Customer Reviews

The Bishop in the Old Neighborhood: A Bishop Blackie Ryan Novel (Blackie Ryan Novels)

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In Chicago the residents, especially the Irish Catholics, are horrified that three naked, mutilated corpses were found in the sanctuary of St. Lucy's Church. The media turns the homicidal desecration into a circus while the police struggle with the case. Meanwhile Cardinal Sean Cronin assigns his sleuthing Bishop Blackwood "Blackie" Ryan to investigate who caused the desecration of the church and why.

Blackie begins his search for the truth by looking into the controversial parish priest Father Mikal Wolodyjowski. He soon learns that Father Mikal was involved in the strange unsolved deaths of six college students six decades ago though no direct link to him ever surfaced. Still he wonders if this is vengeance for those deaths or is someone warning the church that anything goes to prevent gentrification?

In his fifth tale, Bishop Blackie is as erasable as ever as he tries to solve homicides sixty years apart in between a Bushmill or two; most readers will find the historical murders are more intriguing than the present day killings. Father Mikal is a fascinating figure as Bishop Blackie tries to ascertain whether he was the ultimate target. Though he pontificates a bit too much on various sidebars that take away from the who-done-its, fans of the series will appreciate the latest appearance of this priestly Colombo.

Harriet Klausner

Andrew Greeley always uses recurring characters, and combines a modern day crime mystery with one from the past, and strongly features a subplot of two yuppie Catholics falling in love despite fears or obstacles. Somehow, us romantics and mystery fans don't mind this, especially those of us with an odd affection for the Catholic Church in spite of having left it long ago. It helps to have an affinity for the Irish and for Chicago, even if one lacks enough Irish blood to brag about and has only been at the Chicago airport. This latest entry in the "Blackie Ryan" series is one of the best, with all the virtues of his other novels and all the flaws as well. If you are already a fan, you will like this one very much. If new to Greeley, it is still a good read, but I'd prefer that you get the list of the first four Ryan mysteries and read them in order. The lives of the repeating characters will make more sense if you do, and create a richer experience. Greeley's books seldom deserve a second reading, but only rarely disappoint a first one. This is nice, quick entertainment for a windy or rainy spring day.

Father Andrew Greeley's Bishop John Blackwood ("Blackie") Ryan is off to boss Sean Cardinal Cronin's old neighborhood to solve 3 "locked church" murder mysteries whilst the Cardinal is off to Rome to "see to it" that Blackie will never have to venture forth into the vast wilderness West of Chicagoland ever ever at all at all.
`Tis a grand reunion for Father Greeley's readers with the combined casts of the "Blackie" and Nuala Ann mysteries and intermixed stories. Added to this Irish-American Catholic mix are a Polish prince priest, a Sicilian-American Catholic Assistant Cook County State's Attorney, and the inscrutible Charlie Chan-ish "Dragon Lady," who almost grates into fatal-for-the-book-for-this-reader CindaSue* bad stereotype, but is saved by the "I'm only kidding" clause.
In all, `tis another grand reunion with old friends and an introduction to new. /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

* Beware! She's back. In all her bad Hillbilly backwoods *Deliverance* un-glory in "Irish Crystal." :-(

A gruesome triple murder in a well established middle-class neighborhood reeks havoc for Chicago's Catholic community when the bloody bodies appear on the altar of St. Lucy's Cathedral. Given that the church is involved with an important expansion of its affiliated school and the neighborhood is transitioning from primarily Black to White families, there are multiple suspects -- including a gang chief whose children attend the school, a developer whose fortune rides on completing local condo projects, and the local priest who may have had affairs with the more attractive of his female married female parishioners. Which of the many obvious suspects is behind the killings? Bishop Blackie to the rescue! º His boss is in Rome dealing with Vatican politics, so no help there! But an old report from his father's law office sheds light on a murder of six teenagers the early 1940s that is surely tied to these more contemporary murders -- but how? Meanwhile, a talented and cute young couple emerge to assist the Bishop¡Va couple who fall in love and are engaged by the end of the novel¡XDeclan O¡¦Donnell and Camilla Datillo. He¡¦s a member of an elite secret squad among the Chicago Metropolitan Police; she¡¦s an assistant district attorney for the State of Illinois. I have the feeling we will see these two again in future Greeley novels, as Bishop Blackie declares them both members of the North Wabash Avenue Irregulars by the end of the novel. I recommend this cliff hanger with many exciting scenes and a twist at the end.

Although I promise to rarely read Greeley novels, they routinely manage to attract my attention and I find myself hooked on the plot. This most recent mystery puts my bishop friend Blackie Ryan into the old Chicago neighborhoods, where he's guaranteed to charm at least the millions of readers who claim these haunts as being close to home. This complicated Blackie sleuth story starts out riveting enough, but becomes difficult to believe, except for the tidbits of church history inserted into prose. For example, I'm a post-Vatican II Roman Catholic but never heard about the plot to declare certain popes "legal" - where does that come from? Nevertheless, Greeley educates me with every story he writes. Thankfully, The Bishop in the Old Neighborhood stays away from graphically immature sexual encounters, but stays close to entertaining old fashioned romance. I enjoyed this book. Therefore, I'll likely go ahead and read more Greeley stories because, frankly, I appreciate his candor about the Roman Catholic Church. Moreover, Greeley is real when he attaches the church to the lives of the everyday people he writes about. In fact, "Archbishop Blackie", as he's promoted, is a believable person who puts class into Greeley's sometimes tangential plots, regardless of the quality of the rest of the story. I've passed this novel on to my Chicago friends, who are lined up to read it.

Greeley teases and comforts us again in a thoroughly enjoyable read. I particularly like the olde Celtic concept which may or may not be total fiction in the belief that those we have lost reside in a land of many colours to the west, where they can observe the lives of those that were nearest but not necessarily dearest to them in life. This latest book from Mr Greeley has given me the desire to go back and read many of the books he has written, that I missed. I do love the Blackie as a divine inspector and relish the humour that pervades his work. Patently.

Patricia M.

Another fun who dunnit from Andrew Greeley

When there's a multiple homicide in a locked church, Cardinal Cronin dispatches Bishop Blackie Ryan to "see to it." Blackie immediately finds that the situation is a lot more complex than he counted on it being. He's solved quite a few locked room mysteries in his time, and finds them not too challenging, but this one is. The neighborhood is plagued by racism and internal politics. Moreover, Blackie realizes that something about this case is related to an event that happened over fifty years ago, and that his father investigated. It's just another day at the office for everyone's favorite priest.

Whether you enjoy mysteries or not, Blackie, Sean, Nuala, and all the familiar characters as well as the new ones that Father Greeley has brought to life are worth revisiting. The warmth in his writing is like a cuddly blanket on a cold night.

Amanda Killgore

Father Mikal Wolodyjowski walks into his church, St. Lucy's, and discovers three dead bodies in the sanctuary. The church, which had a state of the art security system, had been locked before Father Mikal entered. Auxiliary Bishop John Blackwood Ryan, who prefers to be called "Blackie", is assigned by Cardinal Sean Cronin to re-consecrate the church and solve the crimes.

Blackie, at the beginning realizes that he must ponder how someone, without tripping the security system, could murder three people in the church? He must also consider why anyone would desecrate the church. Was it a message for the church, its pastor, or the community? Was the crime committed by local gangs to secure their turf; by drug lords who may have wanted the church out of their affairs; by minority activists who plotted to integrate the area; or local contractors, who wished to profit by manipulating the development of the neighborhood?

Andrew Greeley develops several minor themes in this novel. He expounds on urban renewal and illustrates problems with "blockbusters" and "gentrification". He wonders what happens to the poor when upper class buyers flock to newly planned suburbs that are easily accessed by the mass transportation system. Greeley presents details on advanced security systems which can provide protection by companies remote from the site being monitored. He discusses the impact of "hackers" and considers alternatives for computer "experts" who try to protect the systems.

As is typical in Blackie stories, the Bishop interacts with a couple who are courting. Declan O'Donald, a police sergeant who is also a lawyer and has earned a Ph.D. in psychology, is attracted to Camilla Datillo, an assistant states attorney for the county of Cook. As is his habit, Blackie becomes involved with the lovers and fosters their romance.

Andrew Greeley shares some Christian wisdom in this novel. He considers forgiveness when Father Mikal asks his parishioners to prepare to forgive those who stained their church. When confronted with alleged contact with ghosts, he posits the likelihood of natural suspicion of people involved in horrible events, and even suggests the possibility of ESP.

The Bishop in the Old Neighborhood is an excellent novel. The mystery is interesting and well resolved. The love story introduces us to two fascinating characters. I recommend you read the book.

Put Bishop Blackie out to pasture, no way! He is one of the most charming of all the sleuths. This is a complicated story of hate, revenge with racial overtones, as Cardinal Cronin sends his "best cleaner upper" to erase the stigma of three brutishly hacked bodies that are discovered before the alter of St. Lucy's.
All the things we find so delightful in a mystery by Andrew Greeley, the humor, the pathos, the philosophical asides, the deft plotting and fine characters are present in this addition to the Blackie saga. To this mix is added ancient murders and lost loves to make THE BISHOP IN THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD a fun read as we visit with old friends.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.