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Father Koesler #13
Chameleon
When a prostitute clad in a nun's habit is found murdered outside a prestigious Detroit church, Father Koesler delves into church politics to find what may be the path of a serial killer
332 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1991
About the author
William X. Kienzle
28 books32 followersWilliam X. Kienzle was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1954 and spent twenty years as a Roman Catholic parish priest. Kienzle left the priesthood in 1974 because of his disagreement with its refusal to remarry divorcees. He became an editor of MPLS Magazine in Minneapolis, later moving to Texas where he was director of the Center for Contemplative Studies at the University of Dallas.
He was married to Javan Herman Andrews, a journalist from the Detroit Free Press, from 1974 until his sudden death from a heart attack on December 28, 2001.
Kienzle was the author of twenty-four crime fiction/mystery novels featuring Father Robert Koesler, a Catholic priest who doubles as a detective. One of his best known novels is his first, The Rosary Murders (1978), which was made into a 1987 movie starring Donald Sutherland as Father Koesler. Kienzle's books are set mostly in Detroit, Michigan.
His biography, Judged by Love, by Javan Kienzle, was published in 2003.
He was married to Javan Herman Andrews, a journalist from the Detroit Free Press, from 1974 until his sudden death from a heart attack on December 28, 2001.
Kienzle was the author of twenty-four crime fiction/mystery novels featuring Father Robert Koesler, a Catholic priest who doubles as a detective. One of his best known novels is his first, The Rosary Murders (1978), which was made into a 1987 movie starring Donald Sutherland as Father Koesler. Kienzle's books are set mostly in Detroit, Michigan.
His biography, Judged by Love, by Javan Kienzle, was published in 2003.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 8, 2008
In this book you can learn all about the organization and structure of the Catholic Church -- why men become priests, seminary life, why men leave the priesthood, ranking within the hierarchy, why conservatives hate Vatican II, why liberals hate Vatican II, the history of the diaconate, what are the four minor and three major orders of clerics, the financial reasons for closing Catholic schools, the moral reasons for keeping these schools open, the dedication of Catholics to their parishes, etc. You can even learn a little Latin.
Oh, and some people get killed.
If you are a Catholic or wish to learn any of the above, this book might be of interest. As a mystery, it doesn't hold together too well. In fact I would say that the psychological analysis of the killer is kind of forced to have the book make any kind of sense.
All of the mystery series which feature priests and nuns as amateur detectives give you a glimpse into the Catholic Church. This book makes the background more important than the puzzle.
Oh, and some people get killed.
If you are a Catholic or wish to learn any of the above, this book might be of interest. As a mystery, it doesn't hold together too well. In fact I would say that the psychological analysis of the killer is kind of forced to have the book make any kind of sense.
All of the mystery series which feature priests and nuns as amateur detectives give you a glimpse into the Catholic Church. This book makes the background more important than the puzzle.
June 27, 2026
It’s a crime novel that takes the time to discuss Catholic Church issues including: Vatican Council 2, married priests, women priests, the Latin Mass and parish and Catholic school closings. How can you beat that? A serial killer is randomly murdering various diocesan personnel. Detroit homicide detectives “Zoo”, Manj and Moore are somewhat stymied in their investigation due to being unfamiliar with the inner workings of the Catholic Church. This is where Fr. Robert Koesler comes in. He describes how all the various departments and offices work. He also identifies members who might be capable of murder. His sleuthing instincts and his ability to interpret clues makes this an entertaining story.
January 25, 2025
Least favorite so far
Chameleon has too much religious history, to the point of being filler information, and it became tedious at times. The plot was lost at times and I felt as though I was reading a textbook rather than a murder mystery.
The proofreading was atrocious. I have never seen so many typos, spacing errors and misplaced capitals in a book before. An occasional slip is to be expected, but 5 or 6 on a page is ridiculous. The errors were so distracting that I considered not finishing the book on more than one occasion.
I am hopeful the next book in the series is better, both in content and mechanics.
Chameleon has too much religious history, to the point of being filler information, and it became tedious at times. The plot was lost at times and I felt as though I was reading a textbook rather than a murder mystery.
The proofreading was atrocious. I have never seen so many typos, spacing errors and misplaced capitals in a book before. An occasional slip is to be expected, but 5 or 6 on a page is ridiculous. The errors were so distracting that I considered not finishing the book on more than one occasion.
