All the Dead Fathers

By David J. Walker

Two years ago, Father Michael Nolan was sued by the family of a seventeen-year-old girl who had committed suicide years ago after confessing to having an affair with Father Nolan. The lawsuit was thrown out, but all of Michael's secrets came out, resulting in the end of his life as a priest and ruining his relationship with his niece, Kirsten. Michael and Kirsten, a private investigator and the lead character along with her lawyer husband, Dugan, a lawyer, of David J. Walker's acclaimed Wild Onion mystery series, were quite close, especially after Michael helped her out of a big jam when she was in college, and Kirsten is devastated by the revelations about her uncle. She still feels obligated to him, though, after everything they've been through together, and when a list of priests who have been accused of abuse appears in the Chicago newspaper, she is sympathetic. Unlike Dugan, who defended him against the lawsuit but since then would rather have less than nothing to do with him. But Kirsten's sympathy turns to real fear when one of the priests on the list turns up dead, murdered and his body mutilated. Has the list in the newspaper ignited a killer, or is it someone seeking revenge for a more personal reason? Before they can get anywhere on the first murder, another priest turns up dead. In this latest intricately constructed novel by the award-winning author of the Mal Foley mysteries, Kirsten and Dugan try to find a killer amid the rising danger.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312334540
• ISBN13: 9780312334543
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Proof that Walker's Time has Come

Occasionally there's an author that makes you say, "Hey, this guy's good. Why haven't more people been reading his work?" They have a style that is readable and engaging without being overly pushy with their story. One such unassuming writer is David J. Walker. This isn't to say that Walker's not been noticed. His first Mal Foley novel, Fixed in His Folly, was nominated for the coveted Edgar award. Even so, it seems not enough people are talking about this talented ex-priest, ex-investigator, ex-lawyer (if you can ex- out of any of those careers to be a writer). Even I haven't given any time to him here. Well, now that's about to end. Kirsten is an ex-cop turned private eye who loves her lawyer husband. She is the owner/operator of the Wild Onion, Ltd. private investigation firm of Chicago. Her latest case is one brought to her by her uncle, the priest. Fathers who have been listed in the paper as being accused (if not convicted) of child molestation are being brutally murdered one by one. Michael, the uncle, is on the list and that brings a lot of back-story baggage to the novel. Walker makes it work. Kirsten hires on to provide "protection" for those left on the list (especially those who are appealing their cases to Rome and living for the duration at the Villa St. George monastery). Interspersed with chapters that focus on the killer who has a history of their own that includes priests and Kirsten, Walker weaves a story that hooks you and makes you want to read--on into the night. All the Dead Fathers is not your run-of-the-mill, weepy-eyed, politically correct whodunit. Nor is it your normal offering of the hardboiled variety. Here you will find all the grit and gnarled justice of a hardboiled detective story mixed with the emotion of a high-powered mystery novel. No major twists and turns, just good reading. Those who are offended by hard language will be offended, but the language is not a distraction to the story itself. It's time to give David J. Walker his due, and I give All the Dead Fathers five full sets of reading glasses. --Benjamin Potter, December 7, 2007

strong cat and mouse murder mystery

When she was younger Kirsten's uncle Father Michael Dugan helped her through personal problems. Now he has troubles having his name appear on a list of priests who allegedly abused their positions of authority; someone plans to execute those on the list. Kirsten, owner of the Chicago-based private detective firm Wild Onion, Ltd, plans to stop the killer from harming her uncle accused of sex with a seventeen year old minor female. Her friend lawyer Dugan does not hold Father Michael in the same regard as Kirsten. When she agrees to help her uncle and the other condemned priests, all locked away though the evidence has not yet proven the charges in all cases, Dugan knows he will do likewise. Kirsten develops a short list of probable threats, but when the menace targets Kirsten, she feels she knows the identity of the priesthood killer. Now she must stop him and prove she is right although the FBI wants her off the case and her husband remains oblivious that she is in the eye of the storm. Readers will enjoy this strong cat and mouse murder mystery because of the antics of Kirsten who though her uncle has crumbled from his exalted spot, will still be there for him because he was there for her when she needed someone, which bewilders Dugan. Although the tertiary characters like the Feds and to a degree the culprit are stereotypes, the lead pair, her spouse, Father Michael, and several other accused priests make a wonderful cast. Fans will enjoy this modern day priestly version of the List of Adrian Messenger. Harriet Klausner