Orion Rising

Owen Keane Mystery #7

by Terence Faherty

Twenty-six years after the brutal rape of a Boston nurse, the DNA of James Murray, a recently murdered man, proves he was the rapist, leading Owen Keane, his college classmate, to try to clear Murray's name and solve his murder.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 2, 1999

About the author

Terence Faherty (1954-) is an American author of mystery novels.

My name is Terence Faherty. I'm a storyteller whose stories most often take the form of mysteries. (A critic once noted, cryptically but correctly, that all my stories are mysteries, even the ones that aren't.) I do see basic storytelling and mystery solving as linked, because in so many stories the protagonist is trying to answer a question or right a wrong. This is why I see the mystery and especially the private eye story as a particularly straightforward form of storytelling: a problem is posed and a hero sets out to resolve it. (At least, it would be straightforward if all clients were forthcoming and truthful.)

I've written two series in book form. The Owen Keane series follows the bumpy life of a failed seminarian turned amateur sleuth (a job title I love). It's been nominated twice for the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award and once for the Anthony Award and it's won a Macavity Award from Mystery Readers International. The Scott Elliott series is set in old Hollywood during its decline and fall. Elliott, an operative for a shady security company, tries to slow that decline and fall in his own small way. Elliott has been nominated for three Shamus Awards from the Private Eye Writers of America and taken home two.


* Uncanny: Short story writen by Terence Faherty.

Series:
* Owen Keane Mystery
* Scott Elliott Mystery

Reviews

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this while cruising through the mystery section at the library. It was interesting, and it was a quick read. By no means brilliant--but entertaining.I felt like I wasn't invested enough in the characters or the story by the time the resolution came around. I cared--but not that much. This could be because this is the 7th in a series, so I am going to give Faherty another shot.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final Owen Keane novel (though there's at least one short story that follows this time period in "The Confessions of Owen Keane"). Smart and gripping, this book jumps back and forth between the present and Keane's college days to solve connected murder mysteries from both periods.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Owen Keane and friend Harry investigate both the current murder of an old college friend and a related or possibly connected murder/rape from their college days. A Complicated plot, with a twist/ambivalent ending and some interesting Boston locale descriptions are the main drawing points.

[C · Rating 1 out of 5]

just not that interesting.