What do you think?
Rate this book
Father Dowling #29
Ash Wednesday
Father Dowling has been serving as parish priest and resident sleuth at St. Hilary’s for a while now, but he’s no lifer, and there’s plenty that he doesn’t know about the old guard. So when a stranger comes to Fox River who isn’t a stranger to anyone but him, he has to rely on his prying housekeeper to tell him that the mystery man is actually a well-known murderer. Ten years ago, Nathaniel Green’s wife was dying of cancer, and after a short remission she relapsed into a coma. That small sliver of hope so utterly dashed must have been too much for him because when the nurses came to check on her they found that he had taken her off of her life support. Green’s return divides the community, but the more Father Dowling ponders the moral questions and reinvestigates the case, the more he wonders if Green committed any crime at all.
With parishioners up in arms, Father Dowling has to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that a conviction is no proof of guilt in Ash Wednesday, the newest addition to Ralph McInerny’s acclaimed and beloved mystery series.
With parishioners up in arms, Father Dowling has to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that a conviction is no proof of guilt in Ash Wednesday, the newest addition to Ralph McInerny’s acclaimed and beloved mystery series.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published July 22, 2008
3 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Ralph McInerny
173 books81 followersRalph 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 20, 2021
My first Father Dowling mystery, even though McInerny hails from my old hometown of South Bend. I need to track down one of his Notre Dame mysteries, I’ve never read a book based at ND.
This one takes place outside Chicago, with a surprisingly large cast of characters, but the story moves right along and has a few wicked twists. Father D. doesn’t play a huge part in it, however, so I’ll want to find a title where he does the heavy lifting rather than some side consultations. Overall a good story and well-written.
This one takes place outside Chicago, with a surprisingly large cast of characters, but the story moves right along and has a few wicked twists. Father D. doesn’t play a huge part in it, however, so I’ll want to find a title where he does the heavy lifting rather than some side consultations. Overall a good story and well-written.
January 19, 2009
This is my introduction to the Father Dowling mysteries. Though it was a challenge to keep track of the many key players in the story, I enjoyed it enough to plan to read others.
February 27, 2019
This is my first Father Dowling book. I love the TV series and couldn't help comparing the book to the episodes I've watched. I was disappointed that Father Dowling was more like a secondary character in this book and not nearly as curious as he was in the show.
The story revolved around a well-to-do family and the tragedies that followed them. The book was slow paced and it wasn't until well into the story when things began to pick up.
I enjoyed getting to thoroughly learn about each of the characters introduced and look forward to my next Father Dowling mystery.
The story revolved around a well-to-do family and the tragedies that followed them. The book was slow paced and it wasn't until well into the story when things began to pick up.
I enjoyed getting to thoroughly learn about each of the characters introduced and look forward to my next Father Dowling mystery.
May 14, 2024
I would have to pick a book in a series to read that is close to the end. I chose this book for another challenge, only after checking it on Goodreads, did I notice the series. Well, now I have to go back to the beginning of this series and read from there. I used to watch the Father Dowling series on TV, with Tom Bosley and Tracey Nelson.
So this book...
Of course, I enjoyed it. It starts with a man being released from prison for serving time for the mercy killing of his wife. Nathaniel Green's wife had cancer and she was on life support in the hospital. He was tried for her murder because he said he unhooked the life machine, when in reality all he did was take her mask off. As we go through the characters' lives, all of it centers around Nathaniel. His sister-in-law, Helen Burke, was jealous of her sister Florence because she was the one Nathaniel chose to marry, and Helene harbored a grudge against them all these years. Then she makes a fuss about Florence's money, which she didn't believe Nathaniel should have. We will get to why later. Helen has a son named Jason who is bad with money and is always trying to start a new venture, which Helen keeps funding. Jason is married to Carmela Rush, and they are separated because of his gambling and alcoholism. There is also a jealous woman involved who was friends with them before their marriage, Madaline.
As we follow these characters along, and air out the dirty laundry, we find that Helene is the one who killed her sister Florence, for which Nathaniel spent ten years in prison because he thought he did, and she just let him take the blame because of her jealousy. Carmela has been working as a financial advisor who was having a fling with one of her business partners (she and Jason were separated), and so Augie, the business partner tried to do away with Jason by assaulting him so badly he had to be hospitalized.
