Background
Kienzle, William Xavier was born on September 11, 1928 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Son of Alphonso and Mary Louise (Boyle) Kienzle.
("A sophisticated and baffling thriller . . . a real bone-...)
"A sophisticated and baffling thriller . . . a real bone-freezer." —Publishers Weekly "Ingenious, witty, literate—at once irreverent and compassionate—an impressive tour indeed for a first-time novelist." —Los Angeles Times "Well-paced, tightly written, exciting as hell, and, quite possibly, the best mystery I've read in years." —Dallas Times-Herald The Rosary Murders was William X. Kienzle's first Father Koesler mystery, published in 1978. Twenty-three more books followed, creating a best-selling mystery series mostly set in Detroit and reflecting the personality of its hero, Father Robert Koesler, a diocesan priest with a penchant for sleuthing. The Rosary Murders was named one of the top twenty-five mysteries of the twentieth century in spring 2000 by the Chicago Sun-Times. It was also made into a movie, with Donald Sutherland in the role of Father Koesler. In The Rosary Murders, Detroit priests and nuns are being methodically murdered; all are found with a plain black rosary entwined between their fingers as a calling card. From Ash Wednesday, when the murderer first struck, the police seem helpless to solve the string of senseless murders. The weeks that follow become a nightmare for the crack homicide team headed by Lieutenant Walter Koznicki, until Father Koesler breaks the madmen's code. Here is a story with tension, excitement, intelligence, and a rare wit and humor. Kienzle painstakingly leads you through every step in an intensive police investigation of heinous series of murders. Police procedure and Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporting are as much a part of the action as the crimes themselves. With superb control of the novel's movement, Kienzle can tantalize at a tortoise's pace and torment with a breakneck hare's pace.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449432808/?tag=2022091-20
(The time is always the same -- Sunday afternoons. The vic...)
The time is always the same -- Sunday afternoons. The victims are the same -- older prostitutes who cruise Detroit's seedier streets. The method's the same -- a gruesome ritual that shocks the city. Most chillingly of all, the killer seems to be the same -- a quiet man in the black garb and high white collar of a Catholic priest. Father Koesler may never forgive himself for what he is about to uncover . . .
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836261240/?tag=2022091-20
(LAST RITES AND LETHAL WRONGS Father Koesler is pondering...)
LAST RITES AND LETHAL WRONGS Father Koesler is pondering his imminent retirement. But even as he looks toward an uncertain future, circumstances force him to investigate a crime from the past, a murder that only now has come to light. The revelation is revealed after his successor, Father Zachary Tully, clashes with Bishop Vincent Delvecchio. A longtime colleague of the powerful bishop's, Koesler searches his memory for insight into his superior's demanding nature . . . only to discover long-buried secrets involving a devout family haunted by tragedy--and shocking truths about sin, salvation, and the greatest evil. . . .
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836252063/?tag=2022091-20
(The Monsignor's Cadillac is found in the parking lot. Ins...)
The Monsignor's Cadillac is found in the parking lot. Inside are traces of blood and a shell from a .32 automatic. All that's missing is the Monsignor. He leaves behind a handful of surprising antagonists and a diary full of confidences that may prove revealing to Detroit's diligent Father Koesler. And even though there's no body, there's something in the air more disquieting than the menace of mere murder . . .
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345356675/?tag=2022091-20
(LET US PREY An impending papal visit is wreaking havoc in...)
LET US PREY An impending papal visit is wreaking havoc in Detroit. Rumors run rampant that the pope comes bearing a pronouncement on birth control that will rock devout Catholics to the very foundations of their faith, and Father Koesler can't help but get caught up in the religious controversy. But soon he'll be swept into the secular--and dangerous--business of protecting the pontiff's life. For among the throng of pilgrims lurks a host of predators: a devout man hopelessly twisted by grief, a washed-up reporter desperate to make headlines, and a faceless assassin within the pope's inner circle--all hell-bent on silencing His Holiness. "GRIPPING, SUSPENSEFUL . . . Kienzle continues to provide a superior brand of mystery." --Booklist "CRAFTILY PLOTTED." --Publishers Weekly
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836261313/?tag=2022091-20
(The time's the same - Sunday afternoons. The victims are ...)
