Watch your back under the Dome after reading McInerny's latest ND mystery
By BILL RINNER
Scene Writer
Ralph McInerny, Notre Dame's director of the Jacques Maritain Center of Philosophy, presents a delightfully familiar mystery in "The Book of Kills."
An author of over 30 books and a Notre Dame professor of 40 years, McInerny has received critical acclaim for his previous works, particularly the Father Dowling and Andrew Broom series. McInerny was also a winner of the Bouchercon Lifetime Achievement Award.
With his latest book, the reader will feel right at home.
When a potential scandal at Notre Dame arises, reaching back to the founder himself, foul play inevitably results and an intriguing narrative unfolds.
A disagreeable graduate student, who manages to antagonize everyone from his wife to his girlfriend to his academic advisors, uncovers evidence that Notre Dame's land was stolen from Potawatomi Indians. After the president of the University is kidnapped during a football game against the Florida State Seminoles, the scholar suffers a gruesome death.
The two brothers Roger and Philip Knight, one a professor and the other a private investigator, seek to uncover the truth behind the complex web of mystery and deceit by finding the murderer and uncovering his motive.
Multiple twists and an unforeseeable ending place the book within the classical mystery genre.
The book reads smoothly and invigorates even the most casual reader. McInerny's attention to detail places the reader directly into the scene as familiar Notre Dame locations will perk the interest of students and alumni.
One must wonder whether the non-Domer will read "The Book of Kills" with a similar verve, but the meticulous details about the campus and city will leave no one clueless.
An interesting issue in the book is McInerny's critique of academic issues at Notre Dame. The "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" — the document concerning academic freedom at Catholic colleges and universities — is discussed, and the students in the book are far from geniuses as well.
Nevertheless, McInerny's years of experience of teaching Notre Dame students and living in South Bend cause certain character traits to resonate on various levels for the reader.
Overall, the book is recommended for any fan of the mystery genre, but the context of the narrative may not captivate anyone outside of the Notre Dame community.
McInerny certainly lives up to his reputation as an author and a scholar as University issues provoke self-evaluation.
All Scene Stories for Wednesday, February 20, 2002
