I’m not a great fan of detective novels in general, but I welcomed the chance to read one by Dorothy Salisbury Davis as I was aware of her reputation and wanted to give her a try. And I’m so glad I did. I really enjoyed this psychological study of a murderer, and how his crime impacted the people charged with investigating him. One night a murderer confesses to a priest that he has killed someone. The confessional is sacrosanct – so what is the poor hapless priest, Father Duffy, to do? When a woman is found murdered the very next night, Father Duffy’s only hope is to track down the man who confessed to him before he strikes again. Meanwhile Sergeant Goldsmith of the NYPD is also on the murderer’s tracks. This is not a fast-paced thriller, but an exploration of motive. The characterisation is spot-on, and the pacing and plotting equally so. The tension builds inexorably as both men pursue the murderer. With the involvement of a priest bound by the rules of the confessional, this seemed to me to be an original and still relevant theme for a mystery novel, and Father Duffy’s dilemma was well handled. Overall I found it an immersive and compelling read.

I do not know what I expected going in after reading the introduction, but it definitely was not this. The title is very apt for the content, and I will probably be focusing on that with regard to this review because it took me by surprise.
Like many stories written in this time period, it begins slowly. We know that a priest in a church hears the confession of a man who has committed a crime. This confessor has left some clues as to his identity and the possible reasoning behind this act. Soon after, a dead body of a young woman is found, and the police start to work on the case.
Both the priest and the police do a great job of figuring out who the culprit is despite travelling in different directions with the clues they have. The efficiency with which they work and the story that the pieces put together was startling, especially since we see the villain of the piece living his life in his own way during the entire time that the investigation is ongoing.
I know I liked reading Agatha Christies when I was younger because of the psychological profiles of the various people we meet, but it was not as overt as in this case! This story and the way it pans out would not be amiss as a smaller episode of psychological profiling shows like The Criminal Minds, and I do not say that lightly. The profile of the killer that emerges and the dignity with which it is handled felt very contemporary despite being published originally published in 1951.
The pacing is more along the lines of older books, but the deeper I got into it, i was swept away by the different approaches everyone took to the information they had and the ultimate outcome.
I would highly recommend this to people who like thrillers and want to try older books while cautioning about the pacing and the elaborate extras that each chapter comes with to put the era into context. Sometimes, that felt helpful, but for the most part, I did not want to go read it and come back to the story in progress.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I found this one to be lacking in the mystery part . Not much of it.

I do not recommend this book.

Before God, who are you to say who has the right or who hasn't to do anything in this world? God's mercy is greater than man's justice.

The opening chapters of the novel take place primarily in the largest parish. We know straight away who the killer is immediately. Father Duffy got a notion that the man intends to murder again. Or is it just another confession? But whatever the intentions, he thinks the penitent had reached certain points of crisis, guilt and punished himself.

Until Father Duffy read a tabloid carrying a story of a former showgirl who was brutally murdered. A true classic crime drama combining psychological insights with traditional police procedures. I think that the author intentionally makes me feel sympathy towards the murderer. His fragments of upbringing and trauma were so unbearable.

It is a thought-provoking. Just to be clear, A Gentle Murderer first published in 1951, is an old-fashioned novel with a clerical detective working in parallel with the police to track a serial killer (Yes, he certainly can). I give 4 ⭐️

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for earc. Opinions are my own.

📚

#donereading #AGentleMurderer by #dorothysalisburydavis #igbooks
#igreads #bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendations #emabaca #netgalley #kindlepaperwhite #malaysiamembaca #crimeclassics

I'm always a bit wary when I read a highly praised golden age mystery and this one is quite famouse. It wasn't my first novel by this author and it's always a hit-or-miss with her stories.
This one was original, gripping, and well plotted and I enjoyed it.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

A priest hears a young man’s confession of murder and is deeply troubled. When he finds out that the young man did murder a woman, Father Duffy wrestles with his duty, but knows he cannot break the confidence of the confession. He decides to locate the young man to urge him to confess to police, and begins tracing the man through the little details he gleaned from the confession.

When the woman’s body is discovered later, police detective Goldsmith begins his investigation.

Interestingly, the author reveals at the book's outset the identity of the murderer, then sets her priest and detective off on parallel investigations. Of course, each must rely on their respective tools (police badge and clerical collar) to question people in the hope of finding the killer.

Meanwhile, we see the young man’s interactions with his landlady and her teenaged daughter at a boarding house. The girl is smitten, and does not seem to catch on that the man is giving off weird vibes.

