The Bishop at the Lake: A Bishop Blackie Ryan Novel (Blackie Ryan Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Andrew M. Greeley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2008 | Series: Blackie Ryan Novels

Matters of succession lead to attempted murder in the latest of Greeley’s popular mysteries.

Archbishop Malachi Nolan has designs on the Diocese of Chicago despite the fact the Most Reverend Blackwood Ryan, himself recently appointed an archbishop, is currently in line for the post. Assigned to keep watch on his rival, Blackie travels to the Nolan family estate in Grand Banks, where he soon finds himself immersed in an entirely different dynastic struggle. 

Spike Nolan, founder of Aviation Electronics, isn’t even dead yet, but his children, grandchildren, and their respective spouses are already feuding over who will inherit control of the multimillion-dollar company. The only family member who doesn’t have a stake in the quarrel is the clerical Malachi . . . so why is he the one targeted by an unknown killer? 

To get to the bottom of the mystery, Blackie will have to sort through the tangled family dynamics of this highly dysfunctional clan, as well as figure how out his fellow archbishop was nearly stung to death by hornets inside a locked room!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Greeley's winning sixth Blackie Ryan novel (after 2006's The Bishop in the Old Neighborhood), Ryan's boss, the archbishop of Chicago, sends Ryan to check up on Malachi Howard-Nolan, a fellow priest who's jockeying for a prestigious appointment. Blackie heads out to the compound where Nolan's extended family has gathered for a reunion and discovers that matters are both simpler and more complex than he'd imagined. Nolan turns out to be obnoxious and ambitious, but also lazy and incompetent, so his ecclesiastical aspirations aren't likely to come to much. When Nolan suffers a life-threatening attack of hornets, Blackie suspects someone in his rich, nutty family wishes him ill. There's also romance afoot: Blackie's strapping nephew finds himself attracted to Nolan's charming niece. A few chapters narrated by the nephew jar, but strong character development, snappy dialogue and a multilayered plot make this one of the better entries in the series. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Blackie Ryan returns in another predictable but fun Chicago-based whodunit featuring the usual amalgamation of stereotypical Irish-American characters. Urged by boss Cardinal Sean Cronin to assess the less-than-noble ecclesiastical ambitions of a fellow bishop, Blackwood visits the Lake Michigan shore home of his beloved sister, Dr. Mary Kate Ryan Murphy. When an attempt is made on the life of Bishop Malachai Nolan, Blackie, with the assistance of various Ryan family members, investigates a puzzling locked-room mystery. Of course, the requisite romance blossoms for two of the younger auxiliary characters. Nothing new here, but most Greeley fans won't want or expect anything beyond this comfortably familiar plot. Flanagan, Margaret --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (July 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765355027
• ISBN-13: 978-0765355027
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #856,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A native of Chicago, Father Andrew M. Greeley, is a priest, distinguished sociologist and bestselling author. He is professor of social sciences at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona, as well as Research Associate at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. His current sociological research focuses on current issues facing the Catholic Church-including celibacy of priests, ordination of women, religious imagination, and sexual behavior of Catholics.Father Greeley received the S.T.L. in 1954 from St. Mary of Lake Seminary. His graduate work was done at the University of Chicago, where he received the M.A. Degree in 1961 and the Ph.D. in 1962.Father Greeley has written scores of books and hundreds of popular and scholarly articles on a variety of issues in sociology, education and religion. His column on political, church and social issues is carried by the Chicago Sun Times and many other newspapers. He stimulates discussion of neglected issues and often anticipates sociological trends. He is the author of more than thirty bestselling novels and an autobiography, Furthermore!: Confessions of a Parish Priest.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There is no escape..., December 26, 2007

By 

William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bishop at the Lake: A Bishop Blackie Ryan Novel (Hardcover)

"Every time I try to get out, they suck me back in"----paraphrase of Al Pacino's lament in "Godfather" part three about attempts to take the family mob racket into legitimate businesses. I have been reading Fr. Greeley's books for about thirty years, with quite a bit of enjoyment. His novels, however, do fall into certain formulas, and he is so prolific I do get a bit tired every now and then. Just how many affluent, talented but dysfunctional Chicago Irish families will have locked room murders or attempted ones in any given decade? Especially if the family is connected in some manner to Fr. Blackie, the assistant to the Cardinal in charge in the Windy City? I try to quit Greeley, with varying degrees of success. For instance, I have totally avoided the seven novel series about the O'Malley family in the 20th century. But I have read every Blackie Ryan mystery, six or more now, every Nuala McGrail book, ten of those, and at least ten of his other works, fiction and non-fiction. Fr. Greeley's plots are often unrealistic, his characters' dialogue and emotions either idealized or demonized to a fault, his happy endings welcome but predictable. Still, he creates a world of families with as much to be envied as to be lamented. His heroes and heroines are people you wish you knew, and for whom you root without reservation. In this latest Blackie mystery, to my surprise, I really was not certain of the villain until the end. Therefore, it counts as quite a success. I found it a slow start, and after a chapter or two I was not sure I would finish it. Then, however, some twists occurred and I became reluctant to put the book down at all. If you like Greeley's past work, this is more of the same but well-done.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I've long been a fan of Fr. Greeley's novels . . ., July 17, 2009

By 

David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bishop at the Lake: A Bishop Blackie Ryan Novel (Blackie Ryan Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

. . . even when I find myself profoundly out of sympathy with some of his views. This is the first "Blackie Ryan" novel I've read in awhile (though I really enjoyed many of his "Beatitude" novels) and I wanted to enjoy it. I really did. And it was okay, but in the opinion of this reviewer, nothing particularly special. We have a (predictable) dysfunctional family, a (predictable) locked-room mystery, and a (predictable -- but in this case, delightful) Irish heroine.

What we DON'T have -- is a reasonable or (to my mind) believable mystery. Without providing plot spoilers (this is, after all, a mystery!) I found the motive for the crime to be lacking in realistic believability; the perpetrator weakly portrayed; and the accomplice little more than a "flat" character.

Do I have any doubt that we'll see the heroine and her erstwhile beau in later novels? Nope! I just hope that they are placed in a better plot line!

If you're into the "Blackie Ryan" mysteries -- this is good for a summer afternoon. But not much more.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clean Up The Mess, November 8, 2007

By 

Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Bishop at the Lake: A Bishop Blackie Ryan Novel (Hardcover)

It is with great expectation when a new Blackie Ryan mystery arrives to join my must read pile. Father Andrew M. Greeley doesn't disappoint his fans with the current THE BISHOP AT THE LAKE. Bishop Blackie is sent to vacation with his family while sleuthing out the designs of Archbishop Malachi Nolan who has his sights set on replacing Cardinal Sean Cronin.

Before Malachi Nolan can cause Blackie's boss any problems he is the victim of an attack by hornets, which for him is a life-threatening allergy known to his entire family. Who would want to kill an ineffectual member of the church in the home of his parents and family?

A must read that flows quickly to the final pages. Greeley interweaves ambition, greed, malice and romance into a satisfying read.

Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.