Murder in the cathedral

Harrison's Reverend Mother series offers readers engaging mysteries set in 1920s Cork, Ireland, and provides intriguing glimpses of the religious, social, and political issues of the time and the deep divide between rich and poor. Here, an archdeacon and a child have been poisoned with cyanide, their bodies found in Cork's Protestant cathedral on Christmas morning. The child, Enda, is well known to the Reverend Mother--he's a poor, fatherless rapscallion who also sings like an angel--but she's less familiar with the archdeacon, having little cause to associate much with Protestants. One of the Reverend Mother's former pupils, Police Inspector Patrick Cashman, is in charge of the investigation, but there are so many suspects, it seems near-impossible to determine who had means, motive, and opportunity. It had to be someone familiar with church rituals, since the cyanide that killed the archdeacon was in the Communion wine, but also someone who knew that Enda loved sweets, since he died from eating poisoned candy. As Patrick investigates (with subtle help from the Reverend Mother), he uncovers a shocking tale of ambition, greed, and perversion. A solid entry in a consistently engaging series.

Set in the late 1920s, Harrison's outstanding ninth whodunit featuring the Reverend Mother Aquinas (after 2021's Murder in an Orchard Cemetery) opens with an unexpected visit from Dr. Thompson, the bishop of Cork's Anglican Church of Ireland. Thompson reports that one of the Reverend Mother's pupils, seven-year-old Enda O'Sullivan, has died. Someone poisoned the communion wine at the Protestant cathedral with cyanide, killing its archdeacon, Dr. Hearn. According to the bishop, the Reverend Mother's ally on the force, Insp. Patrick Cashman, believes that the murderer bribed Enda to put the cyanide in the archdeacon's cup by giving the boy some chocolates injected with the poison to cover up his crime. Given Hearn's wide unpopularity, the Reverend Mother and the inspector have plenty of suspects to consider in their probe. Harrison does a masterly job combining plot and characterization and resolves the puzzle satisfactorily, but the book's real strength is her heartfelt evocation of the lives of Cork's impoverished citizens and the Reverend Mother's dedication to helping them. This series ranks near the top among mysteries with a religious lead. Agent: Peter Buckman, Ampersand Agency (U.K.). (Sept.)

A Reverend Mother, a police officer, a newspaper reporter, and a Jewish doctor extend their long, successful record of solving crimes in Cork in the 1920s. Reverend Mother Aquinas has seen the worst of humanity, and nothing surprises her. But the Christmas double murder of an archdeacon of the Anglican Church of Ireland along with one of her most troublesome and downtrodden students makes her very angry indeed. Bishop Thompson comes himself to inform her that Dr. Scher, the police surgeon, thinks that both 7-year-old Enda O'Sullivan and the archdeacon were poisoned. Inspector Patrick Cashman and journalist and law student Eileen MacSwiney, two of the Reverend Mother's most accomplished and beloved students involved in the case, rely on her wisdom to help solve a horrible crime with political implications. Apparently someone had tricked Enda into climbing into the cathedral, putting poison into a chalice, and then eating poisoned candy. Though the mischievous Enda had the voice of an angel, neither he nor his mother was popular in the Catholic community, and the Reverend Mother has to use all her influence to arrange a proper funeral. Patrick quickly learns that the archdeacon was disliked by a great many people for a great many reasons but wonders whether any of them are serious enough to kill for. Even in an Ireland free of England, members of the old guard still occupy many of the top positions. As a Catholic, Patrick relies on his Protestant assistant for insight. In the end, Dr. Scher's knowledge of antique silver gives the Reverend Mother the answer. Plenty of suspects dramatizing Ireland's religious differences provide an excellent character-driven mystery. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.