Father Koesler

The Rosary Murders was William X. Kienzle's first Father Koesler mystery, published in 1978. Twenty-three more books followed, creating a best-selling mystery series mostly set in Detroit and reflecting the personality of its hero, Father Robert Koesler, a diocesan priest with a penchant for sleuthing. The Rosary Murders was named one of the top twenty-five mysteries of the twentieth century in spring 2000 by the Chicago Sun-Times. It was also made into a movie, with Donald Sutherland in the role of Father Koesler. In The Rosary Murders, Detroit priests and nuns are being methodically murdered; all are found with a plain black rosary entwined between their fingers as a calling card. From Ash Wednesday, when the murderer first struck, the police seem helpless to solve the string of senseless murders. The weeks that follow become a nightmare for the crack homicide team headed by Lieutenant Walter Koznicki, until Father Koesler breaks the madmen's code. Here is a story with tension, excitement, intelligence, and a rare wit and humor. Kienzle painstakingly leads you through every step in an intensive police investigation of heinous series of murders. Police procedure and Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporting are as much a part of the action as the crimes themselves. With superb control of the novel's movement, Kienzle can tantalize at a tortoise's pace and torment with a breakneck hare's pace.

From William X. Kienzle, author of the classic murder mystery, The Rosary Murders. In Kienzle's second Father Koesler book, the streets of Detroit are stalked by an unknown assailant depositing the decapitated heads of Detroit citizens on the headless shoulders of church statues. But there does seem to be a method in the gruesome madness and Father Koesler is once again drawn into the investigation, this time at the request of Walter Koznicki, the inspector of homicide, and Lieutenant Ned Harris. Meanwhile, the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News, in the personages of Joe Cox and Pat Lennon, compete for prime coverage of the murders. But as the carefully executed murders continue unabated so does the city's state of fear and bewilderment.

Father Robert Koesler unravels his third mystery, this time zeroing in on one of six suspects, each with a motive for revenge, to solve the case of Detroit's missing monsignor. In Mind over Murder, writer William X. Kienzle challenges the reader to a game of reasoning. He sets the stage-Detroit's east side-and situation: Monsignor Thomas Thompson antagonizes a number of people and then mysteriously disappears. His Cadillac is found in a parking lot, with fingerprints wiped clean from the interior and an empty cartridge from a .32 caliber pistol and a bloody tissue left behind. Foul play is suspected by Detroit police and press. Father Koesler, central character in the Kienzle series, is called into the case by Walter Koznicki, inspector for the police department, to interpret the Catholic connection. Thompson's diary, found by Joe Cox, reporter for the Detroit Free Press, becomes a prime piece of evidence in the puzzle. The contents, exposing his innermost thoughts to investigators and the press, foreshadow ominous happenings. Whodunit? One by one, suspects are implicated by virtue of mention in Thompson's diary. Each has a grudge against him. Each knows the moment when he will be most vulnerable. And each has a perfect alibi-almost. Kienzle sets up a rational situation and, with motivation established for the suspects, all the reader has to do is add up the clues. But, as Inspector Koznicki comments, "With unpredictable human nature, every logical bit of evidence can point in one directions, only to prove a false lead."

In the fourth Father Koesler thriller, William X. Kienzle proved his versatility. Assault with Intent combines raucous humor with the same clever plotting and strong characterization that are his trademark. Murphy's Law seems to be the only force preventing four arcane conspirators from accomplishing their murderous plans to assassinate priests teaching in Detroit's seminaries. Incredibly, each of their attacks is thwarted by strange coincidence and ineptitude until they finally succeed-or do they? Father Robert Koesler, the crime-solving hero of Kienzle's mysteries, is drawn into the case first as a concerned friend of the intended victims and then as a target himself. Inspector Walter Koznicki returns to investigate for the Detroit police department and reporters Joe Cox and Pat Lennon continue their romance amid the rivalry of their two newspapers, the Detroit News and Free Press. Who is responsible for this series of assaults? A disgruntled seminary student who has gone too far? The dangerously fanatical leader of a secretive arch-conservative Catholic society? Another priest? There are far too few clues and too many possibilities. And when a zany crew of movie-makers arrives from Hollywood to film the story before the crime itself is solved, Assault with Intent becomes a three-ring circus of mystery and slapstick.

