Ralph McInerny

Heavyweight Notre Dame professor Roger Knight and his p.i. brother Philip investigate a baffling puzzle when some extremely rare literary documents go missing in the fifth installment of this smart academic mystery series. Complicating matters for the brothers are the impending nuptials of some dear friends, Larry Morton and Nancy Beatty, which hit a snag. When Larry was an undergraduate at Notre Dame, he made a prudent but overly optimistic reservation...

Father Dowling, respected by all, is well-known for being willing to lend a helping hand whenever he can. So it's no surprise when Stanley Collins shows up at the St. Hilary rectory to confide in Father Dowling about the troubled marriage of one of the church's parishioners. Dowling promises to do his best to find a way to help, but it soon becomes too late. One of the parties involved is viciously killed in a hit and run car accident. Is it murder?...

Henry Dolan's granddaughter, Martha Lynch, adopted 23 years earlier, wants to find her birth parents. Her adopted parents are frantic over the idea of losing her, so Henry seeks out Father Dowling for help. Meanwhile, Martha's birth father, Nathaniel Fleck, who left before Martha's birth, has contacted Martha's real mother, Madeline, for details about Martha. Madeline panics, afraid he won't leave her alone, and turns to Amos Cadbury, a lawyer, for...

The University of Notre Dame relies on Roger Knight, the rotund professor of Catholic Studies, and his brother Philip, a semiretired PI, to investigate certain delicate situations that could put the school in a bad light. Students, faculty, and alumni, like David Williams, are all fair game. Having been a successful financial adviser until recently, David has returned to campus to renege on a pledged donation to the university's ethics program. While...

Any year when the Fighting Irish don't go undefeated is a disappointment, but to turn in a losing football season is unheard of. This year the faithful are refusing to admit defeat even as the losses start to pile up. With the students in a funk and the alumni in an uproar, something must be done, or more precisely, somebody has to go. Since they can't expel the team, they'll have to settle for firing the multimillion-dollar head coach, but will a...

Father Dowling comes to the aid of Gregory Barrett, a former classmate who had left the priesthood twenty-five years earlier, when he is sued by a woman alleging that he had sexually exploited her as a child, a case that is complicated by the son she claims is his.