This was an interesting story. I liked the way the biggest part of a mystery is who did it, and Dorothy Salisbury Davis dispensed with that right away. Instead, the part that kept me reading was watching the detective and the priest look for the killer, but use different means and talk to different people, as the priest’s collar got people to open up to him in a way they did not to Goldsmith.

Salisbury Davis gradually reveals more about the killer's backstory, and building up a psychology for her killer that explained his current murder. The story concludes with Father Duffy and Goldsmith converging on the killer's home.

While I could appreciate how different this story was from many other whodunnits, I found the prose occasionally confusing in places, and the pacing was a little hit and miss. But I can see why it is seen as a classic for its novel approach, for the time period, to an investigation.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

EXCERPT: It was after nine o'clock and neither side of the confessional was occupied. The priest sat in semi-darkness, his body stiff and aching, with his hand on his breviary. He was waiting for perhaps one tardy penitent, as a child watches for one last drop from a turned-off faucet. He smiled at himself for the stubbornness that kept him waiting there, sweat-soaked, for just one more. That was greed of a sort. Through the open window above him, the August heat rolled in like a fat old man, and settled with him in the cubicle. It brought the smell of dust, bus exhaust, frankfurters and tobacco smoke. He would have liked a cigarette . . . ten minutes more. He held his watch to the dim, curtained light: nine twenty-three. In a brief hush in the flow of traffic down Ninth Avenue someone called: 'Goodnight, Father.'

ABOUT 'A GENTLE MURDERER': On a hot Saturday night in Manhattan, Father Duffy sits in a confessional, growing alarmed as he listens to the voice of a distraught young man who speaks of bloody hair and a dead woman and a compulsion to do things with a hammer that he does not understand. Before the priest can persuade the man to confess to the police, the killer flees, still clutching the hammer.

The next day, Father Duffy learns that a high-class call girl on the East Side has been savagely murdered, and no suspect has been found. As he searches for the disturbed young man who he fears will kill again, cerebral New York Police detective Sergeant Ben Goldsmith takes the lead in the investigation of the call-girl murder, racing against the clock to catch a very clever killer who, when enraged, cannot control his need to swing a hammer.

MY THOUGHTS: A Gentle Murderer was published in the 1950s. It took me a wee bit to settle into, but then I found myself quite enjoying it. It’s not quite a murder-mystery as we meet the murderer, one Timothy Brandon, making his confession early in the book, but it’s the police and the Priest to whom he confessed trying to ascertain just who he is, and then trying to find him, that provides the entertainment.

Dorothy Salisbury Davis excels with her characterisation. Father Duffy is a wonderful priest, a man with compassion but also a sense of justice. Having had an unknown man confess to murder, he is unable to just leave it there. He feels a need, a compulsion, to find that man and guide him to do the right thing.

Meanwhile, detectives are also seeking this man, with even less information to go on than Father Duffy. When their paths cross and their information is pooled progress starts to be made.

Concurrent to the police and priest's investigations, we are privy to the life of Tim Brandon, poet and handyman. We learn his backstory and, somewhat worryingly, live through his current circumstances. He is a man with strong moral principles, ones that he finds himself unable to live up to.

A Gentle Murderer is, in places, a strange read, and I occasionally felt baffled and bewildered, needing to read some parts more than once.

I liked, but did not love, A Gentle Murderer.

⭐⭐⭐.3

#AGentleMurderer #NetGalley

I: #DorothySalisburyDavis @poisonedpenpress

T: #DorothySalisburyDavis @PPPress

THE AUTHOR: Dorothy Salisbury Davis is a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, and a recipient of lifetime achievement awards from Bouchercon and Malice Domestic. The author of seventeen crime novels, including the Mrs. Norris Mysteries and the Julie Hayes Mysteries; three historical novels; and numerous short stories; she has served as president of the Mystery Writers of America and is a founder of Sisters in Crime.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of A Gentle Murderer by Dorothy Salisbury Davis for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

A Gentle Murderer begins with formulaic words of a confession, “Bless me Father, for I have sinned.” and did he. Father Duffy has heard it several times that night, but as his shift of listening to confessions nears the end, he hears the most extraordinary confession, a confession to murder. The confessing man is tortured by what he has done, but Father Duffy cannot get him to go to the police.

Ecclesiastical detectives have been around a long time, but Father Duffy is no all-knowing Father Brown. Father Duffy is more all-questioning, His questions lead him to a possible suspect and he tries to find him by going to his home town and to the pre-seminary boarding school he attended. He finds the psychological origins of the crime, leading with compassion and a growing certainty that the man will kill again, that he is driving my psychological monsters.

