Murder at the Monks' Table (Sister Mary Helen Series #11) » (Reprint)

SISTER CAROL ANNE O'MARIE has been a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for more than fifty years. She ministers to homeless women at a daytime drop-in center in downtown Oakland, California, which she cofounded in 1990. Murder At the Monk's Table is her eleventh novel featuring Sister Mary Helen.

"Move over, Miss Marple, here comes supersleuth Sister Mary Helen, a nun with an unusual habit of solving murders."—San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Sister Mary Helen is in luck, depending on how you look at it. She and Sister Eileen are in Ireland to attend the weeklong Oyster Festival in the little village of Ballyclarin. They make their first stop at a central oasis of food and drink called the Monks' Table, where Mary Helen overhears a woman saying to the man with her, "I am surprised someone hasn't killed you already." The next night, Mary Helen finds the same man in the pub's ladies' room, murdered. Coincidence? Divine intervention? Heaven only knows…which his why Mary Helen must find out—even though the Irish police warn her not to get involved. But sometimes Fate will just not listen to reason…and soon this septuagenarian nun is on the case in one of her bravest adventures to date.

"Sister Carol writes with sure knowledge, a deft touch."—Houston Post

Publishers Weekly

At the start of O'Marie's delightful new entry in her clerical cozy series (Novena for Murder, etc.), Sister Mary Helen travels from San Francisco to Ballyclarin, Ireland, "home of the Oyster Festival." Sister Mary Helen and her friend, Sister Eileen, are looking forward to a wonderful week in the peaceful village enjoying all the festivities, from an art contest to a hurling match. Then Sister Mary Helen stumbles on the body of local reporter Willie Ward, who has a reputation for being a gossipmonger, in the ladies' room of the local pub, the Monks' Table. The Irish police order her to stay out of the investigation, but soon Sister Mary Helen is deeply involved through no fault of her own. Miss Marple would admire Sister Mary Helen's good intentions and even more her resolve to find the murderer, whose identity many readers will discover before our heroine. Despite this weakness, a fresh setting with lots of Irish color will keep fans turning the pages. (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.