Chameleon

Father Robert Koesler, Detroit's Catholic priest and amateur sleuth, returns in Kienzle's latest snappy mystery. When a prostitute wearing a nun's habit is shot to death, it seems the intended victim may have been the dead woman's sister, who is in fact a nun. When a church finance officer who wants to shut down inner-city parish schools is murdered, homicide cop Alonzo Tully wonders if a serial killer is on the loose or is someone targeting members of the Detroit archdiocese? Suspicion centers on a married ex-priest eager to return to active ministry, and on a postal clerk, leader of an ultra-conservative grop that wants to ``get the Church back on track.'' Tully, of course, leans on Father Koesler for churchly insights that will help crack the case. While the improbable ending is a letdown, earlier suspense, witty characterizations and candid exploration of the Church's inner workings make this a winner. Kienzle wrote The Rosary Murders. Mystery Guild selection. (Apr.)