The Gathering
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
The Gathering was the twenty-fourth in Kienzle's series of mysteries, featuring Father Robert Koesler as a Roman Catholic priest whose intuitiveness and caring nature have led him to an unusual calling: solving mysteries, mostly of the murderous kind.
In this entry, revisit Koesler's adolescent and teen years, to a time when young Catholic men and women were encouraged, even expected, to become priests and nuns, whether or not their vocation was real. We meet his group of six young aspiring religious (four men and two women) who underwent the rigors of the seminary and the convent together. We learn of their individual struggles with their faith, their mentors, and their commitments to difficult choices. And we painfully discover how one member of this group is inflicted with undeserved guilt by an unspeakably cruel superior and how this dooms his life. Now in their seventies, the group gathers together, a reunion of sorts, that is cut short when one of their number is found dead. Suspicions arise, and once again Father Koesler's acumen is called on to solve the puzzle.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
If at times Kienzle seemingly walked in the shadow of that other popular Catholic priest crime author, Andrew Greeley, this highly intelligent, wonderfully human and compassionate novel, the 24th in his Father Koesler series, is a reminder of how good a writer he could be. Sad to say, the author's recent death means that it's the last in the series, which began so strongly with The Rosary Murders (1979). More a coming-of-age story than a mystery, this new outing follows six young people from Detroit four boys intent on the priesthood, two girls on becoming nuns from their entry into religious life until middle age. Two fail in their ambitions, and one is a fraud through no fault of his own. Kienzle brings them all beautifully to life as he focuses on the Catholic Church during a time of change as well as on the trials of growing up in a Catholic family, in particular the painful ordeal of sexual awakening. He also celebrates the friendships that last a lifetime. A death occurs, but those looking for conventional crime-solving should look elsewhere. As ever, some Catholics may not care for the author's challenges to orthodoxy (he left the priesthood after 20 years and later married), but for everyone else this thought-provoking, philosophical last hurrah will provide rich spiritual satisfaction. FYI:The author died at home in suburban Detroit of a heart attack on December 28, 2001.
