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THE GRASS WIDOW by Ralph McInerny

THE GRASS WIDOW

By

Pub Date: Aug. 19th, 1983
Publisher: Vanguard

Father Dowling, parish priest of Fox River, Illinois, is a little disquieted when Claire O'Leary, wife of well-known regional disc jockey Larry, declares that her husband wants to kill her. (Reason? Lary supposedly wants to marry his lawyer, Andrea Kohler.) And Father D. is amazed to hear soon after that Claire has committed suicide in the Stagecoach Motel. Did Claire really kill herself?. Both Father D. and his cop-pal Keegan are dubious--with suspicions that grow as the action at the Stagecoach (a notorious drug-dealing center) becomes increasingly violent: the lounge pianist there is Towering Twinkle Zeugner, an addict whose fear of ruthless boss Maxwell seems justified when he's gunned down mob-style; another murder victim is a motel maid who seemed to know a lot about Claire O'Leary. And yet another motive surfaces--in the person of Andrea Kohler's embittered son Jack. As usual with McInerny: a varied, sometimes-fascinating cast of characters--involved in mayhem with an under-par resolution. (This time, too, some major culprits get off scot-free--realistic, perhaps, but hardly satisfying.)