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Lawyer and bluesman Monty Collins is used to defending murderers—and occasionally investigating murders himself—but he's never come up against anything like the case of Reinhold Schellenberg, a world-renowned German theologian who has been found dead on the altar of an old church in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saint Cecilia's day. The controversial priest, once a top insider in the Vatican, was known to provoke strong feelings in Catholics of all ideological stripes, and now those feelings have overflowed with horrifying results. At least Monty knows where to look for clues; his friend Father Brennan Burke has just opened a choir school at the church, and the students provide an international cast of suspects—including a flamboyant Sicilian priest, an eccentric English monk, a disgruntled American, a Vatican enforcer, a church lady with a history of violence, and, most perplexing of all, a police officer from the former East Berlin.

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2009

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About the author

Anne Emery

17 books79 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Anne Emery is the author of SIGN OF THE CROSS (2006), OBIT (2007), BARRINGTON STREET BLUES (2008), CECILIAN VESPERS (2009) and CHILDREN IN THE MORNING (2010). Anne was born in Halifax and grew up in Moncton. She is a graduate of St. F.X. University and Dalhousie Law School. She has worked as a lawyer, legal affairs reporter and researcher. Apart from reading and writing, her interests include music, philosophy, architecture, travel and Irish history. Anne lives in Halifax with her husband and daughter.

Series:
* Monty Collins Mystery

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (2007): Sign of the Cross

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5 stars
28 (21%)
4 stars
33 (25%)
3 stars
45 (34%)
2 stars
19 (14%)
1 star
6 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Francis.
610 reviews23 followers
December 13, 2015
Sometimes a good author writes a bad book, would probably best summarize, my opinion of this book.

The best thing about this series is the character of Father Brennan Burke. Brennan is an Irish Catholic Priest who is both a bit of a renaissance man and a bit of a rouge. He is greatly tempted by all of the earthly delights but he is strongly committed to the traditional tenets of the church. He is not shy about sharing his opinions and often does using blunt, colorful and unfiltered language. He is also a fine figure of a man, who likes a drink and a cigarette after a long day of choir practice. And, needless to say, he is sometimes sought out by attractive ladies seeking companionship. So... all of this serves to create some inner tension which also serves well to propel story lines along.

However... not even Father Burke's character could manage to salvage this story. For me it was tedious and poorly structured, too many suspects, too many interviews, too many side stories, too many saints and too improbable.

The story ends with yet another ten page rehashing of what took place. I never like this approach because I often get the impression that the author ran out of ideas, realized the story wasn't going anywhere, decided to end it on a quick note and now needs to fill a couple more pages in an attempt to tie up all the loose ends that were left scattered about.

Did I mention that I didn't really care for this book? Well don't use it to judge the series which is actually quit good ..but you may want to consider skipping this one.

Profile Image for Joseph Buijs.
Author 1 book1 follower
May 17, 2023
#4 in the Collins-Burke series. One a lawyer, the other an Irish priest: both somewhat flawed characters, for different reasons. Of interest, if you happen to be familiar with Vatican II and its aftermath tension between tradtional/conservative and liberal/progressive movements within the Catholic Church. A delightful read.
Profile Image for Carolyn Walsh .
1,908 reviews563 followers
June 21, 2015
I already read the first and seventh book in the Collins/Burke series and rated them both highly. The author has created strong, interesting characters and it is always great to revisit lawyer Monty Collins and his friend,Father Brennan Burke. This book was very complex, and a slow read for me. I felt to fully appreciate it I would need to know more about Catholic theology before and after Vatican Council 2, more about the history of the Roman Catholic Church and its hierarchy, something about the obscure saints mentioned and have some knowledge of the different types of religious music.
Father Burke has starts a school for adults, to focus on Renaissance sacred music and Gregorian chants, all in Latin. He has about 60 students from Canada, United States, Europe and Japan. They are a mixed lot and from the first session he sees there are a lot of rivalries between those who want to perform the old music and those who want to sing modern English hymns or even compose new ones which Father Burke considers drivel. Some of the students have very strong opinions for and against modern church services and choir music. One leading theologian of the Church is brutally murdered. The police arrest a British monk who confesses to the crime, but Father Burke and Collins doubt his guilt.
There seems to be clues involving the suspects' devotion to certain saints, and the backgrounds of each suspect must be investigated. There are too many suspects, and to follow the plot the beliefs of each person, traditional or modern, should be remembered. Among the priests, ex priests, monks, nuns, etc. is a past East German policeman. Burke and Collins decide to go on a road trip in Europe to find information which might cast light on the motive for the murder. They interview a lot of people while not hanging out in taverns. Lots of drinking ensues. On returning to Halifax with the murder yet unsolved they are dismayed to learn that a High Vatican enforcer is coming to investigate the school and the killing.
A complicated plot with too many characters to keep in mind. Not as enjoyable as the two other books I have read, but certainly will read more in the series.




