Murder Superior

Murder Superior by Jane Haddam was initially published back in 1993, the eighth title in her Gregor Demarkian mystery series. The marketing hook used in that series (at least initially) was that each case was tied to an American holiday – Christmas, Easter, St. Patrck’s Day, Fourth of July, etc. In the instance of Murder Superior, the holiday used was Mother’s Day. Haddam established a close-knit community surrounding Gregor in a neighborhood in Philadelphia. Among the returning characters here are Bennis Hannaford (his girlfriend) and Father Tibor, his close friend who spends way more time on the Internet of the nineties than might be advisable. By this point in the series, Demarkian’s professional activities have landed him in show more the public spotlight – both on broadcast news as well as People magazine. He hates it.

In this instance, it’s Mothers Day. Demarkian is invited to give a talk and ends up being dragged into a murder on the grounds of a Catholic college located in Radnor, Pennsylvania. The Order of the Sisters of the Divine Grace are holding their annual gathering with nuns flying in from all parts of the world. Nuns, being possessed of the same human nature as the rest of us, have disagreements that can flare up but Sister Joan Esther is really quite likeable. Was she the intended victim of murder or was someone else? What sort of chicanery is going on?

The only problem I have with Jane Haddam’s work is that sometimes she tends to tell rather than show. The introduction of characters as potential characters is generally complex and frequently drawn-out. But the books in this series have a good deal of humor to them and to read about Demarkian's caring community offers a sense of positivity. show less

The Gregor Demarkian series is not a heavy-weight one centering around brooding and/or hard-boiled detectives with troubled lives of one sort or another. Its protagonist is a mid-50s, ex-FBI man who, after the death of his beloved wife Elizabeth, returns to the Armenian-American neighborhood of his childhood--which neighborhood not only supplies a colorful and at times hilarious backdrop to his occasional work solving murder cases but at times is an integral part of the plot.

In this instalment, Demarkian is present at the first convocation of the Order of Divine Grace nuns, run with a firm (not to say iron) hand of the Reverend Mother General. When a nun dies during the opening reception--obviously murdered by the intake of exotic fugu show more fish--Demarkian becomes involved in the investigation by the express invitation of Reverend Mother General and more or less bemuusedly agreed to by the Cardinal archbishop of Philadelphia--who is well aware, as he wryly notes, that although he is the nominal religious superior of the nuns, he really has no say in what happens in the convent.

Again, this is not a heavyweight plot. But in this book, Haddam's affectionate treatment of an order of nuns provides the main entertainment. Definitely, nuns in this order have entered the 20th century post-Vatican II with a will, and their differing reactions to a universally hated Mother Superior of a regional house provides much of the humor in the book. Another instance: when Demarkian wants certain people present at the scene of the crime, the Cardinal archbishop of Philadelphia confidently assures Demarkian that he can deliver any practicing Catholic within the archdiocese. Reverend Mother General coolly states that she can deliver the pope--and you believe her, you believe her! And that is a typical intereaction.

The Armenian-American neighbrohood and Demarkian's friends in it, including the priest, Father Tibor, are recurring characters in this series, and very welcome ones. The book is a bona-fida mystery with a light-hearted touch. Highly recommended. show less