"Another Kienzle top seller. Excellent in style and story. Original and timely." -Lucy Freeman, Mystery Writers of America From William X. Kienzle, author of the classic mystery, The Rosary Murders. A bizarre plot to destroy the papacy seems to be the motive for murder in this fifth thriller from best-selling mystery writer William X. Kienzle. One cardinal is brutally murdered in his own church. Another is slain in the Vatican. A clue is left at the scene of each crime. What is the connection? Who is behind these sinister attacks? When Kienzle's crime-solving hero, Father Robert Koesler, and his friends intervene to catch the criminals, they find themselves targets for assassination. And the plot takes an unexpected twist toward an ending that brings Koesler's past back to haunt him. Kienzle's fans will cheer the return of all their favorite characters as they make a treacherous journey to Rome, London, and Ireland, where this series of murders and attempted murders threatens the lives of the Catholic hierarchy. Father Koesler, the priest with a talent for detective work, is joined by his old friend Inspector Walter Koznicki in the search for a solution to these puzzling crimes as they accompany Detroit's archbishop to Rome for his induction into the church's College of Cardinals. Along to report the action for their rival Detroit newspapers are reporters Joe Cox and Pat Lennon, who continue to share everything but their leads. Kienzle completes his cast of characters with a rich array of expertly drawn personalities so human they seem like old friends.

From William X. Kienzle, author of the classic mystery, The Rosary Murders. Auto executive Frank Hoffman is on his way up at The Company. Someone would like him out of the way-permanently. Father Robert Koesler discovers at least four people who would benefit personally and professionally from Hoffman's death, but can he pinpoint the villain before it's too late? Mystery writer William X. Kienzle take his Father Koesler beyond the church walls into the boardrooms and back rooms of big business. There Koesler finds out more than he cares to know of the machinations of ambitious executives striving to reach the top at The Company. But is ambition the motive for attempted murder? In Kill and Tell, Kienzle's sixth book featuring Father Koesler, the two have become as inseparable as Agatha Christie and Miss Marple. Here we meet once again our old friend Walter Koznicki and are introduced to a new cast of characters, drawn no less finely, and revolving around auto executive Frank Hoffman. It's up to Father Koesler to discover the "who" and "why," which he does with a startling understanding of the personalities involved.

"As more than a million readers have learned to their delight, Kienzle is a font of funny stories. He has created one of the most likable and authentic of all recent sleuths-the shy, sly Father Koesler-whose exploits into crime and insights into parish life have continued in seven gossipy and cozy mysteries." -Chicago Tribune "Kienzle's best book since The Rosary Murders." -Publishers Weekly "It's a cracking good mystery." -Houston Chronicle When Father Koesler joined the God Squad, he learned that all the fouls weren't on the field. Was murder someone's idea of a game? Abruptly removed from his spectator status by a chilling turnover, the amateur sleuth takes on the pros. Hank "the Hun" Hunsiger had made a career out of making enemies. The thirty-seven year-old tight end for the Pontiac Cougars was widely hated. When the clock stopped on Hunsinger's life, the only question was, which one of his many enemies did it? The focus of the police investigation turned to the God Squad, a Bible Study group consisting of a curious assortment of his Cougar associates ranging from owner Jay Galloway to rookie Kit Hoffer-plus the peripatetic Father Robert Koesler. Asked to aid in the investigation, Father Koesler leads us play by play to a startling conclusion. In his seventh appearance,  Father Koesler enters the world of pro football, an involvement his readers will want to renew. From kickoff to final gun, Father Koesler wins again.

In Deathbed, the eighth book in a series by acclaimed mystery writer William X. Kienzle, Father Robert Koesler takes on a temporary tour of duty as chaplain in a Detroit hospital whose dark passageways lead eventually to murder. But along the way, the antics of a security guard, a few nurse's aides, and a bumbling volunteer lead to madcap mayhem in a deft (and daft) counterpoint to the unfolding mystery. Deathbed follows the tracks of at least four people in St. Vincent's Hospital in Detroit whose rancor toward a single individual is so great it could translate into violence. The object of their wrath is an indomitable, unsinkable nun in her late sixties who almost single-handedly keeps the inner-city Detroit hospital open. As Father Koesler begins to learn what really goes on in a hospital, he discovers that St. Vincent's beds are used for more than convalescence. And in the Keystone Kop-like gropings in dim corridors, the real question becomes, Who's doing what to whom?

