The Christmas Night Murder by Lee Harris Narrator: Susan O'Malley
Series: Christine Bennett #5
Published by Blackstone Audio on July 10, 2009
Source: Audible Plus
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 6 hrs 49 mins
Pages: 215
Format: Audiobook
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It's a snowy Christmas at St. Stephen's Convent, where a cheerful party awaits an old friend and former confessor, Father Hudson McCormick. But he never reaches his destination.
Christine Bennett, a former St. Stephen's nun, arrives to investigate the disappearance. But the nuns are mum until an old scandal involving the priest and a St. Stephen's novice rears its ugly head. Has Father McCormick, unable to face the scene of his sins, gone underground? Or has someone taken belated revenge, ensuring that the truth will never be known?
It’s Christmas and Christine, a former nun, is visiting the convent she lived in until she married. A priest she studied under is coming for a visit from his new parish in Wyoming and everyone is looking forward to seeing him again. The priest never arrives and Christine is brought in to search for him.
The book touches on convent life, which I found interesting. It’s an insulated community where secrets can be kept. It also deals with abuse in the Catholic Church, but the way it was approached seemed surprisingly outdated. Yes, this book takes place in the early 90s but still.
Christine is a good character. She’s persistent and honest and loyal. Her husband, Jack, a police sergeant, gives her some help, but she does most of the investigating on her own. I’m not quite sure how she manages to get all the answers and access she does, but people always seem to talk to amateur detectives.
I listened to the audio, which was maybe a mistake. The narrator is rather boring and for a slower-paced story, the combo wasn’t great.