Ralph McInerny

McInerny also worked as a professor of Philosophy, Medieval Studies professor at Notre Dame University, and a Catholic religious scholar. Thanks to the Sylvia case, Dowling gets another chance to meet his fellow training mate, Phil Keegan. Phil had begun training with Dowling in seminary school before he quit after just one year.

The best place to start is the Father Dowling series, the earliest of Ralph McInerny's multi-book series: it opens with Her Death of Cold (1977) and runs to 30 books across 1977–2011, ending with The Compassion of Father Dowling (2011). Ralph McInerny's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

Ralph McInerny has 145 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1967 and 2025. 94 of them belong to 10 named series — the largest being the Father Dowling series with 30 books — and 51 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Ralph McInerny's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Father Dowling (1977–2011, 30 books), Sister Mary Teresa Mystery (1981–2001, 10 books) and Andrew Broom (1987–2000, 6 books), plus 6 more.

This guide splits Ralph McInerny's 145 books into 10 named series and 51 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Father Dowling (30 books, 1977–2011); ISI Guides to the Major Disciplines (15 books, 2000–2014); Notre Dame (13 books, 1997–2010); Sister Mary Teresa Mystery (10 books, 1981–2001); Andrew Broom (6 books, 1987–2000), plus 5 further series.