I am hopeful the next book in the series is better, both in content and mechanics.
May 29, 2021
I enjoy William Kienzle’s writing style. He brings you into each character’s lives. He seemingly must use all of the backstory he’s written for each one. Slowly illustrating each ones reasons they have for committing the crime. As in all the mysteries Our priest detective finally resolves the clues and takes action.
Only drawback in the digital version I read was full of errors. I kept needing to decide what was the correct word instead of the spell check or who knows why replaced words.
Only drawback in the digital version I read was full of errors. I kept needing to decide what was the correct word instead of the spell check or who knows why replaced words.
March 24, 2017
The book had a lot of interesting information for me on the Catholic Church. However, the storyline was very slow which made it very difficult to stay interested in the book. While I did finish the book, I found the end of the story to be very disappointing.
May 7, 2025
Quick-look at the Book
When a nun's sister--who happens to be an elite sex worker--is murdered, it leaves Koesler puzzled. Was the murderer after the nun or the sister?
Thoughts on this Series
This is a nice enough cozy mystery series. The central character is Father Koesler who by no actions of his own--mostly--keeps tripping over murdered people and getting roped into police investigations.
While the characterization and motivation behind each suspect are well-described, there can be often too many POVs or too many details that detract from the action.
That said, the author repeatedly hits you over the head with the same details about priesthood and religion. If you can bear with that, and are okay with the protagonist arriving at the euphoria! moment while in the bathtub or car or...you get what I mean...read on.
My advice? Space em out. Or, they start to become a blob (Lily & Marshal style).
Review of Book 14 here
When a nun's sister--who happens to be an elite sex worker--is murdered, it leaves Koesler puzzled. Was the murderer after the nun or the sister?
Thoughts on this Series
This is a nice enough cozy mystery series. The central character is Father Koesler who by no actions of his own--mostly--keeps tripping over murdered people and getting roped into police investigations.
While the characterization and motivation behind each suspect are well-described, there can be often too many POVs or too many details that detract from the action.
That said, the author repeatedly hits you over the head with the same details about priesthood and religion. If you can bear with that, and are okay with the protagonist arriving at the euphoria! moment while in the bathtub or car or...you get what I mean...read on.
My advice? Space em out. Or, they start to become a blob (Lily & Marshal style).
Review of Book 14 here
September 29, 2013
I think this was actually a rather well written mystery story, following a series of murders and attempted murders within the upper echelon of Detroit's Catholic church.
So why do I give only 2 stars? The reason for that can be found in the penultimate chapter when the murder is solved and the motif is so ridiculous that I felt cheated after a solid mystery story.
As a positive note, the nominal hero of this series Father Koesler, doesn't actually play such an active role in the investigation. Instead of sleuthing around on the crime scene he acts as a consultant for the police explaining the hierarchy in the worlds oldest bureaucracy the Catholic church, as well as the resulting tensions of Vatican II.
If the solution wouldn't have been so bad I easily would have given this book 3 to 4 stars.
So why do I give only 2 stars? The reason for that can be found in the penultimate chapter when the murder is solved and the motif is so ridiculous that I felt cheated after a solid mystery story.
As a positive note, the nominal hero of this series Father Koesler, doesn't actually play such an active role in the investigation. Instead of sleuthing around on the crime scene he acts as a consultant for the police explaining the hierarchy in the worlds oldest bureaucracy the Catholic church, as well as the resulting tensions of Vatican II.
If the solution wouldn't have been so bad I easily would have given this book 3 to 4 stars.
January 20, 2008
This Father Koesler Mystery was a bit more of a slog than the other I've read. While I actually really like the way Kienzle works in information on the workings of the Catholic church, there was more detail on Vatican II issues than I was interested in and the motivation for the killer to do in the folks he killed seemed really far fetched to me.
February 12, 2014
First of all, the title for this book is Chameleon. I have read several books by Mr. Kienzle. I think this was the weakest I have read. The solution of the mystery is far-fetched. Read for yourself or better yet, read another of his books.
January 15, 2012
I am always up for a good thriller/ mystery novel and I like the priest! It works. Not brilliant, but definitely not shabby!
April 15, 2013
Good little mystery. Lots of great Catholic information-most that I had forgotten but also some new. Slow moving but of good flavor.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews