The Easter Confession: It was art theft. It was murder. And when the stolen paintings started coming back, it was a mystery that only one man could solve.

by Charles Monagan

On Easter Eve 1955, young Connecticut priest Father Hugh Osgood gets a disturbing visit to his confessional and soon finds himself plunging against his will into a world of high-end art thievery and murder - and a mystery that only he can solve. Enlisting the help of a couple of old hometown friends (including Anibel Moss, the still-hard-to-resist love of his life), he sets out to piece together the deadly puzzle. But just as he begins, the strangest thing happens - one by one, the stolen paintings - first a Manet, then a Monet, then a Degas - start coming back, an unheard-of twist that creates a new mystery atop the old one. From there, it becomes a fast-paced race to the finish as Father Osgood draws closer to his prey, balancing his priestly responsibilities against his instinctual urge for justice. Will he track down the who, the how and the why? Can he control his rage when the case becomes personal in the most painful way possible? And what about Connecticut's rainiest summer in history - how will that intrude with its own brand of drama and deadly force? "The Easter Confession" will draw you back to the days of the mid 20th century and remind you with fresh, sharp storytelling that times may change but good and evil are always with us.

Genres: Mystery

149 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2020

About the author

"First They Kill You," a medical memoir, is Charles Monagan's latest book (2025). In highly readable form, it recounts his extended battle with two blood cancers and the drama of the eventual cure through stem-cell replacement. His novels include "The Easter Confession," called "a superior whodunit" in a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and "Carrie Welton," which won across-the-board praise as a historical novel set in 1860s Connecticut, New York City, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and Boston.
Monagan was born in Connecticut himself and has spent all of his working life there, first as a newspaper reporter and then for many years as Editor of Connecticut Magazine. Along the way, he published several humor books as well as two editions of the nonfiction "Connecticut Icons."

Reviews

[Barbara Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Easter Confession, a mystery, Charles Monagan describes the city in which he was born with great detail. He romanticizes the social conventions like priests visiting his parishioners in the evenings for a drink and sometimes dinner, dining out at Diorios Restaurant, and the social scene up on the hill above The Immaculate. This allows the reader to dig in and experience the local culture. His main character is Hugh Osgood, a young priest at the Immaculate Conception church in the center of the City. Hugh acts as a detective when a desperate man tries to confess something to him and is murdered before he is able. Hugh, working with his childhood friends, tries to solve the theft of valuable paintings and subsequent murders. By all accounts, the heist and murders are totally unprofessional. I was on the edge of my seat through the book as the mystery unfolded and the ending twist was totally unexpected. It is a real page turner, so don’t miss out.

[Howard Fielding · Rating 5 out of 5]

In many ways, Waterbury, Connecticut is a city frozen in time. Live or work or visit there today and you'll still see most of the institutions and landmarks Charles Monagan fondly evokes in this mystery set in his hometown. Yet the thriving postwar affluence is gone, washed away with the floods that wiped out Connecticut's river valleys after two hurricanes in the summer of 1955.

Monagan crafts a clever detective story set around three characters who grew up in the city as part of its Greatest Generation, whose common ties and unique backgrounds are the key to solving a perplexing burglary of an old-money estate. The characters, settings and motivations are all true to Waterbury, then and now, building to a climax at the city's turning point.

A refreshing read for long summer afternoons.

[Gaili Schoen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to guess what's going on. When extremely valuable paintings are stolen from a grand house in a small Connecticut city, it's quite a scandal. But when the paintings are returned one-by-one in mailing tubes to some of the the central characters, no one can figure out why. It was interesting to read a story from a Catholic priest's perspective, and to learn about the rules safeguarding crime confessions. I enjoyed the relationship between the priest, the reporter and the art expert, and gasped at the slimy atmosphere of the New England country club culture. I read everything this author writes, and have loved every title!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A priest, a reporter, and a museum curator get drawn into an art theft in their hometown. Over the course of the novel, the crime becomes more complicated and dangerous. The main characters are well developed and the mystery is interesting.

An understanding of the Catholic faith will help in grasping some of the complexities of this novel but is not necessary.

[˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. The main characters are well developed and the mystery becomes more and more complicated and dangerous as the story goes on. It's pretty fast paced too.

I didn't know anything about the Catholic faith and there's a lot of information about it but it didn't take away from the story for me.

[Barbara Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Easter Confession, a mystery, Charles Monagan describes the city in which he was born with great detail. He romanticizes the social conventions like priests visiting his parishioners in the evenings for a drink and sometimes dinner, dining out at Diorios Restaurant, and the social scene up on the hill above The Immaculate. This allows the reader to dig in and experience the local culture. His main character is Hugh Osgood, a young priest at the Immaculate Conception church in the center of the City. Hugh acts as a detective when a desperate man tries to confess something to him and is murdered before he is able. Hugh, working with his childhood friends, tries to solve the theft of valuable paintings and subsequent murders. By all accounts, the heist and murders are totally unprofessional and I was on the edge of my seat through the book as the mystery unfolded and the ending twist was totally unexpected. It is a real page turner, so don’t miss out.