See No Evil: A Father Gabriel Mystery

Father Gabriel #3

by Fiorella De Maria

In this third title in the Father Gabriel Mystery series, the detective priest is less than pleased to find himself the reluctant guest at a wealthy local family's Christmas party. Only the excellent – and probably black market – food softens the horror of meeting the odious Victor Gladstone, a veteran reporter, an ardent anti-clerical and the only witness to a wartime massacre no one wishes to hear about.  When Victor is found dead on the Martin estate the next morning, the apparent victim of an unfortunate accident, Gabriel is drawn into the mystery of who among the family's chattering guests could have wanted the old man dead. Gabriel quickly realizes that Victor Gladstone, like any good reporter, had a nose for rotten behavior, but as Gabriel's investigation moves towards its tragic conclusion, he faces the not one but two serious Who is guilty of Gladstone's murder? and Is anyone truly innocent? This mystery focuses on the issue of indirect involvement in evil, particularly buying and selling property stolen from victims of the Nazis and witnessing Nazi crimes. 

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

299 pages, Paperback

First published February 12, 2020

About the author

Fiorella De Maria is an Anglo-Maltese writer, born in Italy and currently living in Surrey. She grew up in rural Wiltshire and attended Cambridge University, where she received a BA in English Literature and an MPhil in Renaissance Literature. A winner of the National Book Prize of Malta, she has published nine novels, specialising in historical and crime fiction. Fiorella’s novels have received endorsements from veteran author and journalist, Piers Paul Reid, and her most recent novel was described as “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie meets I Capture the Castle.”

Besides writing novels, Fiorella is a qualified English Language teacher and a respected bioethicist. She has delivered lectures and papers at conferences all over the world. Her book The Abolition of Woman was described by former Cosmopolitan journalist Sue Ellen Browder as “a daring revelation of the shocking exploitation of women around the world”. Fiorella has appeared on British radio and TV programmes such as ITN 24-Hour News, BBC Woman’s Hour and Premier Radio’s Woman 2 Woman. Fiorella lives with her husband, four children and a dog called Montgomery (Monty).

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what an amazing mystery story. So great to see Father Gabriel back in action. Full review below.
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This was the tenth book by Fiorella de Maria I read, and I read nine of them last year in as many weeks. But I have been eagerly anticipating this books, since she mentioned it in an interview last year. I have tracked down and read everything by her under the name Fiorella de Maria. And this is the third book in her only series. Though time frame wise it overlaps at least in part with A Most Dangerous Innocence, which was my introduction to de Maria’s works. I must admit I was expecting to run into Judy Randall on Father Gabriel’s trip to London. But alas it was not to be. But back to this story.

This story continues some time after the second. Father Gabriel, the priest is on lone from his monastery to assist a nearby small-town priest who is recovering from heart surgery. And this time he stumbles into a murder. He is the guest at a manor and one of the other guests if found dead. It is a murder, but someone is muddying the waters with false clues and a dead man that many wanted out of the way for various reasons. Father Gabriel is slowly putting the pieces together, but after he is attacked on a trip to London, he just can seem to get all the pieces to fit together.

In a story with a hidden war massacre, stolen art, Nazi treasure, a socialist. A young piano virtuoso, an Irish maid and more. There are a lot of characters and more than one confession. Some to Father Gabriel, some to the police but most are not honest and sincere. And in this case Father Gabriel is being watched over and guided by his Abbot, and the priest he is assisting, and he will need all the help he can get to unravel this mystery, to protect the innocent, and to bring to justice all those who need it.

This is another intriguing mystery by de Maria set in a small town in England. This book was incredibly addictive and very hard to put down, in fact I read it in 2 sittings over 2 days. An excellent read in a fantastic series.by one of my favorite authors.

Last year after reading my first story by Fiorella, I picked up the eBooks of all that were available and tracked down the two that were out of print. And all of them have been excellent reads. And this is the best of the Father Gabriel Mysteries.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Fiorella demaria. And also an author profile and interview with Fiorella.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2020 Catholic Reading Plan!

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a new mystery series featuring a Benedictine priest called Father Gabriel that summons up memories of G. K. Chesterton’s lovable and uncomplicated Father Brown. Like Father Brown before him, Father Gabriel is an endearing man with the unique ability to perceive obvious truths about individuals and human nature that elude others caught up by the distractions of living and surviving life in a war torn world but are invaluable in solving crimes.

SEE NO EVIL BY Fiorella DeMaria is set in the years following WWII and finds Father Gabriel an unwilling guest at a holiday party being given at the country house of a local family. Present at the gala is the odious Victor Gladstone, a former reporter harboring a guilty secret, who as luck would have it is found dead the morning following the party.

Accident or murder???? Father Gabriel is on the case with a vengeance examining questions involving moral culpability. Exactly how guilty is each of us when we are only indirectly involved in acts that are immoral or illegal?

Cozy mystery lovers should find this series a happy addition to their reading catalogue.

[James Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will say I knew who did it from the beginning, but even as the book tried to throw me off, I still enjoy the humble, innocent and bumbling priest-detective Fr. Gabriel. Whether because he is a Catholic priest, or because he is digging up their dirty secrets, very few people seem to appreciate Fr. Gabriel's effort (and it certainly is more effort than talent for snooping). I appreciated that this one was longer than the first two, allowing me to see a little bit more, before the conclusion. I also appreciated the incorporation of the WW II angle, especially since it did feel fresh. I think one way this could have been improved would be to have a few more characters. The world of Fr. Gabriel often feels to small, like there aren't enough characters to cast suspicion on, but still I enjoyed this book, getting to see Fr. Foley and Brother Gerard, and the problems causes by the way-too-rich-to-handle-it crowd.

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried to read this a few years ago but DNF. I decided to give it a try again as my bedtime reading. I did finish it this time, and although it did generally keep my interest, I can’t say I really enjoyed it. I’ve had a string of books lately in which none of the characters were likable - this book continues that trend. One exception - I did like Brother Gerard! I don’t even find Father Gabriel very likable. And I’m not sure he did the right thing at the end. I guess England must not have the equivalent of the 5th amendment? Although, I guess she had already confessed. It just seems like there was some way to avoid the death penalty without perjury. Some snarky comments about money/class from Fr. Foley at the end of the book do imply that she will get a reprieve from hanging - but it seems like that is far from certain. Overall not a satisfying book, and at least for now I don’t intend to continue the series.

[Ted Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I selected SEE NO EVIL from a list of suggested Catholic authors as well as being intrigued by the musical piano player cover. Also, Fioella De Maria has an excellent reputation through her Father Gabriel mystery series. I definitely will have to return to read the prior two titles in the series. This installation was an intriguing murder mystery set in post WWII Europe, depicting the destruction of war and resiliency of the Europeans. De Maria addresses important moral questions while solving the mystery. She also leaves Fathef Gabriel pondering his earthly future for the next adventure, possibly involving characters from this story. I've enjoyed Fathers Brown (Chesterton), Dowling (McInerny) andnovels from Andrew Greeley. Welcome to the list, Father Gabriel.

[Cathy Rodeheffer]

Enjoyed this.