2,311 reviews22 followers
April 20, 2021
In this fourth installment of the Collin-Burke mystery series which takes place in the early 1990s, Emery’s murder victim is discovered in an abandoned church. The subsequent investigation sets Monty Collins out on an exploration of the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the world of its saints, its traditional music and the fallout from the Second Vatican Council.

The story picks up quickly from the last book when Father Brennan Burke was already talking about establishing a school at Saint Bernadetta for priests, monks, nuns and others devoted to the music of the church’s glorious past. The opening of the school is imminent and the new Schola Cantorum Santa Bernadetta has successfully attracted students from all over the world who have come to Halifax to learn or relearn the traditional music of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Second Vatican Council or Vatican II which took place in the sixties, was a meeting of bishops and theologians from around the world called together by the Pope to consider opening up the church to the modern world. As a result, Gregorian chant and Renaissance choral music were set aside in favor of music considered more accessible to the public. Following that grand council, there was much discussion among Catholics about whether what was adopted was good or bad for the church, whether it modernized things too much or not enough and those discussions included what became of the church’s music. In Father Burke’s view, a great mistake was made and much of the great musical heritage of the church was lost. His dream is to do as much as he can to bring that music back. But not everyone agrees with his views and there are some among the sixty students, who have come from all over the world to attend his school.

Father Reinhold Schellenberg a monk and German theologian is found dead at the altar of an abandoned church on St Cecilia’s Day, his head almost completed cut off from his body. The priest was once controversial, known for his role as an insider at the Vatican, someone who had influence on the thinking of the advisors to John Paul XXIII during Vatican II.

When someone comes forward and admits to the crime, the case gets complicated, as few believe he committed the murder. However, no one has any idea why he is claiming to be the killer.

Monty becomes involved in an investigation with no shortage of suspects. Among them is a flamboyant aristocratic Sicilian priest who left the church under suspicious circumstances, an eccentric English monk who loudly criticized Schellenberg’s actions during the Second Vatican Council, an unhappy American who left the priesthood but can’t let go of the past, a woman of the church who has a tendency to be violent, a so-called Vatican enforcer and a retired police officer from the former East Berlin. Monty tries to make his way through all of them, but makes little headway and his investigation eventually takes him and Father Burke to Rome and Frankfurt, searching for answers.

Underlying this case is the past history of the Catholic church, the grudges, ambitions and disputes of those who ambitiously worked to either advance themselves personally in the hierarchy or have their view of Catholicism the dominant thinking of the day. And then there are all the arguments about the religious music. Father Burke believes the older music is one of the Church’s greatest gifts and must be celebrated and preserved. In setting up his schola cantorum, he hoped to recover much of what had been lost and have it replace the modern music he dislikes. He is even composing his own Mass, a difficult struggle often interrupted by his taste for drink.

The large number of suspects leads to a meandering narrative which details their strong opinions and past histories. Added to that are the stories of the saints which appear to have an important role in this mystery. It seems each suspect has their favourite saint and many of the saints were murdered or met an untimely end. That along with all the misinformation put forward about where people were at the time of the murder, means there is much the reader needs to track, absorb and remember.

Lurking in the background is Monty Collins’ personal life and the thorny issue of baby Dominic, who was conceived and born after Monty and his estranged wife Maura separated. The announcement of the impending birth brought Monty’s efforts to reconcile with Maura to a screeching halt, replacing them with periods of brooding and heavy drink. Monty is having a hard time getting past all this, wondering about the identity of the man who fathered a child with his ex-wife. He believes the father is Maura’s sometime paramour Giacomo, but he also secretly harbors a belief the father may be his friend Father Brennan Burke.

Meanwhile Monty’s eight-year-old daughter Normie still holds on to the belief that Father Burke may be an angel and is looking for any signs confirming her suspicions. Her maternal relatives in Cape Breton believe Normie has “the second sight” and Monty is beginning to think that is possible.

Father Burke falls easily into the companionship of Monty and the two are often out sharing a meal, a pint of Guinness or a glass or two or three of whiskey. It is hard to imagine how Father Burke ever rises to celebrate mass the day after these nights of bacchanal feasting, but the next day he never fails to meet his obligations. Not only does he routinely fall off the wagon, he even samples some pleasure between the sheets while on the road trip to Rome with Monty.

Several literary critics believe this is the best book in the series so far. Emery must have committed hours of painstaking research to get all the historical and religious background she includes in this story. I appreciate that and the fact it is a well-crafted mystery difficult to unravel, but I found the lengthy explanations of church history, doctrine and the saints who came into and out of favor too much for my enjoyment. So I am certainly going against the wave of overwhelmingly positive reviews from the experts on this one.

One thing I do continue to appreciate is Emery’s commitment to give her novels a strong sense of place, referring to parks, churches, streets, restaurants and bars in Halifax, Dartmouth and the surrounding area.

Despite my criticism, this is still a good addition to the series, but not my favorite.
667 reviews
October 29, 2020
I gave this one my best shot but had to put it down two-thirds of the way through. This is a buddy book with the buddies being a Roman Catholic priest and a lawyer. Sounds promising, but I found them to be a bit pathetic. Written in 2009 but set in 1991 it was filled with anguish over the changes wrought by Vatican II. The few female characters were caricatures. There was nothing about the victim to make a reader care whether or not he was killed. Frankly, there were no loveable characters at all. In the end, I had to close the unfinished book and say, "I just don't care."
Profile Image for Margaret Joyce.
Author 2 books26 followers
July 13, 2019
Packed, fairly energetically, with Catholic cultural and historical religious detail,this murder mystery thriller is intriguing and at the same time, difficult, as the overarching theme of supernatural faith, in our troubled world, is a tough one to get right on paper. Emery does a good job of humanizing her characters, however, and offers up an effectively-plotted, taut tale of suspense , set with exquisite detail in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Profile Image for Andrea Engle.
2,060 reviews61 followers
June 15, 2024
Lawyer Monty Colins, and his friend, Father Burke, are involved in a new venture: the Schola Cantorum Sancta Bernadette … drawing musical scholars from around the globe to Halifax, the Schola brings out the controversies caused by Vatican II … and also, unfortunately, murder most foul … another page-turner in the series …
Profile Image for Larraine.
1,057 reviews14 followers
October 23, 2019
I have to agree with some of the reviewers. This book is just boring. I'm not interested in the complexities of Catholic music and the 2nd Vatican Council. I was raised a Catholic and remember that well. The author doesn't like regular music. Most people don't want to hear Gregorian chants.
2,155 reviews4 followers
November 11, 2020
Not as good as the other book in the series that I read. Couldn’t get into the story. Very confusing and repetitive throughout. Some editing could’ve made this better. For example not sure why the trip to Italy was necessary.
Profile Image for Ellen Dark.
521 reviews5 followers
May 20, 2021
More religious than legal mystery set in 1991, but dealt with Roman Catholic history, Vatican II, lots of saints. The book is set in Halifax, NS, but I kept thinking "Toronto". There's a brief trip through Italy as part of the investigation. I enjoy this series.
Profile Image for Teresa Mills-Clark.
1,324 reviews11 followers
May 31, 2019
This book is well written however it was the subject matter which simply didn't hold my interest sufficiently enough to warrant 3 stars.
598 reviews
Read
August 16, 2025
Don't read this book as there are others by the author that are much better. There was way too much detail about Catholic saints so I couldn't figure out the plot.
Profile Image for ME.
937 reviews
February 19, 2017
Maybe it was because I had very few opportunities to sit with this one, and did most of the reading in snatches, but it was not my favorite Collins and Burke story. While it was informative and I learned a lot, it felt like the story took second fiddle to Emery's desire to educate her reader and delve into the Vatican II controversy. (From a Protestant perspective, it only solidified in the end the pointless superstition of praying to dead people who can't hear you nor help you and the desperation the decisions of MEN can create when they decide which dead guy is or is not able to help you based on some (obviously faulty) arbitrary set of man-made rules. Christ alone is the Intercessor between men and God. But I digress.) The story for me lacked Emery's usual depth and I felt like an outsider to Burke's struggle, more in this book than in others. I was also disappointed to find little satisfaction in Collins' seeming truce with McNeil after the emotional wreckage of the last book. This seemed far too quickly and easily resolved, though there are lingering questions and bridges to cross. Still, I'm looking forward to the next installment and hope that we see more of the dynamic we're used to between our protagonists.
Profile Image for Laura.
304 reviews8 followers
December 29, 2016
My least favorite book in the series. The fact that one of the primary characters in the series is a Catholic priest actually makes the books more enjoyable. He is so flawed but seeks to be so good, that he has quickly become one of my favorite fictional characters. This book though spent far to much time in the minutia of Catholicism. It wasn't overtly religious or proselytizing, it just expected the reader to have a broader understanding of why and how the church changed in the last 75 years. It did provide quite a bit of detail but most of it wasn't that interesting.

