Death
of a Scholar
By
Fiorella De Maria
Publisher
St. Ignatius Books
·
Paperback : 262 pages
·
ISBN-10 : 1621645177
·
ISBN-13 : 978-1621645177
Slowly.
The book begins slowly. I was fifty pages into it before the “action” began. Be
prepared that this is a book to read on afternoons when you are ready to relax
with your novel, ready for a long chat over tea. This more old-fashioned sort
of beginning for a mystery novel than today’s slam bang way of starting a tale
might have put me off, but the idea of following the path of Father Gabriel, a
man who shares my father’s name, and who is a formerly married priest, well,
that was too intriguing. I persisted and am glad I did.
In
postwar England, the time period of Chesterton’s priest, Gabriel brings that added
sensibility of a widowed man, (now celibate for God). His extensive “lived” insights
into human relationships and sharp observational skills are what make him a
great detective and confidant to those who seek his counsel.
De
Maria, by forcing me to slow down, did make me “smell the roses” more closely terms
of better appreciating her excellent plotting and intricate physiological character
assessments. This is the fourth installment of the series, and the first
chapter takes us into Gabriel’s mind and allows us to catch up with who he is
and where he is. Gabriel’s inner self is central to the book—to all of them, I
imagine. We meet him as he sits in the
rooms of his old university friend, an academic, at their alma mater.
On
page 46 the action of murder mystery begins—“something has happened” Arthur,
another key character in this novel, tells Gabriel and off the two of them go
to discover the dead body, a woman holding a nitrogen canister.
-Yet,
even with the action starting, De Maria, is not in a hurry. The case and Gabriel’s
insights unfold with the precious care of a rosebud on a partly sunny day.
Along the way, De Maria carefully plants the bits and pieces we and Gabriel
need to solve the mystery—"who dunnit” as they say.
Because
of my impatience with such pacing, I can only give this mystery a four star,
but it is outstanding, and pacing is not all.
Although I wish she had moved
Father Gabriel along more quickly, I must say, which descriptions would I have
consigned to the bin? Which interactions with other characters? Which musings
of Gabriel either on the case and about his background? No, I cannot really fault her for
lagging “behind” my preferred reading pace—thanks to the beauty of her
language, the intimacy of the dialogue she conjures up between Gabriel and the
other characters and his own musings.
Will
I read more of these if they come out? Yes, and I plan to read the previous
three—because now that I’ve put the book down, I miss Father Gabriel. I want to
know him better. I’m looking forward to the next one in the series. Definitely
the resolution of the mystery is important—that woman, the cannister, what
happened, the moral minefield that faces scientists whose work contributes to
weapons, but there is more to life than that. De Maria does not bow to the
current trend of rapid-fire action, instead giving reads time to see the
broader picture of life. Like the
mysteries of the classical age. A mystery to be savored.
My reading copy came from the publisher with no expectation of a review.
Joan Leotta ©2022
Joan Leotta plays with words on page and stage. Her poetry, essays, cnf, short stories, and articles are widely published. Mysteries are favorite things to read.. short and long.. and to write.
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