Seed of Doubt

Father Dowling #16

by Ralph McInerny

The 16th mystery to feature Roger Dowling, the insightful and understanding priest of Fox River, Illinois. When a wealthy dowager and member of Dowling's parish suddenly dies, it becomes clear to Dowling that neither the old woman's life nor her death was ordinary. Characterizations are excellent, and Dowling's logic flawless.--Chicago Tribune.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

346 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1993

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

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this! I have a couple of friends who've been recommending McInery's books for a while. Then I found this one on one of my own bookshelves. One of the most interesting things I found was how much life has changed in the last 25 years in the United States. Of course I knew that, but it was interesting nonetheless.

[MaryJo Dawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

My rating for this Father Dowling mystery is actually 2.5 stars, and it reflects my take on this entire book - totally mixed. McInerny's series was very successful in an earlier day and he was great for character description and clever plots, at least in the 4 mysteries I've read. I like Father Dowling very much. But this book was such a mix of likes and dislikes for me. Part of the plot, the long ago past of the wealthy Mrs. Sinclair, was not hard to guess. I did have to wonder why a woman widowed so young with both beauty and money never married again. The portion of the story revolving around her priceless paintings and the greed they arouse was much more clever and I stayed with it to find out exactly what was going on.
I could never understand why Mrs. Sinclair's nurse was supposed to be at her side 24/7, or so it seemed, when the lady wasn't completely helpless. The reason she was not at the most critical moment was not acceptable, but otherwise it didn't make sense.
There were a whole lot of people not to like and the descriptions of their raunchy thoughts and behavior went a little overboard - sometimes more than a little. It became a detraction. Father Dowling was relegated to the back burner for most of the book.
I'll go back to another Father Dowling mystery some day. But not for awhile.

[Gene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery story was hard for me to follow at first, but then became a little predictable. The main character, Peggy, was engaging. The author does a decent job of getting the reader to grapple with the moral dilemmas of the characters.

[Kurt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as engaging or suspenseful as previous Father Dowling mysteries I have read.

[Gene Georgelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little more risque than the other Father Dowling books, but a lot of fun.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good story but there was too little of the main character in it. I was really hoping to see more of Father Dowling especially as a crime solver in the manner of the British Father Brown.

[Betsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like it. Put it down after about 40 pages. Sentences were excruciatingly l o n g.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much of a story and not much Father Dowling in this book. But we learn that there was nothing new in the 1960s sexual revolution that hadn't been happening for a long time already.

I almost quit on this one. I'm getting close to taking the rest of the unread Father Dowlings off of my "to read" list.

[Partridge Public]

McInerny, Ralph

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lot's of Chicago references. OK story.

[Cws]

M McI