The Crime Scene

The Innocence of Father Brown is the first book in a set of five by author GK Chesterton.  The books are actually a compilation of short stories.

The first books follows Father Brown as he battles the great master criminal Flambeau, eventually defeating him, and who ultimately ends up becoming his friend and helping him to solve other crimes.  There are 12 short stories in all in the book.

When I say short I do mean short.  Many of the stories run to less than ten pages.  If you are used to reading long books with defined characters and plots, then you won't probably like this.  Father Brown appears magically on scene when crimes occur and somehow seems to be a step ahead of everybody before even the reader has caught up with what is going on.

As you can probably tell, I didn't really like this.  It would seem strange that GK Chesterton became one of the great authors of the Golden Age, alongside Agatha Christie.  Father Brown is certainly no Sherlock Holmes.

In The Series

#1 The Innocence of Father Brown   Review Buy US Buy Eur

#2 The Wisdom of Father Brown   Review Buy US Buy Eur

#3 The Incredulity of Father Brown   Review Buy US Buy Eur

#4 The Secret of Father Brown   Review Buy US Buy Eur

#5 The Scandal of Father Brown  Review Buy US Buy Eur

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Reviewed by John Forrester on Jun 15