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Irish Linen: A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel (Nuala Anne McGrail Novels)
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Product Description
Desmond Doolin, an idealistic young man from their West Side Chicago neighborhood, has gone missing in Iraq. Having flown off to the Middle East in the name of peace, he hasn’t been heard of since. The U.S. government denies any knowledge of his whereabouts, and his grieving family has all but written him off as dead, but Nuala is convinced that there’s more to the story . . . and herself won’t stop asking questions until she finds out what has really become of Desmond, one way or another.
Meanwhile, a parallel investigation uncovers the story of another young man abroad in dangerous times. Poking around in the past, Dermot and Nuala happen upon the memoirs of Timothy Patrick Clarke, the Irish ambassador to Nazi Germany, who risked his life for the sake of a beautiful German widow . . . and a secret plot to kill Adolf Hitler.
Working together as always, Nuala and her husband find themselves engrossed in the secrets of the past, the present, and two very different wars.
Irish Linen is another captivating installment in a series that Publishers Weekly calls “immensely entertaining.”
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #74701 in Books
- Published on: 2008-02-05
- Released on: 2008-02-05
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Mass Market Paperback
- 384 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780765355003
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Readers who can endure the juvenile sex talk at the start of Greeley's 10th Nuala Anne McGrail novel (after 2006's Irish Crystal) will be rewarded with a mildly entertaining mystery. When Nuala Anne, singer and sometime psychic, learns that Desmond Doolin, a peacenik young man from her Chicago neighborhood, has gone missing in the Middle East, she's convinced that he's still alive. But if U.S. government officials know Desmond's whereabouts, they're not talking, and finding him requires Nuala Anne and her adoring, dilettantish husband, Dermot Coyne, to research his path through the Middle East as well as pin down his relationship with the Catholic Church. Nuala Anne's search for Desmond is interwoven with the fictional memoir of an Irish diplomat in Nazi Germany, which Nuala Anne and Dermot just happen to be reading. Though this historical tale offers some intriguing counterpoints to Doolin's situation, the WWII chapters too often distract from Nuala Anne herself, who's supposed to be the star of the show. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Irresistible.”—Booklist on Irish Cream
“No contemporary writer is better than Greeley at depicting the genius, humor, logic, personal skills, and cultural idiosyncrasies of the Irish, whether in American cities like Chicago or across the big pond in Ireland. This author is the master of modern Irish ethnic genius! . . . A delight to read. . . . This book is bound to give you a few hours of great reading pleasure!”—Shelby-Utica News, Utica MI on Irish Cream
“A love story as much as a mystery, with Greeley portraying Chicago’s middle-class Irish-American ethnics with flair, dignity, and affection for their lilting speech.”—Chicago Sun-Times on Irish Lace
“The prolific cleric plops his psychic singer heroine and her family into a delicious stew of trouble in his latest crowd pleaser . . . the double plot is rich with detail, while the couple’s earnestness and good intentions are never in question.”—Publishers Weekly on Irish Stew!
About the Author
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
Lacked Intrigue
Irish Linen is not a bad book; it just lacks freshness, excitement. I love this series, but I would put this book as my least favorite. I had a very hard time reading Irish Linen, in fact I set it down twice in order to read, finish and review two other books; I have never done that before. My main problem with this book was while reading it I had a vague sense of Déjà vu.
Nuala and Dermot get 'hired' by some parents to find their missing adult son, Des, who has flown to Iraq. While investigating his whereabouts they discover a memoir in the church basement. The memoir is written by a man named Tim Ridgeland, an Irish ambassador to Germany during WWII. Normally, the historical aspects of Mr. Greeley's stories are linked to the present day stories. I really felt the link between these two stories was weak at best. Des was supposed to be in Iraq for Peace, but I saw it as more of a culture visit.
Dermot acts like an adolescent in his thoughts and actions regarding a certain part of his wife's anatomy. He reminds me of a teenage boy with his first look at the female body. Their love scenes always seem a bit silly and childish to me. Then we have Tim and his Annalise professing love almost immediately after meeting, it was a bit ridiculous.
The ending of the book seemed a bit rushed, in both the historical and present stories. Locating and rescuing Des from Iraq was rather far fetched and anticlimactic; in fact Mr. Greeley himself starts the last chapter by saying just that.
I did enjoy the relationship between the fictional ambassador and his friend, the real life Claus Graf Von Strauffenburg. I thought Mr. Greeley did an excellent job of blending historical fact with fiction.
After all the other books in this series, I was anxious and a little impatient to read the next one. After reading this book I am rather contentedly and patiently awaiting the next one.
Best yet in the "Irish...." series
This series has been getting better and better. The 10th and latest volume is thoroughly engrossing, both in the contemporary and the historic sections. The fact that the blend of contemporary and historical narratives has become a bit of a formula for Greeley is finding new strengths in the rather subtle linking of the stories in this volume.
I would heartily recommend this volume to all.
4 stars
When a young Irish American soldier goes missing in Iraq, it falls to Dermot Coyne and his adoring, sensible, fey wife, Nualla McGraill, to do what they can to see about making sure he gets home safely. As per usual, they find that their present difficulty might have answers in the past, in this instance, the love story of another young Irishman and the beauty he fell for in Pre World War II Germany. As the two stories play out, truths are uncovered in a delightful fashion.
**** Reading Andrew Greeley is like putting on your favorite, comfy clothes and curling up by the fire. His gentle story telling style will make you swear he's a new incarnation of Taliesin, or some other Irish bard. Old friends reappear, reassuring you that they are still well and alive in his mind. Throughout the narrative, a lesson is given, but not in a preachy fashion, at all. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day or any day at all by giving yourself this treat. ****
Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.
