The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

G.K. Chesterton

Father Brown is a Catholic priest who side-lines in solving criminal mysteries.  He lives in London but travels to many various locations, such as Scotland and France.  Invariably, wherever he goes there is a mystery to be solved.  Father Brown has a talent for observation and deduction, and he sees the truth where others are comfounded by details and red herrings. 

Father Brown has the ability to see into the dark side of human nature.  He explains that it is impossible to hear years of confessions without knowing what humans are capable of doing.  He also values reason as an intellectual instrument, thinking that it can be used to deduce the highest Truth just as well as it can be used to solve problems of the mundane world.  Being a priest, Father Brown is as much interested in redemption as in justice, and we see him working on the souls of the wrong-doers he meets, this being his true calling.

The dozen short stories contained in The Innocence of Father Brown are of uneven quality.  The first four or so are not very satisfying as a literary experience, but the stories that follow each improve upon their predecessors, and we can see Chesterton's style improve as he comes to terms with the short story vehicle and the mystery genre.  By the time we get to the eighth story, Chesterton is in full flight and his short stories are both intriguing and entertaining.  

Publishing details: G.K. Chesterton wrote over 50 mystery stories featuring Father Brown.  The first twelve of these were published separately between 1910 and 1911, and were collected under the title of The Innocence of Father Brown in 1911.  The version I read was an e-book with no publishing details.