Murder
in the Church
A Kill, a Cop
and a Sleep Walking Priest
Shoehorned in behind Toronto Eaton Centre—a
modern glass and steel edifice where shoppers worship en masse at the altar of consumerism—sits
The Church of the Holy Trinity, AD
1847. For more than a century and a half the Anglican Church, the
fictional setting for Mary Lou Dickinson’s (One Day It Happens, Ile D’or, Would
I Lie to You?) murder mystery, The
White Ribbon Man, has experienced more than its share of
indignities.
The old grey church in the square has never
had an easy go of it. The Gothic Revival structure was originally constructed on
swampy land at the forested outskirts of a fledgling city with funds bequeathed
to the Toronto diocese by an English heiress who wouldn’t survive past her twenty-fifth
birthday. Eventually situated in a slum neighborhood known as The Ward, Holy
Trinity fast became a life raft for an impoverished community drowning in urban
squalor.
Throughout its long history and up to the
present, Holy Trinity has faced threats from fire, the wrecking ball,
expropriation, and bankruptcy. A couple of years ago an arsonist tried, but
mercifully failed, to torch the place of worship. If that weren’t bad enough, ongoing
construction in the vicinity appears to have caused significant structural damage
to sections of the church’s limestone walls.
For 171 years Holy Trinity has taken these abuses
in stride. Then along comes Dickinson’s page turner. The novel opens pleasantly
enough on a sunny, autumn Sunday morning as regular congregants and strangers
alike greet one another in the welcoming, inclusive spirit that defines Holy Trinity.
Pleasantries are quickly dashed when, minutes before the service is to commence,
a congregant discovers the fashionably dressed corpse of Marni Atchison, an
outcast from a religious organization known for sermonizing on porches and crowded
sidewalks, her stylish, red heels jutting from under a bathroom stall in the
basement.
Will the indignities ever end?
To solve the crime Dickinson adeptly plugs
into the veins of activism that course through the congregation. Parishioners
may be alarmed by the heinous crime that has occurred in their house of worship
but they refuse to cower. While some make efforts to clear their name, with the
assistance of kindly homicide detective Jack Cosser and partner Steve Reid
whose sexual orientation is currently in flux, sleuthing members set out to solve
the murder.
The
White Ribbon Man disposes of predictable mystery novel devices
and unlike some authors working in the genre today who revel in scripting pages
of gory violence, Dickinson’s approach falls closer to an old school Dashiell
Hammett potboiler, minus the hardboiled detective and foreboding mood. Instead
of plucking characters straight out of central casting like a gruff, jaded homicide
detective or the benevolent and wise clergyman, Dickinson turns these types on
their head.
There is no getting around the fact that
Detective Cosser is, well, a swell guy. Heck, he’d rather have a soothing spot
of chamomile tea over black coffee any day. Cosser’s marriage may have
flat-lined, a casualty of the emotional toll his grisly occupation can have, but
not once does he trash talk his ex to fellow officers or the couple’s preteen
daughter who Cosser loves to bits.
The author gives Father David, the collarless,
blue jean wearing priest a similar refreshing treatment. The man leading the
flock is self-absorbed, insecure and suffers from chronic somnambulism. Throughout,
the sleepwalking priest struggles to fill sizable gaps in his memory, wide enough
to navigate Noah’s Ark through. Is he the culprit? Not even Father David can
say for certain.
Rosemary the sleuthing librarian may be the
best hope for solving the homicide but admittedly, her crime fighting knowhow
is limited to skills gleaned from episodes of Homicide, Life on the Street. Did Rosemary encounter the killer
after responding to a personal ad in the classifieds agreeing to a luncheon
date with a redheaded stranger, a white ribbon pinned to his lapel? Was she the
intended victim? Is the key to tracking a killer lie with Ardith, nonverbal and
confined to a wheelchair vis-Ã -via Jimmy Stewart’s character in Hitchcock’s Rear Window?
The plot of Dickinson’s thriller is not complex.
She writes with intentionality leaving nothing to chance. The author’s strength
lies in fleshing out diverse characters who display the best, as well as the
most deplorable aspects of human nature. Although events unfold primarily in
the church, in respect to the institution,
The White Ribbon Man is not reverential. However, there are moments when
the reader is subjected to what feels like mini sermons on Dickinson’s behalf. For
example, upon arriving at the crime scene Detective Cosser observes the crowd
of homeless milling about and laments, “Soon winter will come and one of these
men could die of the cold out there.”
In the end, The White Ribbon Man provides a sobering parable reinforcing lessons
on the destructive nature shame can wield over individuals obsessed with hiding
past deeds and the blinding influence of hypocrisy.
Edward
Brown is an author and freelance writer. His work appears in the Globe &
Mail, Torstar, Spacing Magazine and other publications.
