Unholy Child

by Catherine Breslin

In this shocking novel, a 33-year-old nun, principal of the Benedictine Kindergarten School, is found near death on the floor of her convent room, and an infant boy is found dead nearby in a wastebasket. So begins the investigation into the murder of Baby Boy Flynn.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Mystery

501 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the source novel for the wonderfully odd movie AGNES OF GOD, but you'd never know it. The stories start out the same -- nun rather unexpectedly gives birth one day and kills the child -- but from there they go off in such different directions they become unrecognizable. This is essentially a ridiculous story based on the popular 1970s conceptions (you should pardon the expression) of what mental illness was like. The moviemakers brought it back almost all the way to believability. This is a rare book that I was embarrassed to be caught reading. It is that dinkweedy. And I LIKE dinkweedy books.

[Raul Melendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

DISAPPOINTED!

In fairness, part of my disappointment is my own fault. Based on the title and the cover, I went into this expecting some degree of demonic element in the book. Sadly, there wasn't any. Instead, it was more like a simple murder investigation involving a nun as the potential murderer of her newly born infant. And while there were no glaring issues with the technical writing of this novel, there were issues with the story and its telling.

There were A LOT of unnecessary scenes, scenes with secondary characters that really didn't have anything to do with the plot AND were, in and of themselves, not compelling. The book was published in 1979 and I feel that it might NOT have been published had it been submitted today. Clocking in at 501 pages, the only reason why I stuck with it (for the most part) until the end was because it had me fooled as to content and story for more than the first half. Again, my fault. Truth be told, after page 400 I started skimming A LOT of it, only stopping to read when something specifically caught my interest (not very often).

This story could have been written and much better told in significantly fewer pages, say maybe 250-275. As the story reached its end, it became tragically obvious that there wasn't going to be any worthwhile payoff for the time invested. The ending left me thinking: yeah, well, okay. Who cares?

I gave it four stars only because the author is obviously an accomplished writer, though, in my opinion, could be a much better storyteller. I DO NOT recommend it, and will never ever pick it up again for any reason.

ALSO . . . last thing . . . on pg. 151 there is a hospital scene in which a nurse "feels a presence in the room," and an odd conversation with Angela (the nun) in which Angela speaks of herself in the third person. THIS . . . coming when it did . . . led me to believe there was something otherworldly to come, something "unholy," dare I say demonic. THAT'S what kept me reading, THAT'S why I am extremely disappointed.

It would not surprise me to find out that I was right, and that the original story DID CONTAIN demonic involvement, but that the publisher made the author take it into a different direction.

[Terry Cornell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I might have been persuaded to give this three stars if the ending wasn't so flat. Part murder mystery, part courtroom drama, part criticism of the Catholic Church. Basically a young nun is found near death in her convent. Hospital staff discover she was pregnant, and the dead baby boy is found hidden in a corner in her room. She ends up going on trial for manslaughter. The story is told from multiple points of view, the main ones being the nun, and a female newspaper reporter. The book could've been much shorter without so much time being spent on povs that really didn't move the story along.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure why the main character, the reporter, was cliched. I probably would have given up on the book if I didn’t know this was based on a real story and had a lot of factual parts to it.

[Jean Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was really very fascinating. Twisting turns of a unbelievable mystery. Really good read.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

So boring & monotonous

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked up this book, I was expecting a Rosemary’s Baby type horror, but what I got was a surprisingly well-crafted novel that resembled Jodi Picoult. A catholic nun, Sister Angela, delivers a baby in a convent and suffers complications. The events that ensue are the consequences of her emotional and psychological duress. It is a complex examination of the rigid standards of the catholic church, the psychology of Sister Angela, and the emotional reactions of the community. As Sister Angela recovers and tries to come to terms with her actions, a larger investigation is taking place as she faces criminal charges and prepares to stand trial. I was pleasantly surprised at the intricate narrative Breslin crafted in this dark and engaging novel.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out as interesting, but soon took a bunch of clichéd, soap-operaesque turns. The newspaper reporter obsessively following the news item, along with how it impacted her love-life seemed tagged on and dragged down the story. Although she was occasionally smacked in her smug little britches by people smarter than she, there were too many instances where she could have been put in her place but no one rose to the occasion. One minor spoiler alert: what was up with her so desperately needing to find out the identity of the deceased baby's father? It added nothing to the story, much less to the criminal trial within the novel.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

i disagreed with the critic that said, "unable to put down". personally, i believe that it was an okay book for the author's first novel, and for the era it was written in. however, i felt the actual book could have been written better, and some books published these days are an easier read. i pretty much figured out the plot prior to half of the book read, and the fact that she left some characters in limbo rather than what happened to them. i will look to see if she wrote a sequel, but not sure if i will read it if i find one.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is pretty bad, but i enjoyed it a lot. mystery/thriller set in a convent--a nun shows up pregnant at a hospital and a missing baby, multiple personalities, and intrigue ensue. good for a laugh, fairly quick read.

[Book•Film•Music•Official® · Rating 5 out of 5]

i almost thought she did not do it! this is definitely a spoiler. sorry. that's all i can say. ha. ha. ha.

[Veronica Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paperback - (C-)

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

A long book with not enough suspence or surprises. Ho-hum on the psychology.

[Karen Beales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts to get heavy and really predictable by the last third of the book.

[Caralyn Rubli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.