Customer Reviews

Irish Whiskey (Nuala Anne McGrail Novels)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having been a huge fan of Father Greeley for many years now, I was pleased to see how well he can still spin a yarn. "Irish Whiskey", third in a series surrounding a firery Irish lass named Nuala McGrail, continued to be entertaining as well as insightful. Greeley creates characters that are so alive and real that I find myself hearing them speak in Irish in my head! "Go long wid you now!" Having been raised in the Catholic Church, I find Greeley truly refreshing and insightful with his thoughts about how all of us truly feel regarding the matters of love and sex, and yet we have been programmed to feel guilty about those thoughts! While many think it is shocking that a Catholic priest should write such racy material, I find it refreshing that Father Greeley writes about the things that are beautiful and wholesome, such as the love between a man and a woman. The love story that is the basis of these series of novels, reveals a much more imp! ortant message. It attempts to explains how relationships and marriage can become deeper and more meaningful all within the eyes of God. Greeley and his Nuala McGrail series is a well thought out homily of how he sees men and womem fulfilling their committments to God through their committment to loving one another. Whether you are Catholic or not, you'll love the mystery and if you read carefully enough you will find the wonderful hidden message of how love can conquer all.

Hasn't it been a brilliant ride through the "Irish" series? Won't it be better for you to begin with "Irish Gold" then follow it with "Irish Lace" before arriving here at "Irish Whiskey"? In Gold you will become enamored with Dermot and Nuala Anne. In Lace you will hope for their relationship to develop and succeed. In Whiskey . . . well, wouldn't that be telling now? I eagerly await "Irish Mists" arriving in stores next year. Write quickly Father Greeley.

I now have read all three of this lovely trilogy and hope and pray to Nuola for the stories to go on and on and on and on.

Andrew Greely has really out done himself this time. He keeps the reader interested in multiple different scenarios in Dermot Michael Coyne's life. While preparing to get married, investigating the life and death of a famous Mobster and threats of criminal charges make this very complex novel come to life. The Irish intonations in the speakers' voices causes the reader to read out loud and laugh at the anitics of the characters. Fun and very witty writing; every situation is described in great detail. Definitly a book that cannot be put down!

I have probably 2/3rds of the Greeley novels, including Irish Lace and Gold. After the first few pages I thought this was going to be a quickly slapped together journal of the events leading up to the nuptials of our heroes, Dermot and Nuala. In fact, I put it down, and only picked it up again after some unexpected down time.

For those of you who presevere, you will find the usual complicated mystery threads, that always tie together quite nicely by the end.

I love Greeley's lack of pretension. I live on the "fringes" of the Chicago Irish community. By that I mean I belong, by heritage, and I am enjoying the recent resurgance of anything Gaelic and Irish, but some take it too far. Many in the community tend to wrap their nationality, newfound respectability and religion about themselves, and use it as a cover to excuse immoral or otherwise bad behavior. Greeley always manages to blow these people away!

What I have always enjoyed about Greeley is his social stance. The protagonists are flawed, yet quietly pious and moral. That would describe Nuala and Dermot. Her brother Lawrence represents the other side of the coin, hiding behind his heritage as he imposes his hatred on everyone else. To me, how the lovers handled his intrusion was the far more interesting mystery of the book.

Please catch the rest of my reviews on this series. Don't want to repeat myself except that if you love good mysteries and character development, these books are for you. Again, read in sequence.

This was the worst book I have read in recent memory. I enjoy a lighthearted detective novel on occasion. This was not lighthearted and the author used the premise that the girlfriend was "fey" to explain how the whodunit was dun. It was as if the author learned some Irish phrasing and wanted to use it in a story...and failed.

Irish Whiskey, the third of Andrew Greeley's Nuala Anne McGrail mysteries is not as successful as its predecessors. The mystery deals with the mysterious death of an Irish bootlegger, Jimmy "Sweet Rolls" Sullivan and once again Nuala has the feeling something is not quite right with the story. But the mystery plays second fiddle to two sub-plots; the upcoming wedding of Nuala and her stalwart Watson, Dermot, and a case against Dermot concerning how he achieved the financial independence he has. The former is a problem due to the machinations of Nuala's oldest brother; the latter is caused by a vindictive figure from Dermot's past. Both these storylines take away from the original mystery, which plays second fiddle to these soap opera plot lines. While Greeley continues to make Nuala and Dermot enjoyable and believable characters this was a disappointing sequel.

Being the first book I've read by Greeley, it has definitely got me hooked. I read it in 2 days and went out to find more of his works. I was amazed at the time Greeley spent to interact with his readers. Since my Irish roots run deep, I was pleased and enlightened by the book. Thank you for such a wonderful experience, Mr. Greeley.

Andrew Greeley managed once again to write a book that made me want to know these people
as if they were real. The vivid passion and love that are written with the humor thrown in, makes Irish Whiskey a keeper on my shelf, along with the others. So, what is next? Gotta keep these characters going Father!