Death Goes on Retreat

Sister Mary Helen #6

by Carol Anne O'Marie

Sister Mary Helen and her Irish friend, Sister Eileen, need some R&R away from the pressures of their inner city vocation. A week at the idyllic St. Colette's Retreat House, snuggled amid towering redwoods 65 miles from San Francisco, sounds like heaven. Unfortunately the muddled sisters mistakenly arrive a week too early and find that St. Colette's is hosting a convention of hard drinking, high spirited priests. And when the serenity is further shattered by the murder of a former seminary student, suspicion falls on the holy fathers. But Sister Mary Helen has another theory about the perpetrator, and in her inimitable way she intends to uncover the deadly secrets and passions that the flesh is heir to...

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Audiobook

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Sister Carol Anne O'Marie, CSJ was a mystery writer and a nun in the St. Joseph of Carondelet religious order.

She wrote eleven novels with the protagonist Sister Mary Helen, an elderly nun who solves crimes. Most of the books are based in San Francisco.

Her final book, Like a Swarm of Bees, is about the origins of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the United States.

Sister Carol Anne O'Marie and Sister Maureen Lyons ran a shelter for homeless women in Oakland, CA.

Reviews

[Lillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second time I've tried this series with no luck. The books start off well with good potential but end up having more to say on social/political issues than the actual mystery. It is almost like the author had a particular issue in mind and then created a predictable murder mystery to espouse her opinions. It came across as a preachy distraction. Sister Mary Helen is a bit of of a self important, know it all as well. I think the series would have been much better from the pov of sister Eileen.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this well written mystery

[MarilynLovesNature · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sister Mary Helen is a very likeable amateur sleuth. The mystery has entertaining characters and subtle satire on Catholic religious life with quite a bit of humor. Probably a 3.5.

[Linda Rawlins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sister Mary Helen goes on a retreat with her Irish friend, Sister Eileen at St. Collette's Retreat House in Santa Cruz. They find out they are a week too early but decide to stay on with the priests who are starting their retreat. Within a day, Sister Mary Helen finds a body and can't help but try to find the killer with the help of Kate Murphy, her friend who happens to be a homicide investigator from the SFPD.
I enjoyed this book which I would classify as a cozy, Catholic Fiction mystery in the style of the Father Dowling Mystery series. Sister Mary Helen has a whole series for those who enjoy murder mystery, solved by nuns.

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book about two elderly nuns on a retreat where murder occurs. Fun for me because very I know well the area they were talking about. Basically, the two nuns turn up at a mountain retreat home thinking that they were going to a nun’s retreat. Unfortunately, they had the dates mixed up and they were one day early for a priests retreat instead. Their ride had already left and so they were stuck at the retreat house. Only three staff were on hand because the retreat was to start the next day. Five priests had arrived early so there were others there. Sister Mary Helen went out on a walk and found a dead body --- Now everything was thrown into a mess. The police would not allow any other people on the premises and would not allow those who were there to leave. Now what happens?

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small group of nuns goes to a retreat house in the Santa Cruz Mountains (and there is a retreat house there) only to discover, #1 that they are there too early,# that a similar retreat of priests has alas arrived, #3 that the boyfriend of one of the staff has been murdered. Although the rest of the retreatants are turned away by the police, the small group of nuns and priests has to remain until the case is solved. It was an interesting mystery, with one nun being a step ahead of the police. (But it was a mite too heavy on religion even for this Catholic reader.)

[Alton Motobu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sister Mary Helen and Sister Eileen go to Santa Cruz mountains for weekend retreat only to be sequestered with a group of priests when a young couple is murdered on the grounds. Sr. Mary Helen decides to help the sheriff by interviewing everyone to eliminate the innocent; finally, the obnoxious cook is left as the only suspect, and she confesses. She did it due to jealousy and anger. Subplot about San Francisco detective with new baby.

[Doris Mahala · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new author!
Had to work through the style of story telling.
Hard to replace Peter Tremayn and his mystery story telling.
Great who done it!
Don't think that I can say anything about the book at this time
I feel like if I do I will be giving away too much!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the writing and the characters a lot. I would say I was enjoying it until I got to the gay police officer and the lesbian cook. The whole tenor of the Catholic premise of the book became very liberal at that point and just didn't fit.

[Heather Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, Sister Author, those are some interestingly cliched gay stereotypes. I’m calling it quits on this series.

[Sandra Vosburgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed all of the Sister Mary Helen books and would recommend them to anyone who loves a cozy mystery.

