Death Of An Angel: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery

Death Of An Angel: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery

Product Description When Sister Mary Helen heeds an inner calling, it leads her straight to a killer. It is a rainy Feast of All Souls and feisty Sister Mary Helen, the Bay Citys famous crime-fighting nun, has nothing more on her mind than helping Angelica Bowers, the troubled young woman who works in the library of Mount St. Francis College. Unfortunately, her plans are shattered when dear Gemma Burke, one of her oldest friends, becomes the latest victim of a serial rapist-murderer. Sister Mary Helen realizes that the San Francisco police, despite their furious protests, need a little divine intervention-so she and her sidekick, Sister Eileen, set off after Gemmas killer. But little do the devout detectives know that they are walking into an intricate web of evil woven by a cold-blooded killer... From Publishers Weekly OMaries maturity as a mystery writer blossoms in this seventh appearance of Sister Mary Helen (Death Goes on Retreat, 1994, etc.). Mount St. Francis College in San Francisco is home to the sprightly senior citizen and Sister Eileen, her friend and sometime sleuthing companion. The peaceful atmosphere is shattered, however, when a wealthy college benefactor, Gemma Burke, becomes the latest victim of a serial rapist-murderer. Over the protests of Inspector Dennis Gallagher, the two nuns determine to find the killer. OMarie deftly braids three plot strands as she leads readers toward an inevitable conclusion. Gallaghers partner, Kate Murphy, waits anxiously at the hospital as her husband, Jack, a sex crimes detective, lies comatose after being shot by the rapist. Angelica Bowers, miserable and overweight librarian at the college, plots to escape from her overbearing bedridden mother. And Tilllie Greenwood, overprotective and lonely, nurses a secret fear that her grown son, Elvis, could be the rapist. Against an oppressive backdrop of continuous rain, Angelica and Elvis, each the product of an abusive mother, are propelled toward an explosive finale. Relying less on the charm of Mary Helen and Eileen than in previous outings, OMarie delivers compelling characters and sophisticated plotting in her best effort to date. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist This excellent mystery series features Sister Mary Helen as the meddling outsider who manages to solve the crime one step ahead of the frustrated police. In the latest offering, a serial rapist and murderer is loose in a wealthy San Francisco neighborhood. When a friend of Sister Mary Helens becomes the killers latest victim, the sister decides to get involved in the case. At the same time, readers are drawn into the story of fat Angela Bowers, who works at Sister Mary Helens college and is being pushed to the breaking point by her abusive, bedridden mother. These two stories come dramatically together in a conclusion that, while not totally unexpected, is still riveting. Interestingly, OMarie reveals the identity of the killer early on, freeing her to fill in details of his background as the story progresses. This technique adds depth to the novel beyond the level of a simple whodunit. Hard to put down. Ilene Cooper Review Move over, Miss Marple, here comes supersleuth Sister Mary Helen, a nun with an unusual habit of solving murders. -- San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle OMarie delivers compelling characters and sophisticated plotting in her best effort to date. -- Publishers Weekly [There is a] depth to the novel beyond the level of a simple whodunit. Hard to put down. -- Booklist About the Author Carol Anne OMarie has been a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondolet for the last forty-five years. She ministers to homeless women in downtown Oakland, California, at A Friendly Place, a daytime drop-in center which she co-founded in 1990. Death of an Angel is her seventh mystery featuring Sister Mary Helen.