It's curtains for Ridley Groendal. When the performing arts critic for the Detroit Suburban Reporter dies suddenly, insiders know he could have choked on his own rage. Having returned to Detroit from a vituperative career at the prestigious New York Herald, Groendal was known to have destroyed more than a few reputations with his vicious criticism. Was his death an act of revenge? If so, at least four of his victims had ample motive. Was it Dave Palmer, whose concerts after Groendal's review would forever be heard in a minor key? Was it Carroll Mitchell, whose plays could never again get a serious reading? Was it Charlie Hogan, whose newspaper career was put out with the garbage? Was it Valerie Walsh, who must now look offstage for a dramatic role? Or was it long-time companion Peter Harrison, who may have had his own dark reasons to want Groendal dead? Readers know Father Koesler is no newcomer to the role of sleuth. Deadline for a Critic is the ninth in the Father Koesler series.

"Readers will be turning the pages into the wee hours of the night, trying to solve the mystery along with Tully and Koesler." -West Coast Review of Books Has the Detroit Police Department found the perpetrator of one of the most gruesome serial murders in Detroit's history-the brutal mutilation of prostitutes? Father Robert Koesler has a special interest in solving one of the most challenging cases in his career. In this tenth Kienzle mystery, Koesler-Detroit's most famous Catholic priest-may be facing his toughest test yet. On Sunday afternoons, in Detroit's inner city, older prostitutes are being picked up by someone described by witnesses as a man dressed in clerical garb. By the time that Detroit's Homicide Division enters the picture, the victims have been strangled, mutilated, and finally, branded-in a strange place-with a strange marking.

When a priest and four religious brothers establish the Congregation of St. Stephen, a quasi-monastery in an abandoned bank building in downtown Detroit, their flock swells, along with their bank account. The first big depositor is Mrs. Anne Whitehead, wife of philanthropist and philanderer Emery Whitehead. After Father Robert-the monastery's leader-blesses her with a holy relic, her sight is restored after years of blindness. Word of the so-called miracle spreads quickly and Alice Balcom-the live-in lover of Detroit Homicide's most experienced detective, Alonzo "Zoo" Tully-is first in line to receive the curative powers of the new monastic order. Pat Lennon, the highly esteemed journalist from the Detroit News, whose relationship with rival reporter Joe Cox at the Free Press has been eagerly followed by Kienzle fans, is sent to investigate the legitimacy of these faith healers. And representing the interests of Detroit's Catholic hierarchy is mystery fans' favorite priest, Father Robert Koesler, whose astute observations of human nature eventually lead him to uncover the truth. And once again, Koesler can't be hoodwinked. His intuitive thinking leads him to uncover the truth. His intuitive thinking tells him that all is not what it appears to be. He takes his readers behind the makeshift altar at St. Stephen's into the monk's spartan living quarters, along the way interjecting his insights into monasticism and the inner sanctums of the Catholic Church.

"A nice, tidy mystery . . . with characters who are plausible, intelligent, about whom we can care and with whom we might even empathize."-West Coast Review of Books "This tale should once again entertain the many fans of Kienzle's sleuth, Father Robert Koesler."  -Booklist When Father Koesler agreed to serve as consultant at a mystery writers' conference, he-and the students-get more than they bargained for: a real murder mystery. Marygrove College's choice of the Reverend Klaus Krieg as the featured speaker at its conference was no surprise. The popular televangelist and publisher of sleaze was sure to draw a crowd. The real mystery was the choice of the other speakers-a rabbi, a nun, a monk, and an Episcopal priest-all successful mystery writers with another thing in common: They hated Krieg. Father Koesler's misgivings about serving as consultant to the conference were heightened when the speakers gathered without Reverend Krieg. Although they had never met each other, the speakers were remarkably rancorous about the absent guest. In fact, in one way or another, all of them said they would like to kill him. Was it any wonder, then, that when a murder too place suspicion should center on the speakers? Father Koesler was loath to believe that any of these people, all religious, could commit such a deed, but he felt obliged to call on Detroit Homicide's best detective, Alonzo "Zoo" Tully, and his old friend Inspector Walter Koznicki. In this eleventh Father Koesler mystery, secrets of the human heart, which may elude professionals, are the province of the priest and the solution to the mystery.