[P.D. Workman]

A murder mystery with a sleuthing nun. Unique characters and setting. A good murder romp.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A retreat in the woods an hour from San Francisco provides plenty of drama for Sister Mary Helen and her friend Sister Eileen. They arrive for the retreat on the wrong week (it's a retreat for priests) and since their ride is not available, they need to stay over night. Of course, there is a dead body found and the investigating ensues.

[writer... · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually my first intro to Sr O'Marie' likeable mysteries featuring Sr Mary Helen.

Found it kept my attention with unique details and setting. Various subplots happening in tandem with the main plot and characters gave background to their involvement as detectives and connection to the sisters on retreat. Good sense of humour kept it from becoming dark as the plot thickened and took turns for the worse.
For those who love them, a good cozy to warm you up in this cold winter!










"D" now covered for the book title in 2014's Alphabet Soup [A-Z Reading Challenge] hosted by Lori at Escape with Dollycas


and California USA for AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BOOKS location 1/80

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sister Mary Helen literally stumbles across another corpse while attending a religious retreat. Her and her bosom companion, Sister Eileen, arrive at St. Colette's Sanctuary, they are dismayed to discover that they are actually an entire week early for their scheduled conference. Un-discouraged, they join the retreat of priests just beginning. While taking an early morning stroll, Mary Helen uncovers the lifeless remains of a former seminarian familiar to all of the priests temporarily residing at St. Colette's. Employing her uncanny flair for detection, the energetic old nun resolves to expose the true identity of the murderer before he or she has the opportunity to strike again..
Another delightful installment in this breezy and entertaining series of mysteries

[Kathleen Hagen]

Death Goes on Retreat, by Sister Carol Ann O’Marie, B.
Downloaded from audible.com.

This is the first time I’ve read one of the mysteries written by this nun. They are definitely cozies. I like Sister Mary Helen, the main protagonist. A mite too religious for me. Still, I might read more in the series. Sisters Mary Helen and Eileen are interesting, and some of the police we were introduced to at least in this book, are interesting characters. In this one, the two sisters are looking forward to a retreat for nuns, but the sisters get it wrong and come on the wrong week when there is to be a priests retreat instead. And, while they are there, murder and mayhem does occur.

[Bernadette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lighthearted murder mystery. As opposed to the stereotypes often portrayed, I appreciated the author's view of the varied and contradictory ways Catholics approach and act on their faith; the author being a nun herself. I found the narrator's voicing of the main character a bit stuffy and over-emphasizing her age, but that's because my own octogenarian aunt in the religious life exhibits such vigor and enthusiasm even in the face of medical and aging challenges.

[Margaret]

I found the two nuns amusing - Sister Mary Helen sometimes pretends to be partially deaf and one of her favorite expressions is "Good night nurse!", which I took to be similar in meaning to "good grief!". Sister Eileen's Irish brogue gets thicker when she's upset. The police in this story seemed to bungle the investigation (IMO) and I found the ending anti-climatic. Still, it was a fun read.

[Kyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as some of the others, although it does give a glimpse into how some of the religious in the church view things. A glimpse. Not much else. And only some of them.

I thought the ending was really swift, as if she were trying to meet a deadline and just tied up loose ends quickly.

Not my favorite Sister Carol Anne O'Marie book.

[Phair · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not really like this one. It kept going off on tangents about personal lives of characters not central to the story. The reader, Vera Rosewater, used some really annoying character voices. All-in-all this was too rambling and unfocused. Too much talk & not enough procedure. The who-dunit was pretty obvious and the why-dun it felt totally out of left field. Just OK

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read this at a Catholic retreat center in Buffalo, Minnesota.
The priest in charge of the facility saw me reading it and told me he knew the author and had read all the books. It was a strange place to meet a fellow fan.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hadn't read anything in this series in years, but you never know what you'll find in the thrift store when you are out of town and in desperate need of a book. I liked the characters but the plot was a little stretched.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming into this series at book 6 was a little daunting, but it stands alone quite well. This mystery was not that complicated, but still not easy to solve. I think I'll go back to the first book and see how the others compare.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Interesting twist at the end which is quite dated.

[Barbara Radisavljevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review for this series is under Novena for Murder.

[Marianne Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sister Mary Helen is like your favorite aunt. She is funny and cool and maybe a little eccentric.

I LOVE these cozy mysteries.

[Quenta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't get why Sister Mary Helen is so famous for solving murders yet she didn't really solve anything in this story, at least in time to make a difference. Anyway, it wasn't bad.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two older nuns solve a murder at a retreat. May have enjoyed the one set in Ireland better.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun characters, but not the most compelling story -- maybe it would be better read than heard.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the characters in this series. The mystery in this one was ok.