Green Thumb : A Mystery Set at the University of Notre Dame

Rating:
Summary: fine academic who-done-it
Review: Part of the class of 1977 is holding a reunion at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Police Officer Jimmy Stewart and Private Detective Phil Knight are attending the gala when they find a dead man at the sixth green. The victim is Mortimer Sadler, who gave significant financial contributions to his alma mater. His water jar contained the deadly poison belladonna; the university asks the Hinekar Professor of Catholic Studies,Frank Knight, who also happens to be a sleuth, to investigate.

Suspicion immediately falls on Maureen O'Kelly, who was in the same class as Mort. The two argued in print and in debates back in school and in the present about females attending the hallowed halls. They even bet a hundred dollars on a golf game. Additionally it is common knowledge that Maureen has a garden back home; her daughter finds the fatal plant in her golf bag. Roger believes everything is too obvious so he sets out to prove Maureen is innocent and catch her framer.

The latest Fighting Irish mystery proves why Ralph McInerny is a highly ranked mystery author as the rivalries and hatreds of the past rekindle in the present. Frank has two roles: protect the college from being sacked by a media frenzy and identify the killer. This likable chap sets out to do both, which makes the tale believable. Mr. McInerny aces the eighth hole with this fine academic who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner