A review by anna_the_literasaurus
The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
2.0
I know Chesterton from his religious, philosophical books. I was surprised to find that he’d written several murder mystery stories and had high hopes beginning.
Father Brown is a huge disappointment. This is not your typical (nay, even good) mystery story. Let’s get into the nitty gritty, shall we?
1) There is absolutely no way the reader would ever be able to guess at the answer.
2) Father Brown is SO racist. I was appalled by the racist slang and attitudes towards people of color from a Catholic philosopher who I’ve respected for so long.
3) Whereas Sherlock and Poirot are concerned with justice and due process, Father Brown believes in his omnipotent atonement and allows *murderers* to go free. I’m sorry, WHAT.
Those were my biggest complaints.
I stuck with it because I liked a secondary character, Flambeau, the brilliant thief turned incompetent detective (doesn’t make ANY sense but he’s v entertaining).
Father Brown is a huge disappointment. This is not your typical (nay, even good) mystery story. Let’s get into the nitty gritty, shall we?
1) There is absolutely no way the reader would ever be able to guess at the answer.
2) Father Brown is SO racist. I was appalled by the racist slang and attitudes towards people of color from a Catholic philosopher who I’ve respected for so long.
3) Whereas Sherlock and Poirot are concerned with justice and due process, Father Brown believes in his omnipotent atonement and allows *murderers* to go free. I’m sorry, WHAT.
Those were my biggest complaints.
I stuck with it because I liked a secondary character, Flambeau, the brilliant thief turned incompetent detective (doesn’t make ANY sense but he’s v entertaining).