fortune and steak is a commodity! The fashion and home décor are hysterical. That said, this has an outstanding plot – the who-dun-it and the motive are top notch!

I read this because I vividly remembered and like the Fr. Dowling mysteries starring Tom Bosley, Tracy Nelson, Mary Wickes, and James Stephens. Ah, Hollywood! There is no Sr. Stephanie in the books (no surprise), nor is there a Fr. Phil. Fr. Dowling is very differently portrayed (just different – he’s not Tom Bosley, is all). The tv parish, St. Michael’s in Chicago, is not the book’s St. Hillary’s in Fox River. The intellect in the book is better than in the show. Seriously, if you love an interesting plot, read this!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of the Fr. Dowling series. I have read all of the Notre Dame series and most of the Andrew Broom series too. For the ND series it was great to actually know of some of the real life character in the book. The Broom series extolled the pastoral beauty of small towns in the American Midwest. This book does have a few Catholic catechisms as per of the enfolding story; primarily on sin, prayer & the sacraments of reconciliation and matrimony.

My favorite quote: “The law, Mendax, is sometimes a recalcitrant bitch, but in the end, over the long haul, she proves ever faithful.” p156-157

I never had a class with Prof. McInerny but did have the occasion to speak with him several times after his retirement and he struck me as a very kind and gracious gentleman.

[Thomas Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read. I would need to read more of the series in order to judge it.

[Beka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting. I don't think I'll continue with this series. The mystery was only ok, and I didn't really like the characters.

[EuroHackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of an odd read.

I am most familiar with the TV series, and didn't know that it was based on a book series until I ran across the first five in a local library. I like the TV series, and this mystery sounded intriguing, so I thought I'd give it a go.

There are certainly interesting aspects. Father Dowling is a recently "retired" canon lawyer who served for 15 years on the Archdiosean Marriage Tribunal, which is the committee that determines if a marriage can be declared invalid. This is an actual thing, and I got pretty far down a rabbit hole because its a fairly fascinating (and unknown to the non-Catholic world) piece of bureaucracy. Anyway, serving this time in the tribual drove Dowling to drink, and part of his path towards sobriety was to switch to life as a parish priest. He takes over a small, crumbling parish in a suburb of Chicago.

He finds a kindred spirit in Phil Keegan, the local chief of detectives who once attended seminary. They swap war stories from their respective careers, and Keegan finds Dowling to be a very thoughtful, clever man.

This novel is about the death of the ultra-rich (and rather eccentric) Mrs. Sylvia Lowry, the widow of a prominent businessman. Before her death, she confided in Father Dowling that she feared her children wanted her dead, basically for her money, and Dowling's encounters with her feckless offspring prove that there is some truth to Mrs. Lowry's fears. She goes missing, and winds up dead, though the cause of death is definitely novel: she was knocked unconscious and placed in a deep freezer for 3 days, then brought back into her house and thawed out. Its unknown if she died from the blow to the head, or from being in the freezer. Suddenly there's a cast list of suspects, including but not limited to: Sylvia's kids, their spouses, a con artist, a handyman, and even Father Dowling himself, if only because he was one of the last to speak to her.

Dowling, unlike Chesterton's Father Brown, doesn't really care if there is earthly/civil justice for crimes that are committed; he's far more concerned with saving the sinners' souls, whether they meet justice on earth or in the afterlife. This is a rather disappointing feature of his, IMO. I like to read crime novels because there usually is justice in the end; I have a hard time with amoral protagonists who are basically amoral for the sake of being amoral. I don't know if this is a characteristic that survives the next thirty-some-odd books, but it's not something I remember from TV!Dowling.

It was also an odd omnipresent type of storytelling, visiting each of the characters in turn instead of staying with Dowling or Keegan. This makes an amoral ending even harder IMO.

I'll definitely read more of these books, because Dowling himself is a fascinating character.

