The Innocence of Father Brown
Recommended. Age: 14+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Chesterton's priest solves crimes because he knows sin from the inside of the confessional, and he cares more about a criminal's repentance than his arrest. The thief Flambeau's turn from crime is the heart of the book. The reservation is real violence for a cozy mystery: two beheadings, several suicides, and one racial slur in a character's mouth.
For parents
Read aloud from 12, independent reading from 14. Good Books for Catholic Kids lists it for high schoolers. Ask why Father Brown says a priest knows more about evil than a detective. Ask what he wants for Flambeau: prison or confession? Name the slur in 'The Wrong Shape' as wrong.