Sister Carol Anne O'Marie (1933–2009)

Sister Mary Helen is surprised to find out that she is one of ten winners of a trip to the shrine of St. James in Santiago Spain - she didn't know her good friend Sister Eileen had entered her name in the contest. At the urging of restaurant owner Senior Carlos Fraga de la Cueva, who would like her to keep an eye on his wayward nephew Pepe, Sister Mary Helen agrees to go to Spain with Sister Eileen. This is supposed to be a nice little getaway, but murder has a way of finding Sister Mary show more Helen and it's not long before she stumbles across the dead body of someone in their tour group. Her police friends in the United States, Dennis Gallagher and Kate Murphy, urge Sister Mary Helen to let the local police, headed by Comisario Serrano, do all the investigating and Sister Mary Helen be content with sightseeing. But Sister Mary Helen can't help being involved and soon there are several attempts on her life. Comisario Serrano, with the aid of several phone calls to Kate Murphy, scrambles frantically to solve the murder before Sister Mary Helen is fatally hurt.

I always enjoy reading Sister Carol Anne O'Marie's cozy mystery series featuring Sister Mary Helen and "Murder Takes a Pilgrimage" is no exception. Gray haired Sister Mary Helen is a delightful character who loves to read murder mysteries that she hides behind plastic prayer book covers so she doesn't shock others with her choice of reading material and she has an unfortunate habit of getting involved in real life mysteries. Sister Eileen is also a delight; especially with her habit of quoting what she claims are sayings back home in Ireland, although Sister Mary Helen suspects she makes them up as she goes along. Since much of the action in the book takes place in Spain, we don't see as much of Kate Murphy and especially Dennis Gallagher, which is a shame. But the few glimpses we get of Kate and her agonizing about whether or not to go back to work after the birth of her son are well done and add a lot of the book. While I did miss the absence of the other nuns, especially Sister Anne, throughout much of the book, characters like Maria Jose add some nice bits to the book. The mystery itself is well plotted and it was fun to try to figure out who the murderer was. The book isn't without flaws - it's obvious who will be murdered; readers will figure out why someone is trying to steal Sister Mary Helen's purse long before she and the police do; and the final scene where the murderer is revealed seems intended to be sad but was unbelievable to me. But these are minor flaws in an otherwise very enjoyable mystery.

"Murder Takes a Pilgrimage" is a delightful cozy mystery. show less

When a new president takes over Mount Saint Francis College, Sister Mary Helen, afraid of losing her job, decides to quit her job and volunteer at a women's shelter with Sister Anne. The job is quite a change and challenge for Sister Mary Helen and she is tired but happy. Happy that is until she finds the badly beaten body of one of the young women who frequented the shelter. The last thing Sister Mary Helen wants is to be involved in yet another murder investigation, but she has no choice. show more The police are hoping to make a quick arrest but it soon becomes apparent that the case is far more complex than anyone realizes and Mary Helen's own life is in great danger.

"Requiem at the Refuge" is a delightful cozy mystery. Sister Mary Helen, a nun in her seventies, is a refreshing heroine who is willing to admit that she doesn't know everything. Author Sister Carol Anne O'Marie, a nun in real life, does a wonderful job depicting the seamier side of life and what life is like for prostitutes, former prostitutes, and their pimps. She also gives peeks into the life of the police investigating the case and I was as anxious as Kate Murphy to find out what was wrong with her partner Dennis Gallagher. The mystery itself is nicely plotted, with some gigantic red herrings, although it's pretty obvious all along who the murderer is. I was a bit perplexed as to why the murderer would so willingly turn over the murder weapon when it easily could have been hidden, but that's a minor quibble.

This was my first time reading a mystery featuring Sister Mary Helen, but it won't be my last. Nicely done. show less

Sister Mary Helen and Sister Eileen have stopped at St. Agatha’s to drop off a loaf of homemade soda bread, in honour of St. Patrick’s Day, as a thank you from Mount St. Francis College. What they find is an emergency meeting of the parish council. Something is up and it must not be good due to the meeting being on Sunday.

Monsignor Joseph Higgins takes the sisters’ visit as a perfect interruption to the tension of the meeting, by having them stay for tea and soda bread. Later that show more evening, the Monsignor suffers some strange symptoms that lead to his death. Was it the soda bread? He was the one who ate any of it.

Officers Dennis Gallagher and Kate Murphy are assigned to the case. They have had previous cases where the sisters have had a hand in solving ‘who done it,’ but Gallagher is no fan of theirs. Since the two nuns are some of the last to see the monsignor alive, Gallagher is hoping they may be the guilty parties. Murphy has opposite feelings.

What comes out is the monsignor’s love of money and the spending of it, even if it isn’t his. Seems he also never took his vows seriously. There are also secrets among the parish council that aren’t complimentary to the images of the members. Maybe they all have motives for wishing the monsignor dead.

With the curiosity and sleuthing of the sisters to clear any suspicion of guilt on them, a number of the secrets are revealed — along with the solution.

This is a fun cozy series with humour and perseverance of characters. show less

Sister Mary Helen is now back at Mount St. Francis College for Women in San Francisco. She made her novitiate her fifty years ago and was now back in retirement, after working in education at various parishes over those years. At 75 years old, it was time to retire…according to the diocese.

Instead of immersing herself in research, Sister Mary Helen finds herself investigating the murder of Professor Villanueva, which has happened shortly after her arrival. The investigation turns up some show more ugly doings that are known of by many of the Portuguese at the college. Villanueva helped them to come to the US for a better life. It seems Villanueva is not the saintly man he portrays to people.

Detectives Murphy and Gallagher, assigned to the case, find that the information Mary Helen finds is more pertinent to the case that what they are able to find, and worth paying attention to. Sister Mary Helen has learned quite a bit, during her school years. What people say, what is actually meant, the appearances and what is perceived are not always the truth.

The story is along the lines of Miss Marple. An older character who uses her observations of life to unravel the clues to who “dunnit.” I believe there are two more books of this character and I plan to find them. Enjoyable reading. show less