[George Bastedo IV · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting little mystery. Personally, I thought the author tipped his hand on who did it relatively early, although not everyone might think the same. Further, the solution was ultimately presented in a pretty gradaul way that felt a little anticlimactic to me. I would have much preferred a 'grand reveal.' I did appeciate the perspective and thoughts of Fr. Dowling that we get throughout the book; if I were to read further in the series, that would probably be the thing I would most look forward to. Nonetheless, I did keep coming back to the book wanting to see 'whodunit,' so I suppose it did its job well enough

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first few chapters were painfully slow and seemingly boring. Due to this I nearly stopped reading the book. Determined to just read the book to claim that I did read the book led to just powering through the next few chapters. The characters Detective Keegan and Father Dowling are not necessarily exciting but the story of how, and by whom, the death occurred became interesting. About the last third of the book, more of a conversational form, was the most interesting and had me hooked to find out the how and why. Overall, it was a good read.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mystery with an amateur detective and his best friend, the police detective.

Father Dowling is interesting character serving in an established Parrish. He seems to really care about people.

A quick read with an interesting ending.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First in the series of a rather pleasant detective Father Dowling. The writing is simple without being simplistic and the mystery satisfying enough that it made me want to read more.

[Gene Georgelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Went through a lot of difficulty to get a copy of this book. Really enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading more.

[Bren Blackburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really like Ralph's character Fr Dowling looking at human flaws in character from a Thomistic perspective.

[Scull17 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 ☆

[The Night Owl's Nook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I used to loved the tv show so much. There were some unflattering parts to this book that screamed that this was written in the 70s, but overall, I enjoyed this.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a book originally published in 1977 about a Catholic priest, it has aged remarkably well. I sought out this book in the library after thinking about Tom Bosley, who played Father Dowling in the television series. Chapters that you thought were throw aways were intelligently tied in by the conclusion. As this was the first entry into the Father Dowling series, I look forward to reading the rest.

*Spoiler Below*



The only thing that might not have stood up is the value of the lost money. However, when you take into account inflation, the lost amount approaches $600,000. While $150,000 is quite a bit, it's hard to imagine the efforts the deceased's children went to for that amount since they were already described as well-off.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mystery that kept my attention until the end. I liked the detective was a priest, and that the story focused just as much on the saving of souls as it on the serving of justice. As a Catholic, I thought it brought together the bigger picture very nicely. At the same time, I think this is something secular readers can enjoy, too. While most of the main cast were Catholic, it was not unbearably religious, but just the right amount of everything. I kept forgetting that it took place in the 1970s, though, and was constantly surprised by references to now out-of-date clothing styles, haha!

[Vincent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book as as "escapist" book as I found it in the library and it seems the beginning of a long series of books.
I had in past used escapists like the Clancy books on Ryan and the Parker books on Spenser (did not get thru all of them) and Father Dowling, maybe because of the less contemporary time, in the 1970s - did not do it for me - so I have no escapist series for now and I will not recommend this book - it is OK but to my mind there are better books to read

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first read of a Father Dowling mystery. Will definitely read some more. Sylvia is an elderly member of Father Dowling's parish who is afraid for her life. She tells Father Dowling she is afraid of her children.
Then one day she disappears. Father Dowling doesn't really set out to help the police. He's more worried about the soul of her murderer than seeing earthly justice prevail.
Good plot, sort of madcap plot. Enjoy it!

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the author, Ralph McInerny, made his mark with his novels, this was his first mystery. I would have liked to have had the main character, Father Roger Dowling, fleshed out more. I would also have liked to have had the story shortened by about 100 pages. The guilty party was so easy to detect that even I recognized "who dunit" very soon into the book.

[joyce lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting writing style.

not the first book of this author's i've read, but the first of this series. it's NOT quite like the old TV series i remember.

good, but a bit confusing at times. caught my interest enough, tho, that i WILL look for the other books in the series to give them a try

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a first mystery novel. Even though I figured out the twist several chapters ahead, the critical part for McInerny is too reflect on the moral meaning. Plus, I appreciated the key role of sacramental confession in the story.

[Samantha Nowatzke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but it's hard to beat Tom Bosley playing Father Dowling on the TV series and Sister Stephanie as his counterpart. Not a bad introduction to the series though... interested to see how the characters develop.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Father Dowling #1

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good murder mystery.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her Death of Cold: A Father Dowling Mystery by Ralph M. McInerny (1977)

[Joseph Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good murder mystery, and best of all rich with Catholic life and sacraments and morality! Orthodox, edifying, and exciting.

[Tom]

Father Dowling #1

[Trudy Pomerantz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a bad read. While none of the characters particularly grabbed me, nor did the plot, the writer was competent and I did not cringe as I read.