The Father Brown Mysteries – Book

The Father Brown Mysteries (1910-1936) by G.K. Chesterton.  Fifty-plus stories about the world’s least impressive detective.  It isn’t his skill in solving mysteries that is unimpressive, it is the man himself.  Chesterton describes the Roman Catholic priest in consistently unflattering terms.  He is short, even stumpy, with baggy clothes and commonly a vacant look on his face.

What is notable about the detecting clergyman is his insight into the human mind.  Unlike Holmes or Nero Wolf, Father Brown doesn’t use his great intellect to figure the mysteries out.  Instead, he brings a deep understanding of the brokenness of the human spirit to bear on each case.  The other thing that is unusual about the detective is his travels.  He turns up as the local priest in the most amazing places! Wherever he goes, man’s evil toward other men awaits him.

Father Brown initially pursues a master criminal by the name of Flambeau, eventually charming him and bringing him to the side of the law.  Flambeau becomes a police officer and is only too happy to have his unimpressive friend at his side for some of the mysteries.  Once again, Chesterton chooses to turn a detective trope on its head, where the detective and the police get along.

If you’re a fan of Fr. Andrew Greeley’s Blackie Ryan mysteries (and you should be, they’re wonderful), you will quickly see the parallels between the two detectives.  Greeley acknowledged as much.

Chesterton was a convert to Catholicism and uses the mysteries to good effect in presenting his own theological views.  Fr. Brown downplays the desire of some folks to explain away a mystery with a supernatural solution.  Reason is always at the core of the good father’s solution.  Yet, he still holds fast to a deep belief in the supernatural.  They do not contradict one another in his view but support each other.

The stories can be very “English” and slightly dated, but they offer wonderful quick reads.  For the mystery lover, this is a great collection to keep handy when you just need something of quality to fill some reading time.

What I Liked About It – A change of pace with an intuitive rather than deductive detective.

What You Will Like About It – One of the great detective series, yet one that has been overlooked by many folks for years.  Something new and different to discover.

Rating – *** Worth A Look