Nathaniel did kill Helen in a sense because he swerved into her car and caused the shuttle bus from St. Helens to crush the vehicle against the bridge abutment.
Father Dowling along with the help of the housekeeper, Marie helps the police tie up the loose ends. Father Dowling is a wonderful character and I loved how McInerny portrays him. As I was reading the book it says they were in Illinois (Nathaniel was in Joliet), I was confused (at first) I thought they were in the UK, and then I realized that it was Father Brown (Mark Williams) that is the UK Father who solves the mysteries there,
So this book...
Of course, I enjoyed it. It starts with a man being released from prison for serving time for the mercy killing of his wife. Nathaniel Green's wife had cancer and she was on life support in the hospital. He was tried for her murder because he said he unhooked the life machine, when in reality all he did was take her mask off. As we go through the characters' lives, all of it centers around Nathaniel. His sister-in-law, Helen Burke, was jealous of her sister Florence because she was the one Nathaniel chose to marry, and Helene harbored a grudge against them all these years. Then she makes a fuss about Florence's money, which she didn't believe Nathaniel should have. We will get to why later. Helen has a son named Jason who is bad with money and is always trying to start a new venture, which Helen keeps funding. Jason is married to Carmela Rush, and they are separated because of his gambling and alcoholism. There is also a jealous woman involved who was friends with them before their marriage, Madaline.
As we follow these characters along, and air out the dirty laundry, we find that Helene is the one who killed her sister Florence, for which Nathaniel spent ten years in prison because he thought he did, and she just let him take the blame because of her jealousy. Carmela has been working as a financial advisor who was having a fling with one of her business partners (she and Jason were separated), and so Augie, the business partner tried to do away with Jason by assaulting him so badly he had to be hospitalized.
Nathaniel did kill Helen in a sense because he swerved into her car and caused the shuttle bus from St. Helens to crush the vehicle against the bridge abutment.
Father Dowling along with the help of the housekeeper, Marie helps the police tie up the loose ends. Father Dowling is a wonderful character and I loved how McInerny portrays him. As I was reading the book it says they were in Illinois (Nathaniel was in Joliet), I was confused (at first) I thought they were in the UK, and then I realized that it was Father Brown (Mark Williams) that is the UK Father who solves the mysteries there,
March 12, 2018
Weird mystery. It felt a bit like a storm gathering as the huge cast of characters were introduced and slowly began to swirl into complicated relationships which built into a tornado of sorts with guilt, hatred, gossip, retribution, greed, rivalries, corruption ... all coming to a head. There were cops, con-men,ex cons, crooked financial planners, sleazy lawyers, mobsters, lovelorn ladies and, with all this, Father Dowling was largely missing. He was less a sleuth and more like the quiet eye of the storm, more concerned with moral and ethical issues and providing calm and gentle advice and counsel.
As this is my first Fr. Dowling book I wonder if he is always like this.
I did enjoy the discussions of faith and morality, especially those between Dowling and his old mentor "Willy Nilly". Most of our f2f discussion group were less than enthusiastic about this title as a mystery but had fond memories of the old tv series with Tom Bosley
As this is my first Fr. Dowling book I wonder if he is always like this.
I did enjoy the discussions of faith and morality, especially those between Dowling and his old mentor "Willy Nilly". Most of our f2f discussion group were less than enthusiastic about this title as a mystery but had fond memories of the old tv series with Tom Bosley
March 20, 2022
Timely, I picked up this book for the title. It starts out on Ash Wednesday and ends at the conclusion of Lent/Easter. There are lots of characters in this book and thank goodness the author reiterates plot points so that the reader can remember them! There are several mysteries running in the story:
1) Who killed the pizza man?
2) Did Nathaniel really perform euthanasia on his wife?
3) Was there more going on with the van and car accident?
4) Will Jason and Carmela get back together?
5) What, if anything, does the mafia family have to do with all of it?
6) Who is this Casanova, Eugene Schmidt?
