Nun Plussed

Sister Mary Teresa Mystery #8

by Monica Quill

Sister Mary Teresa Dempsey (Emtee), of the declining Order of Martha and Mary, follows another calling, this time to investigate the untimely death of former protegee, Margaret Doyle. Fatally beaten as she emerged from the bath, the victim is believed to have interrupted an intruder searching for a rare thirteenth-century manuscript belonging to her estranged husband, Gregory Doyle. But when mild-mannered Gregory confesses to the crime, Emtee suspects that there is more afoot that mere greed.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

216 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1993

About the author

A pseudonym used by Ralph McInerny.

Reviews

[Plum-crazy · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I guess I quite enjoyed this book I was a bit disappointed in the character of Sister Emtee Dempsey. She didn't seem to feature all that much, so apart from finding out she was also an eminent historian as well as a nun I don't feel like I got to know her at all. I think I was expecting her to be more involved in the plot than she was. The plot itself wasn't the greatest ever written but having said that I didn't work out who the murderer was!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty typical Sister Mary Teresa novel until the very last chapter. The solution made sense as well as Emtee Dempsey’s explanation, but boy was I taken aback.

[Jeff Steward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non Plussed was a easy quick read. I picked it up at a used book store or maybe a garage sale. It falls into the class of a bathtub book, which is a book you can read while taking a bath and if you drop it in the water you're not really upset. By genre it's a mystery. As I read it I kept thinking it was on the level of a t.v. series. Turns out I was right on the mark. Check the author, Monica Quill -- of course early on I was wondering if Quill was a pen name, it seemed obvious. But later I thought, Monica ...moniker -- so it seemed certain it was a pen name. When I finished I looked it up online -- but lets get back to that. First the book itself. The mystery centers around the murder of a bit of socialite who has separated from her husband. The hook is the victim is a former student of Sister Mary Teresa, mother superior of a all but defunct order. The natural suspect, the husband, is also closely known to the wise sister. The plot moves along at a rambling pace with each chapter seeming to bring in a new character. The key points are easy to see coming with some obvious detours in the mix. We get little introduction to SMT in this book so I can't tell how interesting the character is in the series. Overall, if you come across it a low price and love mysteries go for it. It's a pleasant soft read. Otherwise pass on it. Now back to the simple moniker ploy. Of course Monica Quill is a pen name, what else could it be. The author's real name is Ralph McInerny - writer of Father Dowling mysteries and Catholic professor at Notre Dame.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery part was okay, but I didn't like our main character. Supposedly Sister Mary Teresa is super-pious because she's one of the few nuns who remains in her order and she's the only one who still wears the traditional habit/clothing. Yet she deliberately withholds critical information from the police (and, no, giving that information out wouldn't have harmed anyone), refuses to answer direct questions from the police, interferes in the investigation when told not to, and is known by her friends as willing to lie if it suits her detective purposes.

I might accept (though not really like) these actions in a gritty P.I. with few morals, but I really didn't like them in a nun who's also supposed to be our heroine.

[Steven · Rating 1 out of 5]

Video Review Here: https://youtu.be/6fYjqw-Kv-g

How does one even begin to start reviewing this. I guess with a simple... it's bad. The characters didn't really feel like any of them had a distinct personality and they all just kind of blended together. The ending of the mystery of the identity of the murderer is also incredibly unsatisfying. Honestly, I would avoid reading this one if you can.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the Best of this Series

[Pam]

pseudoym of Ralph McInery author of the FR. Dowling mysteries

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nun Plussed (1983) is the eight book in the Sister Mary Teresa Dempsey mystery series by Monica Quill (aka Ralph McInerny). Sister Emtee (as she is more familiarly known) is one of three nuns left in Chicago's Order of Martha and Mary and was also, at one time, a history instructor at the Order's college. She has a way of getting mixed up in police affairs that involve her former students. This time it is the murder of Margaret Doyle.

Margaret was one of Sister Emtee's more troublesome students. Never satisfied and her daughter considers her someone who never grew up--permanently stuck in that age where one is sure something better is around the corner. Her dissatisfaction pushes her to divorce her husband, despite the Catholic church's view on such matters. The elderly nun is already disappointed by the divorce and is even more distressed when a wedding invitation arrives announce Margaret's upcoming marriage to Philip Chesney Cord, a member of a prominent local family.

But the very morning that the invitation arrives sees Margaret's death, apparently at the hands of an intruder when she interrupted a search. Since no one has been living with her, it's difficult to determine if the intruder found what they were looking for--or what they might have been looking for if they didn't. The plot thickens when, after a reporter hinged her story on the impending marriage, Cord's lawyers deny that any nuptials were planned. Then Margaret's ex-husband, Gregory--who is a used book dealer and book-binder, confesses to the murder. The police are all ready to accept that their case is closed, especially when they find that Gregory has a pair of boots that match the footprints of the killer...but then one of that pesky nun Sister Emtee's former students provides proof that Gregory's boots were bought after the murder. It's up to Sister Emtee to get to the bottom of the real reason for Margaret's death.

This is a very middle-of-the-road cozy mystery. It was a quick read and fairly entertaining. The mystery was competent with a plausible culprit, if not my first choice for a satisfying solution. But none of the characters are really impressive. I find ex-nun Christine Bennett (of the Lee Harris series) and Sister Mary Helen (of the Sister Carol Anne O'Marie series) to be much more engaging religious sleuths. The constant references to Sister Emtee's head gear and the way she clings to the old ways are intrusive rather than endearing or even instructive about why she behaves the way she does as a detective. Mentioning it once for those who are just being introduced to the character would be sufficient. Also serving as a distraction was the abrupt changes in scene and characters. We would just get settled in with Sister Emtee and those in the House when suddenly we would be whisked off to the Country Club where Margaret's daughter (who found her mother's body, incidentally) worked in the golf shop where her husband was a golf pro.

A decent read, though not the best in nun-related mysteries.

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