The time's the same - Sunday afternoons. The victims are the same - older prostitutes who cruise Detroit's seedier streets. The method's the same - a gruesome ritual murder that leaves the victims mutilated and branded with a strange message to a shocked city. Most chillingly of all, the killer seems to be the same - a quiet man in the black garb and high white collar of the Catholic priest. Father Koesler may never forgive himself for what he's about to uncover.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0736663576/?tag=2022091-20
(BACK FROM THE DEAD Father Koesler knows he might be on s...)
BACK FROM THE DEAD Father Koesler knows he might be on shaky ground when he agrees to hold an unofficial wake for a Jewish man in old St. Joseph's Church. First the "small" ceremony draws a huge and strangely festive crowd, with those closest to the late Dr. Moses Green among the happiest to see him dead. But when Koesler learns the dark details of the good doctor's life, he soon concludes that only a natural death kept Moses Green from becoming a murder victim. Then the dead man stirs in his casket, and all hell breaks loose--bringing a storm of media controversy and a devil of a mystery for Father Koesler. . . . "As regular as the solstice, Kienzle annually provides a new Catholic whodunit from Detroit, inviting the readers to shut out the rest of the world and spend a few absorbing hours watching his venerable alter ego, Koesler, peel back the layers of a puzzle to plumb the tortured depths of the human soul and elegantly solve a mystery." --Chicago Tribune "Kienzle surely ranks among the top talents working today." --Detroit Free Press "William X. Kienzle is 'the master of the theological mystery.' " --Booklist
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034540291X/?tag=2022091-20
(After the husband of a woman who is having an affair with...)
After the husband of a woman who is having an affair with four different men is murdered in one of worst neighborhoods in Detroit, Father Zachary Tully and his half-brother, Police Lieutenant Alonzo (Zoo) Tully must solve the murder. 15,000 first printing.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836227549/?tag=2022091-20
(All is not well at Detroit's St. Vincent's Hospital. The ...)
All is not well at Detroit's St. Vincent's Hospital. The beds are used for more than convalescence. A nasty case of malpractice surfaces. An operating room is spectacularly blown up. Worst of all, Sister Eileen, the iron-willed nun who almost single-handedly keeps the inner-city hospital open, becomes the object of some violently unhealthy attention. Can Father Koesler make the correct diagnosis before the killer writes another murderous prescription?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836261224/?tag=2022091-20
(Four rather clumsy assassins stalk the seminaries of Detr...)
Four rather clumsy assassins stalk the seminaries of Detroit. So far only luck stopped them from killing a priest. But time is running short, and murder lies within their vicious grasp. Who's behind this quarter of killers? An angry seminarian? A fanatical leader of an arch-conservative Catholic society? Another priest? Keen-witted Father Koesler, clerical sleuth extraordinaire, had better find the answer soon. Because he's next on the killers' list.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345308123/?tag=2022091-20
(PREY FOR SINNERS Scarcely has Father Koesler begun count...)
PREY FOR SINNERS Scarcely has Father Koesler begun counting his blessings of retirement when his old friend Bishop McNiff spirits him back to restore harmony and balance at St. Joseph's in downtown Detroit. The seminarians are edgy: Senior women Patty and Andrea have revolutionary liberal goals. Their classmate Bill Page is organizing an unholy agenda. And Al Cody, confused about the sincerity of his vocation, seems fair game for everyone. When Al's dad asks Father Koesler to ensure that his son remains committed to the priesthood, tragedy becomes inevitable--as St. Joseph's volatile brew of innocence, evil, prejudice, and devotion explodes into murder. . . .
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345426398/?tag=2022091-20
(Hard-hitting, hard-running, and, most of all, hard-hearte...)
