The Rosary Murders
The Father Koesler Mysteries: Book 1
By William Kienzle
Now, for the first time, the complete Father Koesler mystery series is available as e-books. William X. Kienzle’s series of best-selling mysteries feature Father Robert Koesler as a Roman Catholic priest whose intuitiveness and caring nature lead him to an unusual calling: solving mysteries, mostly of the murderous kind.
"A sophisticated and baffling thriller . . . a real bone-freezer." —Publishers Weekly
"Ingenious, witty, literate—at once irreverent and compassionate—an impressive tour indeed for a first-time novelist." —Los Angeles Times
"Well-paced, tightly written, exciting as hell, and, quite possibly, the best mystery I’ve read in years." —Dallas Times-Herald
The Rosary Murders was William X. Kienzle’s first Father Koesler mystery, published in 1978. Twenty-three more books followed, creating a best-selling mystery series mostly set in Detroit and reflecting the personality of its hero, Father Robert Koesler, a diocesan priest with a penchant for sleuthing. The Rosary Murders was named one of the top twenty-five mysteries of the twentieth century in spring 2000 by the Chicago Sun-Times. It was also made into a movie, with Donald Sutherland in the role of Father Koesler.
In The Rosary Murders, Detroit priests and nuns are being methodically murdered; all are found with a plain black rosary entwined between their fingers as a calling card. From Ash Wednesday, when the murderer first struck, the police seem helpless to solve the string of senseless murders. The weeks that follow become a nightmare for the crack homicide team headed by Lieutenant Walter Koznicki, until Father Koesler breaks the madmen’s code.
Here is a story with tension, excitement, intelligence, and a rare wit and humor. Kienzle painstakingly leads you through every step in an intensive police investigation of heinous series of murders. Police procedure and Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporting are as much a part of the action as the crimes themselves.
With superb control of the novel’s movement, Kienzle can tantalize at a tortoise’s pace and torment with a breakneck hare’s pace.
"Ingenious, witty, literate—at once irreverent and compassionate—an impressive tour indeed for a first-time novelist." —Los Angeles Times
"Well-paced, tightly written, exciting as hell, and, quite possibly, the best mystery I’ve read in years." —Dallas Times-Herald
The Rosary Murders was William X. Kienzle’s first Father Koesler mystery, published in 1978. Twenty-three more books followed, creating a best-selling mystery series mostly set in Detroit and reflecting the personality of its hero, Father Robert Koesler, a diocesan priest with a penchant for sleuthing. The Rosary Murders was named one of the top twenty-five mysteries of the twentieth century in spring 2000 by the Chicago Sun-Times. It was also made into a movie, with Donald Sutherland in the role of Father Koesler.
In The Rosary Murders, Detroit priests and nuns are being methodically murdered; all are found with a plain black rosary entwined between their fingers as a calling card. From Ash Wednesday, when the murderer first struck, the police seem helpless to solve the string of senseless murders. The weeks that follow become a nightmare for the crack homicide team headed by Lieutenant Walter Koznicki, until Father Koesler breaks the madmen’s code.
Here is a story with tension, excitement, intelligence, and a rare wit and humor. Kienzle painstakingly leads you through every step in an intensive police investigation of heinous series of murders. Police procedure and Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporting are as much a part of the action as the crimes themselves.
With superb control of the novel’s movement, Kienzle can tantalize at a tortoise’s pace and torment with a breakneck hare’s pace.
Details & Purchase
eBook
- Price: $4.99
- Publish Date: 5/15/2012
- Pages: 240
Purchase:
About the Author
William X. Kienzle died in December 2001. He was a Detroit parish priest for twenty years before leaving the priesthood. He began writing his popular mystery series after serving as an editor and director at the Center for Contemplative Studies at the University of Dallas.
