Bishop as Pawn

Father Koesler Mysteries, Book #16

The murder couldn’t have been more ill-timed. Father Ernie Bell, slightly in his cups, staggers into the priests’ quarterly gripe session, angry at the new bishop. Recently arrived Father Don Carleson also takes a jab or two at the bishop, who treats the sixty-something Carleson like a servant. The conspiratorial conversation continues around the table, as many of the Detroit clergymen agree that Bishop Ramon Diego uses others as pawns in a chess game.

By the next morning, several of the detractors are prime suspects in the murder of Bishop Diego. A team of detectives and a particularly ambitious assistant prosecuting attorney descend upon the relative calm of Ste. Anne’s Parish, where the murder occurred, and quickly build their case.

In Bishop as Pawn, William X. Kienzle’s sixteenth novel in the best-selling Father Koesler mystery series, the venerable priest-sleuth is faced with a sticky dilemma: The evidence points to one of his colleagues as the guilty party, yet Koesler has an innate sense of the integrity of the accused. Should Koesler trust his instincts, or has his allegiance to the priestly brotherhood skewed his objectivity?