There is an intersection of the church, the police and the press, also.
Great weekend read.
1) Who killed the pizza man?
2) Did Nathaniel really perform euthanasia on his wife?
3) Was there more going on with the van and car accident?
4) Will Jason and Carmela get back together?
5) What, if anything, does the mafia family have to do with all of it?
6) Who is this Casanova, Eugene Schmidt?
There is an intersection of the church, the police and the press, also.
Great weekend read.
November 29, 2024
The storyline and plot were very interesting. However, there are too many characters. It's hard to keep them all straight. Plus, there is so much detail. I had a hard time staying focused while reading the book. If you like lots of details and characters I suppose it is a good read.
March 13, 2019
Not crazy about this book...can relate to all catholic things, but story seemed too busy, too many characters...
January 19, 2020
Nice light reading.
February 23, 2025
A slow moving story - not as engaging as others in the series.
September 5, 2009
Nathaniel Green returns to St Hillary parish after serving a decade in prison for murdering his wife who was dying from terminal cancer. The police weren't convinced he had disconnected his wife's life support and the prosecutor wasn't really vested in trying the case. He might have gone free of he hadn't been so loudly insistent that he had murdered his wife/ He still might have been saved from prison if he hadn't selected the most incompetent attorney in the area.
Nathaniel's wife's sister is working to make sure he continues to pay. She soon has the parish shunning him. This sets Father Dowling into investigating the old case. Then, the sister is murdered. Father Dowling doesn't believe that Nathaniel is the murderer although many of the townspeople are ready to blame him.
This teeters right on the edge of a 3 star. The book wanders and is a bit disjointed, skipping around in time and perspective.
October 23, 2013
I found this book difficult to follow and therefore hard to read and not terribly gripping or enjoyable. This is a book I was excited to find in the library and really had high hopes for, but it was disjointed, and I often found that thoughts and conversations among the characters were not well developed. For example, there is a conversation that occurs about 3/4 of the way through in which I had no idea to whom the lawyer character was speaking! I also found the use of last names for characters made it difficult to remember who was who. I often found myself pausing to go back over the story line to place the characters again. Finally, I am very frustrated by the outcome. Basically, it's a book where there were 2 story lines going on, but all along I was thinking they were going to run together. In the end, they didn't, which really took a lot of the mystery and, for me, fun out of it.
November 2, 2014
Ash Wednesday is #29 in the Father Dowling Mystery series by Ralph McInerny. It is a cerebral mystery, with Fr. Dowling being a perfect father confessor, dealing with moral dilemmas and the weakness of man with compassion and understanding. The book is most entertaining and the author keeps the story moving with several twists and turns, producing another parish mystery for the priest to solve in his usual quiet and compassionate way. Truly a pleasant mystery read.
January 23, 2009
Boooring and completely disjointed. Concept wasn't bad, but the way it all played out just didn't work for me. I actually stopped reading towards the end (something I never do!) and skipped to the end to find out what happened. And I was really glad I didn't waste the time reading.
April 2, 2013
I really enjoy all of McInerny's characters and I'm glad I still have one novel and two short story collections to read in the Father Dowling series. As with all his books, Ash Wednesday presented interesting moral and ethical questions in the context of Catholic dogma. RIP, good friend!
April 15, 2010
Father Dowling is really faced with moral ambiguity in this one, and everyone needs to search his/her own heart.
June 30, 2015
I love this story and Fr. Dowling too! Can't go wrong w/this writer!
February 13, 2011
A fun read for the detective lover in me. It did also touch upon Catholic respect-for-life issues, specifically end-of-life care and suicide.
July 14, 2014
possible my least favorite of the series. Great concept and characters, but very predictable outcome.
December 23, 2014
Ralph McInerny's Father Dowling mysteries. I enjoyed the TV adaptation of these stories but the books are not as good.
June 12, 2015
It was an interesting plot, but was not written to make me not put it down. I even put it down to go to sleep with about 10 pages left
May 12, 2009
Father Dowling mystery. Not bad, loved the TV series.
July 14, 2011
I like his writing style, although he loves his theasarius.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews