Murder in Ordinary Time

Sister Mary Helen #4

by Carol Anne O'Marie

Just one bite of that irresistible Christmas cookie and Christina Kelly, Channel 5's leading investigative reporter, was on the air--dead. The odor of bitter almond told Sister May Helen the cause of the cyanide. Somewhere in the studio was the wily killer; it was a person everyone knew.
Had Christina's investigations led her to her dead end? Or was the fatal cookie meant for someone the notorious womanizer; the hard-drinking floor manager with something to hide; or perhaps Wicked Wendy, who certainly fit her nickname? Or was the intended victim the intrepid nun herself?
Heaven help her as Sister Mary Helen charges in where angels fear to tread to trap a killer before he strikes again.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Christian, Mystery Thriller, Cozy Mystery

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Sister Carol Anne O'Marie was a mystery writer and a nun in the St. Joseph of Carondelet religious order.

She wrote eleven novels with the protagonist Sister Mary Helen, an elderly nun who solves crimes. Most of the books are based in San Francisco.

Her final book, Like a Swarm of Bees, is about the origins of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States.

Sister Carol Anne O'Marie and Sister Maureen Lyons ran a shelter for homeless women in Oakland, CA.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sister Carol Anne O'Marie's Murder in Ordinary Time had me fooled and I hadn't even plunged into the mystery yet. I was lining up Christmas-themed books to read for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge and I had marked this one as "Christmas" when I originally logged it on Goodreads. It's not. But why did I think so? Well...it's got a pine tree branch with a Christmas bulb or two and a plate of cookies with a bright red bow on the front of the library edition I read. And the back cover mentions that Christina Kelly, Channel 5's investigative reporter falls over dead after eating a bite of Christmas cookie. So...what else was I supposed to think?

Obviously that it all takes place in January, because that's what "Ordinary Time" means on the Catholic calendar--that quiet season when there are no holy days to be observed. My Protestant background didn't help me with that bit of knowledge.

So...Sister Mary Helen, the intrepid nun who manages to get herself mixed up in murders more often than Inspector Kate Murphy and her partner Inspector Dennis Gallagher would like, finds herself in the middle of another one. The good Sister is invited to appear on the local news for an interview to coincide with the trial of Tony Costa--a man whose capture Sister Mary Helen played a small part. She is preparing her nerves for her television appearance, but before Christina can begin the interview, she collapses with the smell of bitter almonds on her breath.

There is some question about whether Christina was the intended victim. It's possible that she was the target of the cyanide-laced cookies because of one of her investigations. But the cookies had been placed on a chair that belonged to another member of the news crew--Christina had only been swapped into that place at the last moment. Were the cookies meant for her colleague? Or maybe they were meant to be shared with their special guest. Sister Mary Helen has been instrumental in the arrests of several people and perhaps someone wanted revenge. Together, Sister Mary Helen and her two friendly Inspectors will solve another mystery.

This was a fun, very cozy mystery that was just perfect for the hectic time that is late November and early December. I hadn't read a Sister Mary Helen mystery for a long time and I enjoyed getting to know her again. The mystery isn't very intricate, so if you're looking for dozens of clues--real and false, oodles of suspects, and lots of red herrings then this isn't the book for you. If want to settle down with a bit of light mystery entertainment, then this just might be what the doctor ordered.

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

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ordinary Time – the quiet time on the Roman Catholic Calendar when there are no major holy days or celebrations ---comes to a quick halt when Sister Mary Helen witnesses the on-air murder of the television reporter who was preparing to interview her. But the murder was intended for some one else and here goes Sister Mary Helen racing in with her pals where angels fear to tread!----making it far from Ordinary Time, for any ones calendar!

Move over Ms Marple ---this book was a pure joy o read! I thoroughly enjoyed it from cover to cover!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first I have read in the series but I will find and read them all. It is soothing to read a story from the perspective of someone like kindly Sister Mary Helen; she sees beauty and goodness in people, she reflects on the homily of the day without any heaviness or preaching, there is no ugly language used or sexual innuendoes. One gets so desensitised and weary of all the violence in our contemporary fare, the increasingly bizarre ways of murdering, the weird & cruel psychological twists and turns, etc. This book has none of that, and for that I am so grateful. Sister Mary Helen is just smart, observant, persistent, and very decent. Decency is an under-rated attribute! It was a good story, and worth telling.

I picked this up because I miss San Francisco, having left nearly 30 years ago now. So I particularly loved the descriptions of walking at Ocean Beach, the fog rolling in over the Golden Gate Bridge, a drive through the Presidio or Golden Gate Park; sigh. I miss all these places. I don't know if anyone else would like this book but I loved it, and I loved the author. I was so sorry to get right up and google her only to find she had passed away in 2009. What a lovely person she was.

[Michelle Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book with a spunky nun living/working in a school in foggy, cool San Francisco and solving the murder of a woman at a news station. It was easy to follow as many books have too many characters to keep track of! The only complaint was that they mentioned the killer in one of the previous books in the series. Thus, if you were reading this as the first book in the series then you will be disappointed if you planned to read the earlier books.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very good book and kept me guessing until the last quarter of it at which point I was pretty sure I knew who had committed the crime. But there was still one more surprise in it, at least for me.
Very good book and I'll look for more of Sister Carol's works.

[Rosemary Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read

This is just a fun book to read easy and not too serious. Good book to read before bedtime. Doesn’t keep you awake

[Beverley Lombardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very charming. Good mystery. The book puts a good light on the Catholic faith.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

reminds me of father brown only with nuns

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder hits a news station just while Sister Mary Helen is being interviewed. Although told to leave the case alone, she just can't and finds herself once again in the thick of things.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in high school, nuns wore habits and had no identities apart from those given them by their religious order. They were called by odd, often masculine names derived from the names of saints. They relinquished their birthdays in favor of "saint's days." And although I went to a school that was right next door to a convent, what went on inside that convent remained a mystery to the initiated.

In her "Sister Mary Helen" series, the real-life sister Carol Anne O'Marie demystifies the nunnery. In Murder in Ordinary Time, the reader learns that, at least in modern times, nuns may struggle with their weight, throw Super Bowl parties, and have deep friendships with people in other walks of life. The writing was competent and the plot well crafted, but what I found most interesting about this book was the insights it offers into the parallel universe of modern religious life.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sr. Mary Helen goes to TV studio to be interviewed, but the host drops dead after eating a cyanide-laced cookie. The only suspects are the 11 people in the studio at the time - assorted reporters, producers and technicians. But who baked the cookie and what was the motive for the murder? Mary Helen investigates and eliminates the suspects one by one until the least likely suspect emerges as the killer. Subplot about police detective Kate McCoy's pregnancy seems unnecessary, until you realize the characters and the San Francisco atmosphere are important to the story. There is no violence or physical action in the story, just great plot development and realistic portrayals of the people and life in this great city.

[Suzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book. I am not Catholic, but had no problem following it.

Interesting, but I didn’t like the constant quotes from plays and poems. Would a 70+ year old nun really have so many things memorized that she still remembered that wasn’t Bible?

However, as I remember back to it, the quotes are the tantalizing part of the book. I have read others by her since and like them.

[Scott L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very easy, yet fun read (took me two days). Not much to the mystery, as the whole plot line kind of gives itself away. Still, some very interesting characterizations and character development. Not the best murder mystery I have ever read, but certainly not the worst either. I do like Sister Mary Helen and look forward to reading more of Sister O'Marie's books.

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entry in the series was very enjoyable on many levels. Normally, I'm not fond of back stories, in books or on TV, because they seem to slow down the mystery, but I actually read most of Kate's personal story this time. There were threads that connected, others that were woven, but all that kept me on the edge of my seat.

[Mary Helene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd rather read mysteries in the order they were written, but since I was lukewarm about the first in this series (A Novena for Murder) I decided to give the author one more chance here. I thought it much improved over the first! Perhaps the author relaxed into her own style.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy mystery featuring a nun! (as an ex-Catholic who attended grade 1 - 12 in Catholic school, I have a fondness for some nuns in particular and nuns in general.)
quite enjoyed it and am looking forward to another one.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read that is very well constructed. The lower-level of human drama is a great change to most mysteries, you don't want the killer to have done it; and Sister Mary Helen is charming competent and quicker than those half her age through the whole story.

[Alexandra]

4th in the series.

[Barbara Radisavljevic]

My review for this series is under Novena for Murder.

[Marianne Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do I love thee Sister Mary Helen? Let me count the ways...........super cute cozy mystery book series. I so love this old gal.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ckl LP Jack and Kate has baby boy and Sister Mary Helen is on TV news show when host dies

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, I have always lover "clergy" mysteries. The Sister Mary Helen mysteries were no exception.

[Kyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Figured half of it very early, but I didn't figure it all out and was surprised at the end of the mystery.

It's light, but it's a good escape.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great characters.