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Isadore's Secret: Sin, Murder, and Confession in a Northern Michigan Town
by
Mardi Jo Link (Goodreads Author)
A gripping account of the mysterious disappearance of a young nun in a northern Michigan town and the national controversy that followed when she turned up dead and buried in the basement of the church
Paperback, 280 pages
Published
August 28th 2009
by University of Michigan Press/Regional
(first published 2008)
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Sometimes, friends, when I’m reading a murder mystery, I find myself rolling my eyes and sighing in an overly-dramatic manner, and making grand comments to the sky like, “Sure, author, this is totally realistic. Why don’t you learn how to write an actual plot before you start making up all this crazy bullshit?” So I wasn’t surprised that I was having a similar reaction to Isadore’s Secret... until I remembered that this is a real, true story, and all of this insanity actually happened.
Let me wal...more
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Northern Michigan. Murder mystery. Local author. Based on a true story. Polish Catholics. Many things drew me to this book.
But it is hard to rate... On one hand, I fell in love with the real-life town and people of Isadore through reading this book. On the other hand, I grew to hate the author who seems to be sneering and mocking them throughout. The author is heavy handed in spots with her opinions of people and assumptions of fact - most of which seemed off to me. She is sympathetic to some fo...more
But it is hard to rate... On one hand, I fell in love with the real-life town and people of Isadore through reading this book. On the other hand, I grew to hate the author who seems to be sneering and mocking them throughout. The author is heavy handed in spots with her opinions of people and assumptions of fact - most of which seemed off to me. She is sympathetic to some fo...more
Good job of making a century-old murder come to life. Since I live in Michigan, I was somewhat familiar with the story about the murder of a nun in a small parish near Cedar, Mi. Mardi Link writes true crime with lots of life and just enough documentation that you know she checked it out. She also adds in interesting details about the time of the year, the crops the farmers would have been growing at the time, quotes from the nun's book, Polish customs, etc. The interesting thing is that the bon...more
Isadore’s Secret revisits the August 1907 disappearance and murder of Sister Mary Janina, a Felician nun whose remains were found eleven years later under the Holy Rosary church in tiny and remote Isadore, Michigan. The feisty and aggressive parish housekeeper, who nourished a longstanding antipathy toward the slain nun, stood trial for her murder and was convicted. Over a hundred years later, echoes of this sad case can still be felt in Isadore: when referred to at all, it is called ‘the traged...more
I now live about 3 miles from the site of this notorious murder--a beautiful old church on four corners in rural Leelanau County, MI, where the rolling terrain is dotted with orchards, vineyards, white farmhouses--and, evidently, secrets.
Mardi Link does a terrific job of assembling the story from a wide array of original source material. And an amazing story it is, revealing much more about the community of Polish immigrants and their faith than actual details of who did what. Long-time resident...more
Mardi Link does a terrific job of assembling the story from a wide array of original source material. And an amazing story it is, revealing much more about the community of Polish immigrants and their faith than actual details of who did what. Long-time resident...more
Though I am not generally a fan of true crime, I could not put this book down. Mardi Links' writing reads like fiction and even though you believe you know what's going on and 'who did it' through most of the book, she holds your attention with well written details as well as explanations of legal and Catholic church practices. She also manages to make you hold to that thought in the back of your mind that keeps nagging at you....do you really know who did it and how, and will anyone pay the pri...more
Marti Link created a very intriguing, well researched and written book. An unusual murder mystery, that says much about this Polish immigrant community. While vacationing in Northern Michigan, I attended Mass at Holy Rosary church in Leland, and later found out it was the setting of an actual murder of a nun, the premise of Isadore's Secret. Being from Michigan and personally knowing of the places mentioned in the book, made the book even more engaging. However, even if you are not from Michigan...more
This non-fiction book took me by surprise. Aside from the melodramatic sub title, this study of an incident that took place in Michigan in 1907 is done very well. It reads almost like fiction except that the facts that the author took great care in reporting are true. There are several reasons why this story may appeal to me more than it may to others.
Isadore is the name of the 4 corner town in the Leelanau Peninsula of Michign. Holy Rosary is the Catholic Church and school that the immigrant Po...more
Isadore is the name of the 4 corner town in the Leelanau Peninsula of Michign. Holy Rosary is the Catholic Church and school that the immigrant Po...more
Dec 12, 2009
Nancy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Nancy by:
Thomas
Shelves:
non-fiction,
murder-mystery
Isadore, Mich., has a secret and carries much of it to this day.
Father Edward Podlaszewski is assigned to Holy Rosary Church in the early 1900s. Wanting to improve the build a new church in Isadore, he begins plans to change the frame structure to a brick one and in the process discovers there is more than just bricks and mortar to be considered.
