On This Rockne : Notre Dame's Knight Brothers Are About To Tackle Football Fanatics, Scholarly Snobs, And A Killer With A Score To Settle...

Rating:
Summary: Mixed, very mixed
Review: A good yarn, good plot, some interesting characters, but so badly written that I wonder if the author bothered to go back over what appears to be a first draft. Has he ever heard of a transition? Where were his editors? It did though drive to Amazon to look for an up-to-date Rockne bio (one due out this month) and found to my amazement a listing for a novel written by Rockne that figures in this murder mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed, very mixed
Review: A good yarn, good plot, some interesting characters, but so badly written that I wonder if the author bothered to go back over what appears to be a first draft. Has he ever heard of a transition? Where were his editors? It did though drive to Amazon to look for an up-to-date Rockne bio (one due out this month) and found to my amazement a listing for a novel written by Rockne that figures in this murder mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Who Cares?
Review: As a big fan of the Father Dowling series, I was very disappointed in this first book of a new series. For me, the story was dull. I didn't care who committed the murder, and I cared less about Phil and Roger who were investigating. I couldn't recommend this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Who Cares?
Review: As a big fan of the Father Dowling series, I was very disappointed in this first book of a new series. For me, the story was dull. I didn't care who committed the murder, and I cared less about Phil and Roger who were investigating. I couldn't recommend this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Slightly Skewed Emphasis
Review: I liked this book much better than the other reviewers did ... except for the fact that McInerny doesn't seem to want Notre Dame to win a football game! (I've read all of them in this series I can find, and the author features a game in each one ... and they're always ties! Forget that, and win one for the Gipper!) I found the "literary detection," however, more fascinating than the murder mystery -- so much so that I searched out Knute Rockne's only novel, THE FOUR WINNERS, which, much to my surprise, has recently been republished. It's better than this book makes it sound, and is a genuinely good "young adult" type story, given the overall sophistication of a mid-1920s audience. Nevertheless, I've spent some time in academic environments, and McInerny captures the sort of thing that goes on with a high degree of accuracy. I like the Knight brothers, although a little more effective action, both in their lives and on the football field would, I think, improve the books.

Rating:
Summary: Wake up the echoes.....but don't try so hard.
Review: I must commend McInerny for putting himself at risk by attempting to intermingle a modern fictional work with the time-honored tradition that is Notre Dame. As an alum, myself, it was amusing to read about my old stomping grounds, but I found the references to the Notre Dame campus, buildings, tradition and environs to be distracting at times. McInerny seems to be forcing discussion of Notre Dame history through his characters, incorporating wording and phraseology that few would use in daily conversation. The plot seemed rushed, and I believe that those who have never seen the beauty of the campus would be hard pressed to understand where and why certain actions take place. Notre Dame tradition is deeply rooted and anyone writing about it can be assured to receive criticism or praise from fans and alumni alike. McInerny's brave attempt at bringing this tradition into a fictitional realm is only mediocre, and I hope that in future books of this series, his results are more entertaining and intriguin

Rating:
Summary: This is the start of a new series -- Notre Dame mysteries.
Review: Roger Knight comes to Notre Dame as visiting professor, with his PI brother Phil, and they are soon caught up in a murder that brings into play the novel Knute Rockne published in 1925: The Four Winners, the Hands, the Feet, the Head and the Ball. (Actually, that's eight).Novels in the series will blend lore of the university and a contemporary story, with Roger Knight in the thick of things. The next title is Irish Tenure