June Wright Knihy

June Wright had already published three popular mysteries by the time she created her most memorable detective, the Reverend Mother Mary St Paul of the Cross. The kindly Mother Paul may seem vague and otherwordly, but little escapes her attention--she has a shrewd grasp of everything that's going on beneath the surface. In Reservation for Murder, the first of three Mother Paul novels (originally published in 1958), she is in charge of a residential hostel for young women who work in offices and shops in Melbourne. A tense atmosphere pervades the house--many of the residents have received unpleasant anonymous letters, and there is much speculation as to their author. When Mary Allen finds a stranger stabbed in the garden, who dies after uttering a mysterious name, and a few days later one of the residents is found drowned, an apparent suicide, the tension reaches fever pitch. Is there a connection between these two deaths? Or between them and the letters? The police investigation, abetted by the resourceful Mary Allen, proceeds in fits and starts, but meanwhile Mother Paul pursues her own enquiries.

Mother Paul, June Wright's beloved nun-detective, returns to her sleuthing ways after she takes up a new position as warden of a student hall of residence at the University of Melbourne. No sooner has Judith Mornane arrived on campus than she startles her fellow residents by announcing her intention to discover the murderer of her sister, who disappeared from the same dorm a year earlier. The ever-curious Mother Paul is drawn to investigate what happened to Judith's sister - did she simply run off for reasons best known to herself, as the police concluded, or could it be she really was murdered? Was her disappearance perhaps linked to a tragedy that happened at around the same time - the accidental drowning (in her bathtub) of the wife of one of the college's professors? Was that drowning in fact as accidental as the official investigation suggested? Mother Paul believes the two events are connected somehow, and a further tragedy, the faked-suicide death of oneof her student charges, convinces her that a particularly cruel and clever murderer is still at work within the college. She is not above a little subterfuge in the interest of discovering the truth and moves her colleagues, the students, and even the police around like so many figures on a chessboard until finally, amid high drama, the murderer is revealed.

A former pupil's murder at a convent school reunion presents a challenging case for Mother Paul, the nun-detective known for her sharp wit and keen investigative skills. As she navigates the complexities of the crime, she must unravel secrets and motives from the past, showcasing her unique blend of faith and sleuthing prowess. The story promises a mix of mystery and character exploration within a convent setting, highlighting Mother Paul's determination to seek justice for her former student.