Hard-hitting, hard-running, and, most of all, hard-hearted, Hank "The Hun" Hunsinger, superstar tight end for the Pontiac Cougars, is murdered by ingenious and macabre means in his own shower. There's no shortage of suspects -- from the canny club owner to a miffed mistress to a humble rookie. Himself a religious football fan, Father Koesler is thrust from the stands to the center of a mystery that shrouds the spirited God Squad, the Cougars' Bible study group with a disturbingly freewheeling way with Scriptures. The ferreting Father unearths a secret every bit as astonishing as a winning eighty-yard touchdown pass with three seconds to go....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836261216/?tag=2022091-20
(Venerable priest and reluctant sleuth Father Robert Koesl...)
Venerable priest and reluctant sleuth Father Robert Koesler investigates the murder of Bishop Ramon Diego, the unlikeable, self-serving new bishop, a killing for which many of his fellow priests have possible motives. By the author of Body Count.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836261305/?tag=2022091-20
( "Readers will be turning the pages into the wee hours o...)
"Readers will be turning the pages into the wee hours of the night, trying to solve the mystery along with Tully and Koesler." —West Coast Review of Books Has the Detroit Police Department found the perpetrator of one of the most gruesome serial murders in Detroit's history—the brutal mutilation of prostitutes? Father Robert Koesler has a special interest in solving one of the most challenging cases in his career. In this tenth Kienzle mystery, Koesler—Detroit's most famous Catholic priest—may be facing his toughest test yet. On Sunday afternoons, in Detroit's inner city, older prostitutes are being picked up by someone described by witnesses as a man dressed in clerical garb. By the time that Detroit's Homicide Division enters the picture, the victims have been strangled, mutilated, and finally, branded—in a strange place—with a strange marking.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00912LAWK/?tag=2022091-20
(NF/VG. Description: book; inscribed on the title page. Na...)
NF/VG. Description: book; inscribed on the title page. Navy blue boards with red titles to the spine and red hat design on the front board. Red endpapers. Dust jacket; red titles with white outline over depiction of a decapitated statue. Five blurbs and author's photo on rear panel. Not price clipped.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836261119/?tag=2022091-20
( "Kienzle's are the best books ever written about a cler...)
"Kienzle's are the best books ever written about a cleric and among the best of everything in the past quarter century." —Otto Penzler, in Mystery Magazine "There are few authors whose books a reader anticipates from the moment he finished the last effort. . . . Add William Kienzle to the list." —Dallas Times Herald "Father Koesler is on the case, thank God." —Baltimore Sun In the fourth Father Koesler thriller, William X. Kienzle proved his versatility. Assault with Intent combines raucous humor with the same clever plotting and strong characterization that are his trademark. Murphy's Law seems to be the only force preventing four arcane conspirators from accomplishing their murderous plans to assassinate priests teaching in Detroit's seminaries. Incredibly, each of their attacks is thwarted by strange coincidence and ineptitude until they finally succeed—or do they? Father Robert Koesler, the crime-solving hero of Kienzle's mysteries, is drawn into the case first as a concerned friend of the intended victims and then as a target himself. Inspector Walter Koznicki returns to investigate for the Detroit police department and reporters Joe Cox and Pat Lennon continue their romance amid the rivalry of their two newspapers, the Detroit News and Free Press. Who is responsible for this series of assaults? A disgruntled seminary student who has gone too far? The dangerously fanatical leader of a secretive arch-conservative Catholic society? Another priest? There are far too few clues and too many possibilities. And when a zany crew of movie-makers arrives from Hollywood to film the story before the crime itself is solved, Assault with Intent becomes a three-ring circus of mystery and slapstick.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008027MGK/?tag=2022091-20
(Father Robert Koesler, now retired, takes up residence at...)
Father Robert Koesler, now retired, takes up residence at St. Joseph's Seminary at the request of his longtime friend, Bishop Patrick McNiff, and finds himself investigating a murder that touches on the foundations of his faith.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836278658/?tag=2022091-20
(At a word from critic Ridley Groendal, plays closed overn...)