Meanwhile, the police are investigating and it begins to seem as though the police and Father Duffy are in a race to find the killer. Though can it be a race when they are not aware of the race they are in?



This is a good mystery. It’s fair. We learn what they investigators learn when they learn it. Father Duffy was a bit of a cipher though. I often wondered what he thought he was doing and going to do when and if he found the murderer. He could not force him to go to the police. He can’t tell anyone, though in a way, I wondered if he were treading past the line. Still, I wanted them to find him before he killed one or both of the women in the boarding house where he resided. There was real tension and jeopardy that was satisfying.

I received an e-galley of A Gentle Murderer from the publisher through NetGalley

A Gentle Murderer at Poisoned Pen Press | Sourcebooks
Dorothy Salisbury Davis

This re-release of of Davis's 1951 crime novel was my introduction to the author, and it's certainly made me want to read more. A Gentle Murderer is not a whodunnit but a howcatchem in the style of Columbo, where we follow both the criminal and the people pursuing him. Through her large cast of characters, Davis explores the weakness and strength of people and how easily good and bad can get mixed up together. She also portrays a diversity of experience, from nightclubs to churches, from urban Manhattan to suburban Cleveland, that offers a fascinating look at life in the early 20th century.

My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My mother's shelves held the works of so many of the greatest women mystery writers of the Golden Age, authors she read as they were first published. She treasured them and so do I. I became an avid mystery reader because of her collection. It was a pleasure to revisit A Gentle Murderer. For me it has aged well. Her talented writing gave us the concept of knowing the identity of the killer from the start - we have Columbo. She was a Grand Master of MWA and a founding member of Sisters in Crime.
With A Gentle Murderer the reader follows three points of view. There is the priest who hears the killer's confession but is bound by the seal of the confessional. He sets out to locate the killer and convince him to turn himself in to the police. There is the police detective who searches for the killer by following the victims contacts. The third is the killer himself. As the priest and the detective cross paths tension builds as the killer sets out to kill again.
The plotting and the writing are masterful. If you are used to a faster pace treat yourself to this psychological mystery with its slower pace. Your reading time will be well spent.
My thanks to the publisher Poisoned Pen Press and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A classic psychological mystery…

I’m not usually a big fan of psychological thrillers, but even I can recognize that The Gentle Murderer is a classic of the genre. Although it’s actually not clear whether it’s a psychological thriller as much as it’s a psychological mystery, with two different “detectives” on the trail of the man who bludgeoned a high-class call girl to death with a hammer.

The first investigator is the priest who heard the murderer’s confession late one evening - and also accidentally caught a glimpse of his face, which seemed to resemble that of St. Francis. Although Father Duffy tries to encourage the penitent to turn himself in, and offers to come with him while he does, the man flees the church instead. Because Duffy is a priest, and can’t violate the “seal of the confessional” by going to the police himself, he begins instead to try to find the “St. Francis man” on his own.

The second detective, on the other hand, is actually a real detective, assigned to investigate the murder. And as Sergeant Goldsmith follows clues and does his legwork, he begins to become aware of Father Duffy’s efforts, and eventually their paths cross.

The Gentle Murderer is a somewhat unusual murder mystery, because the author, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, lets the readers in early on the identity of the perpetrator. But even after telling us whodunnit, she skillfully keeps the tension level high (and keeps readers reading) as Duffy and Goldsmith try to catch up to the culprit before he kills someone else. And he does seem to have another victim in his sights…

As I mentioned, I’m not usually a big fan of psychological thrillers/mysteries, but A Gentle Murderer is so well plotted and written that I ended up liking it quite a lot. I’m giving it five stars, with the small caveat that folks who expect a lot of action (i.e. a thriller) may find it a bit slow. Instead, it’s all about the psychology of the perpetrator, and also about the painstaking investigations of the two very different men pursuing him. My thanks go to Poisoned Pen Press, who have re-issued this title in e-book as part of their Library of Congress Crime Classics series, and to NetGalley, for providing me with an advance review copy of the new edition.

Although I appreciated the skill of the author in the construction of the plot of this 1951 mystery, I found it quite hard going, and, despite the suspenseful atmosphere, not all that gripping.

The psychological study of a murderer, and the detailing of their pursuit, did not appeal to me, despite some pretty good writing.

