While taking a break from a bridge game with his peers one stormy night, a monk disappears, never to be seen again. Seven years later, at St. Martin's, a Catholic church in a small Pennsylvania town not far away, a statue of the crucified Christ begins to weep. It's a miracle - or is it?
Writers are often counseled to write what they know and Schilken has done just that, using his past experiences as a Catholic seminarian to create a realistic foundation for his speculations on the nature of faith.
But if the book were just speculations on the nature of faith, it might tend to drag a bit. Fortunately, this is not the case. Though some are not convinced that the weeping statue is a miracle - including Father Logue, priest at St. Martin's - they are outnumbered by the ever increasing numbers of the faithful who are drawn to witness the event. As they do so, the church's coffers swell and some interesting plot complications arise.
First, an investigator from Rome - a so-called devil's advocate - is shot while staking out the church one night. Then a nun is killed while checking out the attic with Martie, a schoolteacher and policeman's wife. Next a priest sent to assist Logue with his increased workload dies under circumstances that may be suspicious. Then Logue himself is visited several times in the confessional by a menacing creature - The Voice - who takes advantage of the confessor priest's need to maintain confidentiality.
Schilken has come up with a pretty gripping work, though it is not without flaws. On the plus side is his realistic look at how life plays out in a church and monastery. Also a plus is the intricate plot, which dovetails quite nicely - okay, maybe a small misstep or two - by the time it's over.
On the minus side, is Schilken's occasionally clunky writing style, particularly as regards dialogue. At times, I found myself marveling at some of the unlikely things Schilken has his characters say, or perhaps, more correctly, how they say it.
But, even though the dialogue had me cringing occasionally, the pluses outweigh the minuses in this very entertaining book. As for the question of whether the statue really is a miracle? Well, it wouldn't be very sporting of me to tell, now would it?
William I. Lengeman III is an Arizona-based freelance writer. More info at http://wileng.home.mindspring.com/ and http://wileng.blogspot.com/.
© William I. Lengeman III
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