The Innocence of Father Brown

The Innocence of Father Brown
by GK Chesterton

The Father Brown mysteries are a set of detective series by G.K. Chesterton. He was president of a mystery writers club. Although he claims to have had some differences with the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Sherlock Holmes, in my estimation he shared some of the same style. Chesterton's gift for "turning things inside out" propels his mystery stories to very involved, surprising, and fulfilling plots.
In The Innocence of Father Brown, each chapter is a complete story, the only continuing elements being the 2 main characters, and of course, Chesterton's singular style.
To summarize, Father Brown, a Catholic Priest, is gifted with uncommon powers of observation, deduction, and inference. Combined with a raw knowledge of human nature, primarily gained through his profession, these gifts make Father Brown the most powerful and successful "detective" of his time. Nearly all the stories in this book involve a man named Flambeau, first as an adversary, then as a friend and colleague. (Curious? Read the book.)
If you like detective stories; if you like lots of surprises, multiple explanations, and false accusations before the truth comes out; if you like to not know what's coming, read all of GK Chesterton's mysteries. I recommend them.

Free Text:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/204
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