Sister Hood: A Sister Mary Teresa Mystery

Smooth writing can't mask an obvious plot in the seventh tale by Quill (pseudonym of Ralph McInerny of the Father Dowling mysteries) featuring the three remaining sisters in the Chicago Order of Martha and Mary. Subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in Chicago concerning her notorious late father, Carmelite nun Mary Magdalene (the former Donna Moran) takes shelter with the three M & M's. But when their guest goes missing after Mass and her body is later found in a bathtub, the trio feels morally obligated to find out what happened and why. Sister Mary Teresa Dempsey, aka Emtee Dempsey (last seen in The Veil of Ignorance ), spearheads the nuns' investigation of the events that prompted the summoning of the Carmelite--the accusation that her father killed his lover, her former schoolmate Marilyn Derecho. Murders pile up, but readers will solve the case long before the sisters do. (Aug.)