The Chartreuse Clue

Bishop Francis Regan is a busy man. Wheelchair-bound for some time, he is not always the easiest of men to get on with.

But then, as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York, he has plenty on his mind…

And on his patch, he has at least one rather turbulent priest. Which is how Bishop Regan has come to be involved in a case of murder.

Fortunately, Bishop Regan’s assistant is David Goldman, an ex-cop with a host of useful friends, a side-line as a private investigator and an unconventional approach to crime-fighting.

Keen to help his boss, who has a personal and professional interest in this case, Goldman sets about finding the killer. Who would have killed a young teacher in cold blood, leaving the knife sticking from her chest?

Surely not a Catholic priest, however misguided?

It is Goldman’s job to find out, and where his own faculties fail him, David has the razor-sharp brain of Bishop Regan to fall back on.

Together they investigate, despite the local police force, and ultimately gain entry to the closed, self-interested world in which the dead woman lived.

Here there is a host of suspects; the greedy, selfish brother and sister-in-law; employees and acolytes desperate to hold onto power and some downright unpleasant individuals.

But when Goldman meets the dead woman’s best friend, the pace of his investigation picks up and it is not long before the killer is identified.

But will that be the end of the matter? It seems likely that there is more to play out before justice can finally be done…

The Chartreuse Clue is an intriguing mystery that leaves you suspicious until the very end.

Praise for William F. Love


“Sharp, smooth … a lively adventure.” — Chicago tribune

“Wonderful … Bishop Regan is the most intriguing fictional churchman since Chesterton’s father brown.” — Robert Goldsborough

“a well-plotted whodunit … readers surely will anticipate the sequel.” — Chicago Sun-Times

“abounds in action and surprises.” — Associated Press

“well-crafted, knowledgeably handled.” - Mystery news

“a good detective read!” — Dallas Morning News

“a slick, action-filled adventure.” — Library Journal

William F. Love was a Benedictine monk at St. Gregory’s Abbey, Shawnee, Oklahoma, and was ordained as a priest in 1958. Following his resignation from the priesthood, he became a banker and banking consultant in Chicago. He holds a degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He makes his home with his family in a suburb of Chicago, where he is working on more novels in this new Bishop Regan Mystery Series .