Lack of the Irish

Notre Dame #2

by Ralph McInerny

When sports and religion collide, it results in an ungodly murder...

As the Notre Dame campus gears up for one of the most religiously-charged sporting events in history-the big game between Catholic Notre Dame and Protestant pastor Edwina Marciniak, plans to make a statement by disrupting both the game and the theological conference campus scholars are holding. But the murder of an administrator threatens to steal the headlines...

Who killed the unlamented Hazel Nootin? Detective Philip Knight and his brother, brilliant philosophy professor Roger Knight, are summoned to put a lid on the case. As they hone in on their prime suspects-and on-and-off-the-wagon reporter, a troubled football star with an explosive secret, and Hazel's hapless husband-the Knights must score a goal for justice. This is one game they can't afford to fumble.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Ralph 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.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana is gearing up for a highly anticipated football game. Baylor University, the country's preeminent Protestant college, will meet the Catholic football powerhouse for the first time. Game day, most ironically, falls on Reformation Day--the day recognizing the historic moment when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche (castle church) in Wittenberg in 1517. Off the field, scholars prepare a theological conference featuring participants from the rival schools that will address Catholic and Protestant history. And a female pastor (who seems to be a bit of a loose cannon) plans to protest the game as some sort of statement about Protestantism's superiority over Catholicism. She hopes to stir up a religious fervor to eclipse the football fanaticism.

Sparks seem to be flying everywhere. Even the campus event coordinator is stirring up trouble--she seems to believe it her duty to throw as many obstacles in the path of conference directors as possible. When she is found strangled shortly before the big day, there seems to be no shortage of candidates for the role of murderer. Roger (a professor) and Philip (a private eye) Knight use their various skills to help search for the killer. But there are no definite clues until Notre Dame's famed, brilliant, and troubled quarterback mysteriously disappears and evidence links him to the crime. But did he do it....or does he just know who did?

The Lack of the Irish is a fairly solid mystery offering from the late Ralph McInerny. Very light, cozy feel with the academic setting and most of the mystery-solving provided by the professor half of the brothers Knight rather than the private eye. Interesting characters and a realistic motive for the culprit. Not really in the fair-play tradition...either that or I was asleep at the wheel when it came to noticing clues, but it was a fun, quick read and I do enjoy Professor Knight and his brother.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Sarah (Gutierrez) Myers · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my first foray into the fiction of Ralph McInerny, and it will also be the last. The plot and characters of this book were extremely ill-developed, and the narration and conversation were pathetic. (Case in point: the murder mystery ends up having nothing to do with any of the other central plot themes in the story.) I didn't even have high expectations of the book starting out, because really, who expects a person whose day job is writing books like Aquinas on Human Action and Aquinas and Analogy to write really good detective fiction on the side? But I was prompted to read it because I heard that it was a roman à clef, with people from the philosophy circles at Baylor and Notre Dame. Alas, it was disappointing even in this regard; there weren't so many characters hidden in the book as I had expected, and the ones who were there were just given their real names, not veiled at all.

Fellow Baylor people, don't fall for it.

[Harry Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice easy read. The author, Ralph McInerny, also wrote the Father Dowling mystery series that the TV show was based on. The story revolves around a football game between Notre Dame & Baylor and a conference between faculty of both universities along a religious theme. Interestingly enough the game takes place on Reformation Day, the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenburg Cathedral thus starting the Protestant Reformation.

There are two plot lines. The first is the murder of Hazel Nootin, a program director at ND responsible for setting up conferences. The second was the attempt by a lapsed Catholic, Rev Edwinia Marccinisk, to disrupt the game. The characters are lightly fleshed out & the plots are not overly complicated. Like I said a nice easy read.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun one from the late Ralph McInerny. This tale takes place at the University of Notre Dame, where the upcoming football game between the Baylor (a Baptist university) and ND will take place on October 31st, or Reformation Day. The clash between Protestant and Catholic theology provides a counterpart to the pending game. The ND quarterback finds himself in a dilemma because, being a good Baptist, he had wanted to play for Baylor, but chose Notre Dame to please his father. Rather predictably, he becomes entangled with the murder mystery. I enjoyed reading this and found McInerny's nuanced catechism interspersed throughout the book rather charming. A fun read.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am Catholic and love football, so I enjoyed reading the book. I went in with the expectation that the murder would be the main narrative of the book, since that's what the back of the book implies it's mostly about. If I hadn't had that expectation, I probably would have enjoyed this book more. Still, I did enjoy the book, just not as much as I expected. The football parts were great.

This book is less about the murder mystery and more about the drama between personnel at (and surrounding) Notre Dame. While some of the drama did connect to the murder, I wouldn't consider the murder the focal point. The focus is split between the murder and the Notre Dame vs. Baylor game. Also, the identity of the murderer left me feeling sad for the rest of the family. We also don't see a lot of resolution beyond the murderer confessing and being regretful. Maybe the point was we tend to focus on distractions (like football and rivalries) rather than what's important (like crime and crises of faith). Maybe I'm reading too much into that.

[Robin Lyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

My disappointment with this book was it didn't focus on the murder, either leading up to it or solving it. The book is just full of details and side stories of the many characters.

[Mary Kaluzny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really tough for me to get into this storyline. Later, the solving of the crime seemed to be an afterthought.

[Tesia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is enjoyable for Notre Dame fans and graduates who will remember many of the scenes described throughout the story. Since the campus has changed so much in the last 20 years, some sights, such as the University Club, no longer exist; however, this does not detract from the nostalgia invoked by this story. I was a little off-put by the overtly male lens from which this was written -- lacking in prominent female characters with whom the reader could identify.

[Jack Kooyman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ralph McInerny is, in my opinion, one of the best mystery writers around. His stories hook me and keep me hooked from beginning to end. His style is somewhat similar to that of Andrew Greely's without all the steamy sex. (by the way, I am also a big fan of Greely too. :-)

[Melissa A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mystery in a familiar location. At times a little too cerebral (I.e. the word latitudinarianism), but good character development. I really did not know "whodunnit" until the end. Would really only recommend this book to ND alums.

[Marge Shelton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. It was fun to read a book with words I didn't know. The description of Notre Dame University campus was fun. I am not a mystery reader but I enjoyed this book for the writing, character description, and locale.

[Pam]

08/18/08 rec via bookmooch