Emerald Aisle
Best known for his popular Father Dowling novels, the prolific McInerny also writes the charming Andrew Broom series and the Notre Dame mysteries, of which this one is the fifth. Featuring the corpulent academic Roger Knight and his private-investigator brother, Philip, the series revolves around the Notre Dame campus and its often eccentric denizens (McInerny has been a professor there for many years). This time two students, Larry and Dolores, reserve the campus' popular Basilica of the Sacred Heart for their wedding, set to take place in six years. When the time comes, both claim the reservation but for weddings to different people. This puts in motion a story of ingenious intrigue involving the murder of Dolores' finance's mistress and the theft of some Cardinal Newman papers from the victim's collector-husband. Philip is hired to investigate, and Roger, of course, is on hand to assist. This series has its own distinctive voice, featuring decidedly episodic chapters and frequent changes of voice, but it shares one characteristic with most of McInerny's work: it's thoroughly entertaining.Stuart MillerCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved