Words on Wednesday: Rereading an Old Series

William X. Kienzle: the Father Koestler mystery novels

  Back in the 1980s, a friend gave us a copy of mind Over Murder, by William X. Kienzle.

  MyGuy and i both loved it. As he subscribed to a mystery book club, it was easy to fill in the series.
  At least the ones published to date. i was surprised to find that, this go-around, we were missing about a third of Kienzle's titles.

A Once-Over for the Series

  Father Koestler (pronounced like the Indianapolis street, Kessler) is very much Kienzle's alterego. Thus, he is a very real character. He has his author's biography, beliefs & opinions.
  First and foremost, these are Christian novels drawing heavily on the Catholicism that has shaped his life. The reader is given a large slice of the tumultous in American history at large, as well as the tidal changes in the faith. Sometimes this nearly, but not quite, overwhelms the mystery aspect. Anecdotes are often woven in, adding to the authentic feel but seldom disrupting the flow.
  Other fictional priest-sleuths are mentioned and critiqued briefly, but Koestler remains his own unique character.

Overlooking My Experience

  In rereading, i was surprised, first of all that we don't have all 24 of them, and second that i seem to have not even read all that are in the house.
   Particularly vivid from my earlier readings are the football one, Sudden Death, and Kill and Tell, but i don't know that these are my favorites at this point. At the moment, i'm nearly finished with Dead Wrong, with only one to go before i need to decide about getting more or moving on.
  As well as the Catholicism, Kienzle wrote books that were unquestionably of their time and place.  If i knew Detroit - and i know it better just from the reading - i would smile at the mentions of places i know, even places i would never want to travel alone.

Recurring Characters

Father Koestler himself, the priest you'd want to get for a difficult confession
Walter Koznicki, Detroit chief of homicie
Alonzo (Zoo) Tully, leader of his top team
Cardinal Mark Boyle, named for Kienzle's grandfather
Pat Lennon and Joe Cox, reporters (they don't show up often enough)
Various priests and newspaper editors

One advantage of reading them together is that i can recognize secondary characters when they reappear. It adds a dimension to the story, like the one i'm finally developing when Agatha Christie's appear in the story of a different detective.