I also find the annotation in these editions increasingly annoying. The numbered footnotes are obtrusive and largely unnecessary in this digital age.

My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital review copy.

I found this one a bit of a chore to get through. The initial premise and opening chapter were decent, but there was not enough of a mystery aspect to the story to keep me entertained. I especially did not enjoy the chapters from the murderer's point of view. At best they were a drag, and at worst they were slightly disturbing.

I also found the amount of footnotes in this Library of Congress edition to be distracting, and mostly unnecessary.

A Gentle Murderer is a delectable multiple-perspective Golden Age mystery re-issued by the Library of Congress Crime Classics. Not only does it contain all the hallmarks of the great mysteries and thrillers of the time but also excels at characterization which is my favourite aspect of the story.

The reader knows the murderer is Tim Brandon from the beginning and is taken into his mind as a poor and moody poet with a temper and toolkit. Quiet and reclusive, he lives with Mrs. and Miss Galli who are both drawn to their mysterious boarder. Deception ensues.

Father Duffy hears a jarring confession but as a priest is bound to confidentiality. A man confesses to murder and Father Duffy urges him to turn himself in. The young man flees without disclosing his name. After reading about the murder of an escort the next day, Father Duffy becomes even more worried. He tries to find the killer on his own so he won't kill again. Meanwhile, Sergeant Ben Goldsmith of the NYPD does know who he is seeking and questions people who knew him previously. The murderer makes another confession.

Golden Age readers who enjoy connecting the dots with a blend of psychology, compelling characters and fantastic writing ought to enjoy this book.

My sincere thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this riveting book. Thank you for giving readers the chance to discover more about Golden Age authors!

A murder case from three perspectives: A priest searches for a man who confessed to murder hoping to persuade him to turn himself in. The cops search for the same man. The murderer slowly unravels.

A Gentle Murderer by Dorothy Salisbury Davis was first published in 1951. It is a psychological study of a murderer, which starts in a New York Catholic church when a tormented man confesses to the young Father Duffy that he has murdered a woman with a hammer. Duffy cannot tell the police about the crime and doesn't know the murderer's name or where to find him, so his only recourse is to identify the murderer and persuade him to turn himself in. His starting point is the information revealed by the murderer's disjointed confessional ramblings.

Sergeant Goldsmith is carrying out a parallel search, starting with the acquaintances of the murder victim. We, the readers, know who the murderer is, are privy to his thoughts, and realise that a young woman and her mother are in danger. Will Duffy and Goldsmith be in time to prevent another murder?

The publishers have supplied numerous footnotes, starting with the very first line of the book, "Bless me father for I have sinned...." There is no need for a footnote to explain this, and the overuse of footnotes is a distraction throughout the book. They explain things most readers would already know, could pick up from the context, or don't need to know. Few are useful. There is a reading group guide at the end of the book, and I found some of the questions problematical because what you think will depend on your own religious beliefs, which might not be what you want in a book group discussion.

Overall, this is a suspense-filled, well-written, psychological crime novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.

The Library of Congress Crime Classics has picked a great story to reissue, 1951’s “A Gentle Murderer” by Dorothy Salisbury Davis. A fine example of a psychological profile of a gentle murderer and the two people who are chasing him for very different reasons, although both seem to find some sympathy with the victim.

We have three different stories here, all interwoven and crossing over each other. We start with Father Duffy, a Catholic priest at St. Timothy’s in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, the poor section of Manhattan. One evening he hears a confession of murder, from a troubled young man. Before he can make heads or tails of the story, the boy disappears. Duffy scans the papers looking for the murder until he unfortunately finds the crime. Thus begins his quest to track down the killer and save his soul before he can strike again. Digging deeply into the past, Father Duffy uses his vocation to get to places that others couldn’t.

Then we have Sergeant Ben Goldsmith, tasked with finding the killer of a high class call girl. Trolling through the underbelly of the big city, Goldsmith follows the trail through fellow working girls, club singers, prostitution clients, trying to find a sensitive poet who may have known the victim or maybe even was the probable killer.

Lastly is Tim Brandon, a quiet young man with a gentle soul, a troubled past, and an uncontrollable anger that leads him to strike out with his hammer when the madness gets to be too much. Not knowing that two different detectives are trying to reach him, we see his struggle as life continues to close in on him.

The three intersect in an explosive conclusion, a fine early example of a psychological thriller, a descent into the mind of a boy who was destined to end badly. I am looking forward to finding more of Ms. Davis’ work.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

A captivating psychological thriller set in New York after WWII and centered around the manhunt for a killer who confessed a gruesome crime to a priest and the police detective who painstakingly tries to apprehend him before he commits another murder.
The priest and the detective never work together but they are aware of each other and their commitment to find their man.