From William X. Kienzle, author of the classic mystery, The Rosary Murders. When a prostitute is murdered after midnight on the mean streets of Detroit, it usually isn't front-page news. But when a prostitute's body is found dressed in a nun's habit outside one of Detroit's oldest-and at one time most prestigious-Catholic churches, it strikes the interest of the curious minded. And when that prostitute is Helen Donovan, a call girl who numbered among her clientele some of the city's most powerful figures, and whose sister is the most influential nun in the Detroit archdiocese, the prostitute's death takes on a significance that no one can ignore. Chameleon, William X. Kienzle's thirteenth installment in the enormously popular Father Koesler mystery series, delves into the worlds of Catholic Church policies and Detroit's deteriorating core city to try to unravel a murder long on motives, but short on suspects. As tensions mount, Kienzle's venerable priest/sleuth, Father Koesler, is called on by the Detroit Homicide Division to lend his religious perspective to the investigation. Kienzle again endows Father Koesler with the kind of thoughtful insight and compassion that allow him to see into the heart of the case at hand. Chameleon is filled with the sense of authenticity that comes from Kienzle's meticulous research and his determination to write about the two things he knew best: Detroit and the Catholic Church.

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I killed a priest." So begins Father Robert Koesler's fourteenth compelling involvement in a murder mystery. Echoing the moral dilemma of William X. Kienzle's classic mystery The Rosary Murders, Father Koesler is bound by the storied seal of the confessional. But is he? By odd coincidence, a new priest-in-residence, Father Nick Dunn, overhears the confession and Dunn, a product of the modern church, contests Father Koesler's need for silence. To his further distress, Father Koesler discovers that Father Dunn has joined him in his rectory not only to study at the University of Detroit, as he had claimed, but to apprentice himself to Father Koesler as an amateur detective! In the extraordinary confession heard by both priests, they learn that the murder of the priest Father John Keating was part of a contract. The Detroit Police Department, unaware of Father John Keating's fate, calls on Father Koesler to aid in finding the missing priest. Father Koesler faces the ultimate dilemma. He knows that what the police think is a missing persons case actually is a homicide. He also knows whodunit, but may tell no one. More-he must keep a tight rein on Father Dunn. This page-turner is Kienzle at his finest: a narrative of murder most foul and most funny.

It's 1960 and Agnes Ventimiglia, a plain young woman working at the Wayne County Clerk's Office, is suddenly swept off her feet by a kind, gentle, handsome young man. After a month-long whirlwind courtship, the special nigh comes when she expects he will pop the question. Instead . . .Dead Wrong, William X. Kienzle's fifteenth entry in the million-selling Father Koesler mystery series, explores a thirty-year-old unsolved homicide, and uncovers thirty years of repressed anger that explodes in revenge. Kienzle's venerable priest and reluctant detective, Father Robert Koesler, is called to the side of real estate magnate Charlie Nash, a lapsed Catholic, suffering from emphysema and fast approaching death. Koesler expects to deliver Nash spiritual guidance, but Nash has something earthier in mind-he wants Koesler to intervene in the rumored between Koesler's niece and Nash's only son. This interview starts Koesler down a twisting path, where he will discover long-held secrets about his closest kin-and expose thirty years after the fact, what really happened to Agnes Ventimiglia.

From William X. Kienzle, author of the classic mystery, The Rosary Murders. A visit from the pope is cause for celebration for most members of the Catholic community, but for those charged with ensuring his safety, it can be a security nightmare. And when His Holiness schedules a trip to Detroit, the police find themselves in over their heads even before his plane touches down. In Call No Man Father, the seventeenth Father Koesler mystery from William X. Kienzle, the Detroit police learn that a figure as prominent as the pope can be at risk from all sorts of unexpected directions. Some Catholics fear that he will declare his controversial stand on birth control infallible, and are prepared to take extreme measures to stop him. A suburban gang that considers murder a status symbol sees the pope as the ultimate mark. And one renegade newspaper reporter, looking to salvage his career with the story of a lifetime, may be willing to manufacture that story himself. Naturally, venerable Father Koesler finds himself in the thick of things. As preparations for the papal visit transpire, he becomes a pawn in Church political games. At the same time, he is a key source of information in the police security efforts.

