The Complete Father Brown Mysteries is a group of fictional short stories by G.K. Chesterton, a master of literature. The stories all feature the title character, Father Brown, who is a short, stout Roman Catholic priest from England. To others he appears simple and naive, but in reality he is a genius. Essentially, he is the quirky, unassuming, compassionate, and lovable version of Sherlock Holmes. He solves his mysteries by imagining himself in the place of the criminal, which he discusses in one of these short stories. Each mystery is complex and different, which is amazing to think about once you realize there are fifty-three of them.
I loved these stories because each one has great depth and is well thought out. Father Brown is an amusing character with his odd little ways, but he keeps you wondering what the meaning behind his actions are. In the first story, for example, he strangely splashes a bowl of soup at the wall. This would appear to be carelessness or thoughtlessness, but in the end, it plays an important role in the capture of a criminal mastermind. Whenever I would begin one story, I would always want to quickly read through to the end, because each story makes you think there is no possible logical solution. The language is beautiful, but it can be hard to understand. I had to reread some of the passages or even sometimes the whole story to really grasp what was going on. The beauty of these stories is that you can read them and have an entertaining surface level mystery story, but if you reread or ponder some of the messages behind them, they have layers of meaning and often reveal the complexity of the human mind and soul.