Plus in this volume of the series Emery cheats the mystery reader. Part of the pleasure of reading mysteries is meeting all the suspects, learning about them and then deciding which person you think is guilty, before the big reveal. Readers can't do that in this book, because the murderer isn't a primary character in the book and he isn't even mentioned until the book is about 2/3 finished.
Profile Image for Mike Bull.
85 reviews
December 26, 2012
This was a book I checked out of the library electronically (to my ebook--it's a great service) on a whim because it's set in Halifax, a city I know next to nothing about.
It surrounds a priest who is teaching a music course to Catholics from Canada, America, the UK and Europe, and an associated murder mystery with suspects among the attendees.
This is a "light" murder mystery with plenty of humor and sarcasm, particularly poking fun at both the liberal and conservative aspects of the church. I learned a few things too, which is always great.
On balance, this book isn't an eternal classic, but it's a fun read especially curled up in the cold of winter with a hot or strong drink.
5,965 reviews67 followers
May 26, 2009
Father Burke is running a schola (or school) for adults interested in traditional church music in Halifax, NS, when a controversial priest who is attending is found murdered. Only a few of the attendees lack alibis, and Burke and his best friend, lawyer Montague Collins, decide to help the police by interviewing the suspects, and--eventually--taking a trip to Italy. There's a lot about church music and church politics, but Emery keeps the discussions interesting.
236 reviews
April 28, 2016
I've enjoyed Anne Emery's previous books much more than this one. Good writing. Good settings. But I did not find the mystery or the multiple suspects particularly compelling to begin with, and the extensive research she has obviously done led to an awful lot of detail: lives of saints, Vatican this and that, choir rehearsals, musical history, all of which seemed way too much Catholic 'jibber jabber' to me.
Profile Image for Suzanne.
1,692 reviews100 followers
December 16, 2009
Wow, a dense mystery full of intellectual discussions of church politics and music. Lots of interesting history. Not a quick read, but enjoyable. Loved the characters and will go back to read the first couple of books in this series eventually. A bit reminiscent of Andrew Greeley's early work (before he became trite and formulaic).
Profile Image for Carol.
51 reviews
January 21, 2014
Good mystery. I liked the references to some of the Saints - interesting stuff. As a musician I could appreciate the tug and pull of the various church musicians at the music school, i.e. early church music or more modern choices for worship. This is so true in everyday life and in other churches besides the Catholic. But to murder someone over it ???
Profile Image for Tonya.
41 reviews
June 15, 2014
I liked this book. Love the series! The thing I liked best is that there were a lot of characters. The thing I liked the least was that there were so many characters! LOL!! It made it a bit difficult to keep up with who was who and who did what and so on.... but all in all, made the story interesting. I listened to the Audio Book and I feel that really added to the experience.
Profile Image for Raine.
853 reviews3 followers
December 24, 2015
A little to heavy on the Latin. Unless you had attended a seminary at some point this is far to complicated a plot for the lay person or someone not old enough to appreciate the chirch before the shake up. Some of the background was needed to explain the plot but very involved and took more away than it gave.
291 reviews
December 16, 2009
This book contains way too much information about the Catholic church that has nothing to do with the mystery. The information (I assume it is correct) itself was interesting, but did absolutely nothing to advance the story line.
Profile Image for Judith.
85 reviews6 followers
September 17, 2012
A slow moving book recommended only to someone interested in Roman Catholic theology and concerns over Vatican II. There was an interesting trip to Rome but this book didn't really meet my idea of a mystery.
85 reviews3 followers
October 10, 2012
Way too much detail about Catholicism that could only be interesting to theologians. Very disappointing resolution to the mystery -- most of the book did nothing to advance the plot. I will not be reading any more books by this author.
589 reviews3 followers
July 2, 2012
I lost interest pretty rapidly. The cast of potential suspects is too large and we never really care who did it. The ending is a cheat.
696 reviews3 followers
July 22, 2013
Not my favorite
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Julie.
616 reviews2 followers
December 9, 2015
These have become two of my favorite characters-a very earthly priest and a lawyer with whom we all can relate. This was a who-done-it that kept me guessing to the end. Really enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

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