Rumors begin to reach him of a nun having been murdered and buried 10 years before in the church basement. A nun had, indeed, disappeared and a massi...more
Father Edward Podlaszewski is assigned to Holy Rosary Church in the early 1900s. Wanting to improve the build a new church in Isadore, he begins plans to change the frame structure to a brick one and in the process discovers there is more than just bricks and mortar to be considered.
Rumors begin to reach him of a nun having been murdered and buried 10 years before in the church basement. A nun had, indeed, disappeared and a massi...more
I must say this is a book that has many responses for me. It was interesting, strange (in the way that the towns and names were familiar), sad and haunting! How secrets come back and other people just want to forget. It is amazing how one's pregnany back in those days were so scandalous but yet how the story evolves and continues so many years later! It's sad how things happen and sad that they continue even today.
Sep 16, 2010
Sarajane
added it
The story is fairly interesting; sadly, the book is very poorly written. What could have been nicely accomplished in 20 pages was drawn out into a full size novel. In order to get to the end of the actual story, I had to skim through a bunch of irrelevant fluff, and skim I did. Don't bother reading it- just google the history of Cedar, Michigan.
This book is by far one of the best I have ever read. I can't really say much because I don't want to spoil it for further readers. A great non-fiction true story about a nun. Wow what a life the poor girl had. What a way in which it ended. I will say it leaves me wondering who really did it? I will also say it should have been declared a mistrial right from the very beginning. My how times have changed. That sort of thing would not be tolerated today in the judicial system.
Great book, especially for anyone with Polish descent or Catholic upbringing. A true story set in the early 1900`s in a small town in MI. It shows us how our justice system has gotten better in our days. We stopped at this Church on our last trip to Traverse City and took in the sights described in the book.
This book takes place where I grew up. The country, school, church, nuns, etc. were all too real to me. I felt like I could smell the incense from the church and feel the swish of the nuns habits as they passed by. A very surreal experience. This is a true story of the murder of a nun in Leelanau County.
This was my first true crime book. Thankfully, it was not story focused on gore. Instead it was focused on discovering the truth of a missing person and perhaps her infant, in a place and time where appearances superceded the right thing to do.
Very intriguing story. It's interesting (sad?) to note that sensational journalism hasn't changed much in 200 years. I am also surprised at the mercy shown the convicted murderer. Was justice served? Only God knows for sure.
This is a telling of an actual happening in the early 1900's in northern Michigan. A nun is missing and finally found murdered. The bulk of the book relates the trial and attempt to determine the murderer. The story was not written in a way to hold my attention and it seemed to be a bit wordy.
A murdered nun in a northern Michigan town, a young Catholic priest faced with a grisly task, and the trial that followed. A great true crime read by a Michigan author.
Recommended by my aunt. It was an interesting history book about a spot near where we camped in Northern Michigan last year.
Author did a great job recreating the story. Liked reading as it happened in Michigan
Very interesting story. Also thought that it was well written and the narrative was great.
I really enjoyed this book. mardi link hit another home run.
It's not really local, but it is about Michigan.
I think that the 'story' itself could have been sensational, much as it was the time of the actual murder/discover. Unfortunetly it was written dryly, more like a textbook than a story. I am just dissappointed because I felt that the story itself has so much sensationalism involved that it could have been a very interesting and enjoyable read, but instead I felt more like I was taking a Law course.
A Michigan must read!
The judiciary process was definitely different back in the day. I was touched that none of the men revealed not all of the bones were Janina’s, but couldn’t help contrasting it with today’s standards. With such a juicy scandal, they’d be falling all over themselves to sell their stories to the highest bidder.
Spooky Northern Michigan murder mystery: nun goes missing, is found 10 years later buried in the basement of the church. She had been pregnant. The housekeeper was found guilty of the murder. What bothered me was that the priest wasn't even questioned and her pregnancy wasn't mentioned at the trial.
Enjoyed this book very much since I've visited this church and am familiar with the surrounding countryside. Amazing how far forensic science has come...the methods used here were quite primitive in the early 1900's. Great read for those interested in Leelanau County Michigan.
It was an interesting story, especially because it's true but I don't think it was well written. Sorry.
Hard story line. Good read. Enjoyed insider's view of life as a nun, life in small town northern MI., and catholicism. I bought into the characters.
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Mardi Link is the author of
Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass On a Northern Michigan Farm
. She studied agriculture and journalism at Michigan State University and creative writing at Queens University of Charlotte. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, a street tree planter, a seamstress, and a tournament pool player. Her books about Michigan murders,
When Evil Came to Good Hart,/b>
, and
...more
More about Mardi Jo Link...
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