ISBN: 0380788640 Order from: Amazon.com
A set of clever but usually superficial short stories, these feature an unusual and generally appealing detective.
Reviewed by David on July 03, 2004
Genre: Mystery (Amateur Detective)
Synopsis: Father Brown is a Catholic priest in England who has a penchant for encountering crimes. His gentle, quiet manner hides a keen mind, and an amazing ability to understand human emotion.
Full Review: Loosely connected by an unlikely challenge to the famed but modest detective, the set of stories all demonstrate Father Brown's honed observation ability, combined with his ability to put himself into the criminal's mind.
Many of the stories are melodramatic or predictable (some are both), and the solutions often feel superficial in these days of rules of evidence. Many seem to rely on a single twist—a typical attribute of a short story in any genre.
The main attraction is Father Brown himself—a rumpled, gentle and altogether unassuming figure which nonetheless possesses of a fearsome intellect and a clear, lecturing capacity for explaining the detection process.
Overall: 5; Plot: 4; Characters: 5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 5; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 1989, Chivers Audio Books (G. K. Hall Audio Books), 1989, Audio cassette, 6 cassettes
ISBN: 0380788640 Order from: Amazon.com