The Bishop in the Old Neighborhood: A Bishop Blackie Ryan Novel

by Andrew M. Greeley

Book Overview

"Blackwood, there's trouble in the old neighborhood Murder in the sanctuary of the Church " The church in question is St. Lucy's, a humble edifice at the heart of a venerable Chicago neighborhood now suffering the throes of gentrification. St. Lucy's has long stood as a bulwark against evil and change, which some in the community have often seen as much the same thing. Now three dead bodies have been left in the sanctuary, stripped, mutilated, and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765303345
• ISBN13: 9780765303349
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Greeley - Bishop in the Old Neighborhood

So glad to have found the latest in the Blackie Ryan series. I only wish the book was longer. I enjoy so much every mystery Greeley writes. They're quick reads, fun, interesting, and I actually learn something each time I read him. Eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

Same formula, but same satisfactions...

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.

A satisfying, page-turning, locked-door mystery

Longtime favorite sleuth and priest Father Blackie Ryan is now a bishop who is quite possibly headed for retirement. He is called to one of his inner city neighborhood parishes where three bodies are found in front of the altar, brutally murdered and mutilated. The church and school, old as they are, contain a state-of-the-art computerized surveillance system that is supposed to be unbreachable by the most sophisticated hackers. How were the bodies of the three illegal aliens, who had been killed elsewhere, dragged into the sanctuary without tripping the alarms or being seen on the cameras? A special ops squad of the Chicago Police Department, headed by Dragon Lady Captain Huong, is assigned the covert task of discovering the hacker and tracking down the unknown suspects. Suspicions arise, pointing to possible Al Qaeda terrorists, local drug lords, illegal alien smugglers, or revenge. Dashing young police lieutenant Declan O'Donnell, the Dragon Lady's Number One Boy, is assigned to the undercover electronic search for the murderers. The community is in the throes of gentrification. The mid-1970s had experienced white flight as blockbusting drove middle class whites into the suburbs. The nature of the neighborhood changed but successfully settled into a racially diverse community with thriving businesses and good schools. Pockets of crime were beginning to develop in some areas, however, and enterprising developers were creating plans to tear down older buildings and homes to appeal to younger, white, successful business people who wanted to live closer to their work in Chicago's loop. Huge condominium clusters, upscale McMansions, and rehabilitated older homes would drive the racially mixed community out to the suburbs because they couldn't afford the higher rents and property taxes. Tensions were high, and the confusion caused by the grisly killings were resulting in upheaval in the local police department, Chicago PD, FBI, and even Homeland Security. Blackie's Cardinal dispatches him to investigate the atrocities and reconsecrate the church and school. Threats are directed at Blackie and the parish priest, a former Polish prince with great charisma and power in the parish. The plot thickens as Blackie is directed to a long-sealed letter from his late father, detailing events of over sixty years ago that may shed light on the perpetrators. THE BISHOP IN THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD is a satisfying, page-turning, locked door mystery that finds Andrew Greeley in his prime. All the elements of his longtime bestselling mysteries are present --- a touch of romance and Blackie's own self-effacing humor and sense of place are all here. St. Lucy's was the church where Andrew Greeley was baptized, and while the community in the book is fictional, effects of gentrification on inner cities is as current and accurate as the front pages of your newspaper. --- Reviewed by Roz Shea

heavenly who-done-it

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