Synopses & Reviews
And what a stew it is. Here are some of the ingredients: Our heroine, Nuala Anne McGrail, in her guise as international singing star, accompanied by her spear-carrying husband, Dermot Coyne, is off to a major music festival in Milan, where they meet Seamus Costelloe, a Chicago Irish macher, and his family. Seamus is no better than he should be, and in fact the suspicion is that he's very bad indeed, but softhearted Nuala sees the sign of death on him-she hasn't lost her ability to see into the future-and decides to do something about it. She also sees something good in him. Which leads to a few hair-raising conflicts with some of Chicago's more desperate characters.
Nuala and Dermot's new baby is premature, and dark clouds hover over their sublimely happy marriage. Meanwhile, Dermot is trying to solve the mystery of Chicago's Haymarket riot, which isn't easy since it happened over a hundred years ago.
Only bestselling author Andrew M. Greeley, with his knowledge of Ireland and Chicago's unsavory politics, plus his uncanny ability to combine two stories-one in the present and one in the past-and his talent for building mystery and suspense to an almost unbearable degree, could have written this truly tantalizing novel.
Review
“Father Greeley has given great attention to the role of imagination in the life of faith. What he is doing is re-evangelizing the imagination, using fiction to address the faith and the mysteries of the faith. Thats an extraordinarily significant project.”—Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago
“Nobody has ever left the church because of an Andrew Greeley novel, but many have been attracted back to it by him.”—Reverend Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I.
Synopsis
Nuala Anne McGrail and her adoring husband Dermot Coyne are at it again in Father Greeley's supremely popular Irish mystery series. At an international music festival in Milan, Nuala, in her guise as an international singing star, meets Seamus Costelloe and his family. Nuala quickly sees with her second sight (Nuala is fey in the Irish sense) that Mr. Costelloe, a sinister Chicago tough guy, is doomed. She takes it upon herself to do something to save him, which gets her in a whole peck of trouble.
Meanwhile, Dermot is trying to solve the hundred-year-old mystery of who started the Haymarket Riot, which tore Chicago apart.
The talented Father Greeley, with his enormous storytelling skill, his knowledge of Chicago, and his mastery of the mystery form, combines two separate tales in two different eras to give the reader one tantalizing experience.
Synopsis
A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel by the bestselling author of Irish LoveNuala Anne McGrail, the enthralling heroine of Irish Love, returns, along with her devoted husband Dermot, to lend her second sight and irrepressible personality to another savory concoction made up of equal parts of love, humor, and intrigue.
Youd think Nuala and Dermot would have enough to worry about, what with their brand-new baby daughter being born three months premature, but Nualas fey gifts arent about to go on maternity leave just because little Socra Marie needs more care and loving attention than the average newborn. Soon enough Nuala, and therefore Dermot, find themselves steered toward no less than two unresolved mysteries:
Someone is trying to kill Seamus Costelloe, a bigshot lawyer from the South Side of Chicago. Nuala already sees the mark of death upon Seamus. Can she and Dermot somehow find a way to avert her fatal premonition?
Equally compelling is the puzzle of Chicagos infamous Haymarket Riot, which may be even harder to solve—given that took place over a century ago!
About the Author
Priest, sociologist, author and journalist,
Father Andrew M. Greeley built an international assemblage of devout fans over a career spanning five decades. His books include the Bishop Blackie Ryan novels, including
The Archbishop in Andalusia, the Nuala Anne McGrail novels, including
Irish Tweed, and
The Cardinal Virtues. He was the author of over 50 best-selling novels and more than 100 works of non-fiction, and his writing has been translated into 12 languages.
Father Greeley was a Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona and a Research Associate with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. In addition to scholarly studies and popular fiction, for many years he penned a weekly column appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers. He was also a frequent contributor to The New York Times, the National Catholic Reporter, America and Commonweal, and was interviewed regularly on national radio and television. He authored hundreds of articles on sociological topics, ranging from school desegregation to elder sex to politics and the environment.
Throughout his priesthood, Father Greeley unflinchingly urged his beloved Church to become more responsive to evolving concerns of Catholics everywhere. His clear writing style, consistent themes and celebrity stature made him a leading spokesperson for generations of Catholics. He chronicled his service to the Church in two autobiographies, Confessions of a Parish Priest and Furthermore!
In 1986, Father Greeley established a $1 million Catholic Inner-City School Fund, providing scholarships and financial support to schools in the Chicago Archdiocese with a minority student body of more than 50 percent. In 1984, he contributed a $1 million endowment to establish a chair in Roman Catholic Studies at the University of Chicago. He also funded an annual lecture series, “The Church in Society,” at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois, from which he received his S.T.L. in 1954.
Father Greeley received many honors and awards, including honorary degrees from the National University of Ireland at Galway, the University of Arizona and Bard College. A Chicago native, he earned his M.A. in 1961 and his Ph.D. in 1962 from the University of Chicago.
Father Greeley was a penetrating student of popular culture, deeply engaged with the world around him, and a lifelong Chicago sports fan, cheering for the Bulls, Bears and the Cubs. Born in 1928, he died in May 2013 at the age of 85.