Review: "Dead Wrong"

I needed a break, so I picked up another Father Koesler mystery, Dead Wrong, by William X. Kienzle. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, this is an excellent series, written by a former Roman Catholic priest, and there is always an involvement of Roman theology, which is interesting to me.

This novel begins thirty years ago, when a handsome young man asks a girl out and kills her. Thirty years later, Father Koesler is contacted by one of Chicago’s wealthiest businessmen, who is nearing the end of his life. His son, who is considered a “super-Catholic,” has been committing adultery with the daughter of Koesler’s cousin, and the businessman wants this stopped – but not entirely for the reasons the good Father thinks.

There is no escaping the past – the truth will always come out, even if it waits until the Judgement Day. The question Koesler has to answer is whether or not there is such a thing as holy vengeance among humans. And if one commits vengeance – holy or otherwise – is one eternally banned from the Sacrament of Holy Communion?