The Fundamentals of Murder

New York City is on edge… 

Auxiliary Bishop Francis X. Regan, a frustrated crime-solving paraplegic with an IQ of 220, and his special assistant Davey Goldman, a New York City cop-turned-private-eye, once more find themselves embroiled in a high-stakes case of murder and embezzlement. 

A serial killer, dubbed Strangler John by the media, has been terrorizing the streets for weeks. 

On four consecutive Friday nights, a woman has been murdered, her garroted body discovered the next day with a card reading REPENT! thrust into her mouth. 

Despite enormous amounts of public pressure, the police have no leads…at least until Jerry Fanning arrives in the Big Apple.

A young fundamentalist preacher, Fanning arrives in New York City from Oklahoma, wife and baby son in town, convinced that the Lord has sent him to convert the entire city to Jesus. 

Unfortunately for him, he arrives two days before the first murder, and it doesn’t take long before the police uncover clues pointing to him as Strangler John. 

The evidence is circumstantial, but it’s enough for Fanning to suddenly find himself behind bars.

Fortunately for him, he’d met Bishop Regan and Goldman during his short-lived mission to convert the citizens of the Big Apple to Jesus. 

Convinced that the police have the wrong man, the Bishop puts his razor-sharp mind to work, delving for clues among the victims themselves. Three of the victims were prostitutes; the fourth was a wealthy businesswoman who moved in high social circles. 

Determined to find the reason for this discrepancy, the Bishop turns to Goldman’s contacts, street smarts, and leg-work to find the answers they seek. 

Between the Bishop’s brain and Goldman’s brawn, they’re convinced it’s only a matter of time before Fanning will be exonerated…

The Fundamentals of Murder is a chilling crime thriller that will keep you hooked. 

“Sharp, smooth … a lively adventure.” — Chicago tribune 

“Wonderful … Bishop Regan is the most intriguing fictional churchman since Chesterton’s father brown.” — Robert Goldsborough 

“a well-plotted whodunit … readers surely will anticipate the sequel.” — Chicago Sun-Times 

“abounds in action and surprises.” — Associated Press 

“well-crafted, knowledgeably handled.” - Mystery news 

“a good detective read!” — Dallas Morning News 

“a slick, action-filled adventure.” — Library Journal 

William F. Love was a Benedictine monk at St. Gregory’s Abbey, Shawnee, Oklahoma, and was ordained as a priest in 1958. Following his resignation from the priesthood, he became a banker and banking consultant in Chicago. He holds a degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He makes his home with his family in a suburb of Chicago, where he is working on more novels in this new Bishop Regan Mystery Series.