At a word from critic Ridley Groendal, plays closed overnight. Concert halls went silent. Books gathered dust on bookstore shelves. Thus, many sought revenge. But four were close enough to exact it. The playwright. The violinist. The author. The actress. All with a dark, longtime link to the victim. And to Father Koesler, who'd known Groendal since their school days. Who pulled the curtain down on Ridley? All Father Koesler has to go on are four incriminating letters -- and one burning question. From the Paperback edition.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836261232/?tag=2022091-20
(Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include compa...)
Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include companion materials, may have some shelf wear, may contain highlighting/notes, may not include CDs or access codes. 100% money back guarantee.
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Kienzle, William Xavier was born on September 11, 1928 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Son of Alphonso and Mary Louise (Boyle) Kienzle.
Bachelor, Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit, 1950. Postgraduate, University Detroit, 1963.
Kienzle was ordained to the priesthood in 1954 and spent twenty years as a Roman Catholic parish priest. Kienzle left the priesthood in 1974 reportedly due to the church"s refusal to remarry divorcees. From 1962-1974 he was editor in chief of the archdiocese"s newspaper, Michigan Catholic, earning an award from Michigan"s Knights of Columbus for general excellence in journalism and a Catholic Press Association acknowledgment for editorial writing.
He authored 24 crime fiction/mystery novels featuring Father Robert Koesler, a Catholic priest who doubles as a detective.
One of his best-known novels is his first,, which was made into a 1987 movie starring Donald Sutherland as Father Koesler, with a screenplay co-written by Elmore Leonard. His books are set mostly in Detroit.
(Eminence has a strong and interesting plot involving a sm...)
(After the husband of a woman who is having an affair with...)
(Venerable priest and reluctant sleuth Father Robert Koesl...)
(UNHOLY DEATH For years, a little group of priests and nu...)
(When a man confesses to Father Koesler about murdering a ...)
(Hard-hitting, hard-running, and, most of all, hard-hearte...)
(Hard-hitting, hard-running, and, most of all, hard-hearte...)
(PREY FOR SINNERS Scarcely has Father Koesler begun count...)
(While looking into the affairs of family members, Father ...)
(BACK FROM THE DEAD Father Koesler knows he might be on s...)
(A self-appointed executioner is stopping crime dead, and ...)
( "Readers will be turning the pages into the wee hours o...)
( "Kienzle's are the best books ever written about a cler...)
("THE ROSARY MURDERS quickly established Father Koesler as...)
(LAST RITES AND LETHAL WRONGS Father Koesler is pondering...)
(The author of The Rosary Murders returns with another Fat...)
(BANK ON MURDER Long overdue for a vacation, Father Koesl...)
(LET US PREY An impending papal visit is wreaking havoc in...)
(At a word from critic Ridley Groendal, plays closed overn...)
(Four rather clumsy assassins stalk the seminaries of Detr...)
(The lot contains three Father Koesler Mysteries by Willia...)
(Four rather clumsy assassins stalk the seminaries of Detr...)
(Father Robert Koesler, now retired, takes up residence at...)
(The Monsignor's Cadillac is found in the parking lot. Ins...)
(The Monsignor's Cadillac is found in the parking lot. Ins...)
(The time is always the same -- Sunday afternoons. The vic...)
(The time is always the same -- Sunday afternoons. The vic...)
(The time is always the same -- Sunday afternoons. The vic...)
("A sophisticated and baffling thriller . . . a real bone-...)
(The time's the same - Sunday afternoons. The victims are ...)
(All is not well at Detroit's St. Vincent's Hospital. The ...)
(All is not well at Detroit's St. Vincent's Hospital. The ...)
(Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include compa...)
(Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include compa...)
(NF/VG. Description: book; inscribed on the title page. Na...)
(1st)
Married Javan Herman Andrews, November 29, 1974.