A wry, moving collection of letters from the late J. F. Powers, "a comic writer of genius" (Mary Gordon)Best known for his 1963 National Book Award–winning novel, Morte D'Urban, and as a master of the short story, J. F. Powers drew praise from Evelyn Waugh, Flannery O'Connor, Saul Bellow, and Philip Roth, among others. Though Powers's fiction dwelt chiefly on the lives of Catholic priests, he long planned to write a novel of family life, a feat he never acc...

Winner of The 1963 National Book Award for Fiction.The hero of J.F. Powers’s comic masterpiece is Father Urban, a man of the cloth who is also a man of the world. Charming, with an expansive vision of the spiritual life and a high tolerance for moral ambiguity, Urban enjoys a national reputation as a speaker on the religious circuit and has big plans for the future. But then the provincial head of his dowdy religious order banishes him to a retreat house in the Minnesota hinterland...

Wheat That Springeth Green, J. F. Powers’s beautifully realized final work, is a comic foray into the commercialized wilderness of modern American life. Its hero, Joe Hackett, is a high school track star who sets out to be a saint. But seminary life and priestly apprenticeship soon damp his ardor, and by the time he has been given a parish of his own he has traded in his hair shirt for the consolations of baseball and beer. Meanwhile Joe’s higher-ups are pressing for an increase i...

Hailed by Frank O’Connor as one of “the greatest living storytellers,” J. F. Powers, who died in 1999, stands with Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, and Raymond Carver among the authors who have given the short story an unmistakably American cast. In three slim collections of perfectly crafted stories, published over a period of some thirty years and brought together here in a single volume for the first time, Powers wrote about many things: baseball and jazz, race riots and lynchings, the ...

In 1940s Los Angeles, an unidentified murder victim is found bisected in a shadowy lot. A catchy nickname is given her in jest—"The Virgin Tramp"—and suddenly a "nice little homicide that would have drifted off the front pages in a couple of days" becomes a storm center. Two brothers, Tom and Des Spellacy, are at the heart of this powerful novel of Irish-Catholic life in Southern California just after World War II. Played in the film version by Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro respectively...

"Kienzle has written another supremely intelligent puzzler featuring his perceptive priest, Father Robert Koesler, and bolstered by a strong cast of engaging supporting characters." —Booklist"Father Koesler is on the case, thank God." —Baltimore SunFrom William X. Kienzle, author of the classic mystery, The Rosary Murders.A visit from the pope is cause for celebration for most members of the Catholic community, but for those charged with e...

An irresistible attraction!Veterinarian Madison Monroe faces her days by ignoring her past. That's impossible when her former brother-in-law Adam Drake appears. She'd love to refuse his demands for help-who needs his attitude? But she owes the family. So fine, she'll work at their vet clinic, then walk away.Easier said than done. Being with Adam shows the differences between the twin brothers. Intense and intriguing Adam makes her feel things she never

"An intriguing blend of glory and gore from the master of the theological mystery."—Booklist"As usual, Kienzle's book is graced by fine touches." —Chicago TribuneFrom William X. Kienzle, author of the classic mystery, The Rosary Murders.When a prostitute is murdered after midnight on the mean streets of Detroit, it usually isn't front-page news. But when a prostitute's body is found dressed in a nun's habit outside one of Detroit's oldest—...

Open Secrets is Richard Lischer's story of his early career as a Lutheran minister. Fresh out of divinity school and full of enthusiasm, Lischer found himself assigned to a small conservative church in an economically depressed town in southern Illinois. This was far from what this overly enthusiastic and optimistic young man expected. The town was bleak, poor, and clearly not a step on his path to a brilliant career.It's an awkward marriage at best, a you...

"Another Kienzle top seller. Excellent in style and story. Original and timely." —Lucy Freeman, Mystery Writers of AmericaFrom William X. Kienzle, author of the classic mystery, The Rosary Murders.A bizarre plot to destroy the papacy seems to be the motive for murder in this fifth thriller from best-selling mystery writer William X. Kienzle. One cardinal is brutally murdered in his own church. Another is slain in the Vatican. A clue is left at the scene of each cri...

A struggling author's unexpected success sparks a family conflict in this New York Times–bestselling novel by the author of Gentleman's Agreement.For most of his career as a novelist, Gregory Johns has toiled in relative obscurity. His books have sold modestly, and he lives comfortably enough in the suburbs with his wife and daughter. He leaves the grand gestures and extravagant parties to his more expansive brother, Thornton, an insurance salesma...

New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery welcomes readers back to Fool's Gold, where a onetime fling could become the real thing.Felicia Swift never dreamed she'd hear a deep, sexy voice from her past in tiny Fool's Gold, California. The last time Gideon Boylan whispered in her ear was half a world away…on the morning after the hottest night of her life. Her freaky smarts have limited her close friendships, and romance, but she came to Fool's Gold looking for ordina...