The saint maker

the long version

When Father Bredder gets involved with murder—Heaven only knows what will happen next… Father Joseph Bredder was a professional boxer and decorated sergeant in the U.S. Marines before becoming a priest and amateur detective who both solves crimes and saves souls. In the first book in the series, Father Bredder tries to make peace with the rather cold, disapproving Reverend Mother of the convent by sending her a present of a melon. Unfortunately, she discovers that what the bag actually contains is a woman's head. Named “A Red Badge Novel of Suspense” alongside Agatha Christie, Michael Innes, and Hugh Pentecost, The Father Bredder Mysteries, written by Leonard Wibberley under the pen name Leonard Holton, inspired a television show starring George Kennedy. “Father Joseph Bredder is one of the most satisfactory of religious detectives, with commendably greater interest in saving a soul than in solving a case.”—The New York Times