The Innocence of Father Brown

I have a passion for mysteries.

However, G.K. Chersterton's stories should not be simply categorized as mystery stories. His writing and language skills recommend his stories to anybody who enjoys reading from a gifted storyteller.

So, whether you are in a mood for mysteries or just would like to spend some time with a great storyteller ..... look no further.

Eleven little gems

this is a great book. comedy and mystery at their best. wish he would have written more. if you like books like this look at P.G. Wodehouse

A completely different line of detection. It is even different from things written today. Ideas and plots are bizarre, but convincing at many instances. Many stories are really original, and the writer has a clear distinguished talent.

An extremely interesting and captivating set of detective stories, differing from the usual. Father Brown is a very plain, yet interesting figure, and the stories themselves are exquisite, perhaps with the exception of The Invisble Man. Well worth the read, and recommended to anyone and everyone with even the faintest taste for mysteries.

Extraordinary stories, excellent writing. Highly recommended.

I first read the Father Brown stories when I was 12, and had just finished reading my dad's copy of 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes' to death. He bravely gave me 'The Complete Stories of Father Brown', and I was hooked. Father Brown is one of my favorite detectives, not because he is witty like Lord Peter or brilliant as Sherlock Holmes, but because he is familiar and ordinary, and yet wonderful. The first story in the collection, 'The Blue Cross' is where we first meet Flambeau, the greatest burglar the world has ever known. He will turn up in more stories later on, but this is my favorite. Chesterton shows his own sensibilities and concerns with the way his pre-WWI society was going (spiritualism, excessive interest in the occult and eastern religions) in 'The Wrong Shape' which is a brilliant crime, and possibly one of the best-crafted mysteries of the Father Brown stories. Anyone feeling intimidated by Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes or other classic detectives, or even just someone who is looking for something extraordinary to read, will enjoy Father Brown. His appeal is that he is so exceedingly ordinary and average in appearance and almost every other way, but he still finds himself in unusual and challenging situations, and uses his 'uncanny insight into human evil' to rescue innocents and solve mysteries.