From William X. Kienzle, author of the classic mystery, The Rosary Murders. Everyone at the wake seemed to agree on one thing: The deceased, Dr. Moses Green, was a totally reprehensible person. As they confide in Father Robert Koesler, their stories about the newly dead man poured out venomously. What might have been a simple, if nontraditional, Catholic wake for the Jewish doctor quickly turned into a maelstrom of animosity. Certainly Jake Cameron was glad Green was dead. As the doctor's partner in a string of nightclubs, Cameron was about to lose everything to the mercenary Green. Claire, and her fiance, Stan, also felt abused: Claire's single missed period had ended in a secret hysterectomy Green had performed, which included aborting his own child. Then there was Green's daughter, Judith, whose engagement to an African-American attorney was met with blackmail attempts from her father. Green's own wife, Margie, who'd been cut out of her husband's substantial will only days before his death, also felt ill-treated by her physician spouse. But all was not as it appeared at downtown Detroit's old St. Joseph's church. Just before Father Koesler began his generic eulogy for Dr. Green, a miracle occurred, a miracle that everyone agreed was completely undeserved. Requiem for Moses is packed with Kienzle's signature twists and turns, all featuring the venerable Detroit priest who becomes an often-reluctant detective. As Father Koesler begins solving his eighteenth mystery, he finds himself faced with an odd set of characters and circumstances that are either holy or extremely profane. With a regular crew that included Lieutenant Zoo Tully and reporter Pat Lennon, Father Koesler is once again hot on the trail of intrigue. Together, these disparate souls create a wonderfully suspenseful and startling book.

From William X. Kienzle, the author of the classic mystery, The Rosary Murders. "What if he were killed? What if someone killed him? She shuddered. But . . . it would go a long way to solving her problem. She wondered idly if such a thing could be . . . arranged?" An unplanned, unwanted pregnancy. The grand opening of a branch bank in a dangerous part of town. A vacation for Father Robert Koesler. Half-brothers who have never met, one a visiting priest, the other a hometown cop. A dinner party with unsuspecting guests. A philanthropic bank president described as a man who love God. And that's just the beginning of the intrigue in William X. Kienzle's nineteenth murder mystery. If you're not familiar with Kienzle's mysteries, his mysteries typically are solved by Father Robert Koesler, who is often called in by the local police to help with cases that involve Catholic motivation and dogma. In The Man Who Loved God, things are different. Father Koesler goes on vacation, leaving his parish and the sleuthing to the visiting Father Zachary Tully. During Koesler's absence, a bank manager is killed in an apparent hold-up. Father Tully, who has come to Detroit to meet the half-brother he never knew he had, Lieutenant Zoo Tully, is drawn into the investigation. As the story unfolds, the possibility is raised that Father Koesler may turn his mantle over to another priest. The plot has twists and turns to keep you guessing. And what about that bank president, the book's namesake, the man who loves God? Well, he's no angel.

The redoubtable Father Robert Koesler is preparing to welcome into his parish Father Zachary Tully. An obstacle to Father Tully's assumption of his duties is suddenly put forth by the bishop, Vincent Delvecchio, a man Father Koesler has known since seminary days. An evening of talk leads Koesler and Tully into a discussion about the difficult bishop. As Father Koesler tries to explain the character of Delvecchio and his relationship to the many people in their common past, our holy sleuth uncovers a murder that had previously gone unnoticed. What will he do? In The Greatest Evil, author William X. Kienzle was in top form. His twentieth Father Koesler whodunit is packed with Kienzle's signature twists and turns, all featuring the venerable vicar who often becomes a wise and wary investigator. As Father Koesler begins solving the mystery behind Delvecchio's demanding nature, the priest puzzles over an extremely odd set of circumstances. Kienzle reveals sacred and sober secrets at just the right moment to achieve the author's intended effect. The combination makes for the kind of spellbinding story that mystery buffs came to expect from Kienzle.