Cleverly plotted, this adrenaline-fueled fictional journey through the streets of NY east side is also a compelling study of a killer's personality profile, his reasoning and motivation for killing. Blessed with a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters, this gripping tale of madness and murder managed to keep me enthralled from the get-go.

A highly recommended read that deserves to be discovered and enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen and Netgalley for this fabulous ARC!

Dorothy Salisbury Davis (1916-2014) was known for her deeply human characters and the sensitivity and compassion with which she portrayed them in her suspense fiction. She was nominated for an Edgar Award six times, served as President of the Mystery Writers of America in 1956, and was named a Grand Master by the MWA in 1985. She was on the initial steering committee of Sisters in Crime when it was formed in 1986 to promote women crime fiction writers.

She wrote two series, one with Mrs. Norris, a Scots housekeeper in New York, and one with former actress Julie Hayes. Lieutenant Marks, a detective in the New York City police force, had two books to himself and he appeared in the Julie Hayes books. Her other 13 full-length novels are stand-alones. She also wrote dozens of short stories.

Crime fiction critic Sarah Weinman profiled Ms. Davis for Mystery Scene in 2014. See her article here: https://mysteryscenemag.com/blog-article/4589-dorothy-salisbury-davis. See the New York Times obituary here: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/arts/dorothy-salisbury-davis-suspense-novelist-dies-at-98.html.

The Library of Congress Crime Classics series, which focuses on American mysteries of the 19th and 20th centuries, will include A Gentle Murderer by Davis, originally published in 1951, in its 2023 releases. Anticipated publication is March 2023.

Father Duffy is lingering late after confession on a hot Saturday night in St. Timothy’s where he is assistant pastor when one last penitent slides into the confessional. The young man is incoherent with anger and regret but Father Duffy gathers he has killed someone with a hammer. He tries to calm him and convince him to go to the police station, offering to go with him, but the man leaves alone.

Bound by the seal of the confessional the priest can’t say anything but he watches the newspapers anxiously until the article about a call girl beaten to death appears. He begins looking for the young man, based on bits of personal information he dropped during his hysterical ramblings. In the meantime Detective Sergeant Goldsmith begins searching for a murderer based on the evidence found in the dead woman’s apartment. Other chapters deal with the subject of their mutual search and his confused mental processes. Just how confused he is the people around him do not understand.

Beautifully written. Perhaps as much suspense as mystery, as the reader knows who the killer is. The characters are perceptively drawn; characterization was one of Davis’s strong points. While the insight into the killer’s mind was likely innovative for 1950, it occurs often in thrillers written in the 2000s, so it’s hard to imagine the impact of this POV on readers at the time of publication. The dual separate investigations are a nice twist on the traditional procedural. Fans of clerical detectives should make Father Duffy’s acquaintance. He deserves a series of his own.

Footnotes for terms that someone thought might be unfamiliar are scattered throughout. I found them unnecessary and I expect most readers will not need them.

I discovered Dorothy Salisbury Davis from an obituary in The New York Times. I loved Davis’ Julie Hayes series, one different than anything else I’ve ever read. I also loved the Mrs. Norris series and The Judas Cat, all of which have a less-dark vibe. And I loved God Speed the Night, too.

So when I had a chance to read Davis’ A Gentle Murderer, first published in 1951, I jumped at the chance! As with the later Colombo mystery TV show, the novel follows the same recipe: Readers will know the perpetrator’s name in Chapter 3. The fun is in the dueling investigations of the bloody murder by a conflicted priest and a police sergeant with an instinct for motives. Father Duffy, assistant pastor of St. Timothy’s in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen (long before it gentrified into Clinton), hears the murderer’s confession on the very night of the murder; tied by the seal of the confessional, how can the young priest made sure that justice is done? At the same time, Sergeant Ben Goldsmith, an expert on human nature, has a feeling that the perpetrator is a nebbishy poet-scribbler pal of the victim, a red-headed beauty who worked as an expensive call girl. How to track that elusive “gentle murderer”? Readers will be glued to the novel to find out how the pair of sleuths fare!

Thank heaven that Poisoned Pen Press rereleased yet another of Davis’ gems! I only wish that Davis had chosen to build a series around the meticulous Father Duffy or the amusing Sergeant Goldsmith!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.