Father Robert Koesler has retired from St. Joseph's parish-"old St. Joe's downtown" as it was familiarly known-where Father Zachary Tully has become his successor. Upon his return from vacation, Father Koesler finds a message from an old friend, Patrick McNiff, now a bishop and rector of St. Joseph's Seminary. McNiff asks Koesler to reside in the seminary, concelebrate the liturgies, possibly teach a class, and-most important-help McNiff smooth out the factionalism of the faculty and its possible effects on the seminarians. In his new residence, Father Koesler learns much about the problems dividing the contemporary seminary as well as dividing his old home parish under the leadership of Father Tully. Although he realizes that many inner lives are in turmoil, he is ill-prepared for the fact that such turmoil may lead to murder. As Father Koesler prepares for the Mass following a tragic murder, he wonders if he should have anticipated it through the clues laid out along the way. This is the twenty-first in the series of William X. Kienzle mysteries, which star Father Robert Koesler as the priest-sleuth solving murders in real locations in Detroit.

From William X. Kienzle, author of the mystery classic, The Rosary Murders. The priesthood or Lil. It would be a gut-wrenching decision for Rick. Sixty-year-old Father Rick Casserly, the much loved, socially conscious pastor at St. William of Thierry Church, and Lillian "Lil" Niedermeir, the principal at nearby St. Enda's elementary school, share a common bond. They are secret lovers, driven into the closet by the Catholic Church's position on the marriage of its clergy members. And when troubled former nun, now reporter, Dora Riccardo sets her cap for Rick, the already complex state of affairs unfolds into a spiraling scenario that isn't resolved until someone is dead. Till Death is the twenty-second mystery from the pen of William X. Kienzle featuring Father Robert Koesler. In Till Death, Father Koesler is a member of the "St. Ursula Survivors Club"-a group of current and former clergy who served under the tyrannical Father Angelico. Koesler is the confidant whom some of the club members turn to when there is nowhere else to go, but even the temperate Father Koesler struggles to bring closure to a set of circumstances charged with forbidden love and tortured souls. Kienzle fans have snatched up almost two and a half million copies of the author's mysteries. Till Death provides readers with his signature twists and turns, while also exploring the explosive social issue of whether priests should be allowed to marry.

When Father George Wheatley decided to convert from the Anglican Church to the Roman Catholic, he thought he had painstakingly considered the sacrifices he would have to make. He knew his celebrity status as a beloved Anglican priest, evidenced by his newspaper column and radio show, would be in jeopardy. He understood the strain the change would put on his wife and children and the challenges he would face to be accepted as a married Roman Catholic priest. He even acknowledged that reactionaries in both camps would oppose such a spiritual changeover. But he never dreamed that his decision would breed such waves of ambition, jealousy, and hatred that the ultimate human sacrifice-murder-would be the result. Nor did he appreciated how much of a sacrifice would be asked of him. In his twenty-third appearance, Father Robert Koesler, a Detroit parish priest with a penchant for being involved in murder, accompanies his friend Father Wheatley through his tortured path to conversion and helps him seek resolution of a crime. With his compassion, knowledge of human nature, and experience, Father Koesler is able to not only resolve a murder mystery, but also to give true understanding to the concept of sacrifice.

The Gathering was the twenty-fourth in Kienzle's series of mysteries, featuring Father Robert Koesler as a Roman Catholic priest whose intuitiveness and caring nature have led him to an unusual calling: solving mysteries, mostly of the murderous kind. In this entry, revisit Koesler's adolescent and teen years, to a time when young Catholic men and women were encouraged, even expected, to become priests and nuns, whether or not their vocation was real. We meet his group of six young aspiring religious (four men and two women) who underwent the rigors of the seminary and the convent together. We learn of their individual struggles with their faith, their mentors, and their commitments to difficult choices. And we painfully discover how one member of this group is inflicted with undeserved guilt by an unspeakably cruel superior and how this dooms his life. Now in their seventies, the group gathers together, a reunion of sorts, that is cut short when one of their number is found dead. Suspicions arise, and once again Father Koesler's acumen is called on to solve the puzzle.