Happy Are Those Who Mourn

Blackie Ryan #7

by Andrew M. Greeley

1 NEW HARDCOVER BOOK WITH DUST COVER

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1995

About the author

Andrew Greeley was a Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, journalist, and author of 50 best-selling novels and more than 100 works of nonfiction. For decades, Greeley entertained readers with such popular characters as the mystery-solving priest Blackie Ryan and the fey, amateur sleuth Nuala Anne McGrail. His books typically center on Irish-American Roman Catholics living or working in Chicago.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/andrew...

Reviews

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book

[David Freas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series. Greeley always tells a complex tale of murder – usually of the ‘locked room’ variety – that could be grim without Blackie Ryan’s affable nature to lighten the mood.

One problem I had with this book centered on the will of the dead priest whose murder is the core of this novel. His will is missing through a good portion of the book then suddenly appears in Ryan’s possession with no explanation how he found it (unless I missed the discovery).

Another one was Ryan and several other characters refer to an off-stage character as 'The Boss' but he is never defined which caused me a problem because in the context the title was used, it appeared they were talking about at least 2 different people.

I wish I had become aware of this series long ago and read them in order.

[Donald Harwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was typical Andrew Greeley's alter ego, Blackie Ryan. He does a great job of developing the other characters around Blackie, and keeps the story rolling. The multiple "major" characters revolve like a bicycle wheel with Blackie as the axle. The author, for the most part kept the story separate from the technical jargon of the church. A very good read.

[Jamie Huston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course there's a Father Brown joke in this wonderful little murder mystery! I adored the priest/detective's sardonic narration, and how thoroughly Irish Catholic this whole story was. I'll gladly read more in this series. The protagonist is a Joyce expert who spends a whole page in the middle of the book discoursing on the meanings of the title "Finnegans Wake." What's not to love?

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another charming Bishop Blackie book, recommendable to anyone interested in mystery novels (a la Poirot and Holmes), mystical Catholicism, charming (oops, there's that word again) characters, and delicious little twists of vocabulary. Nothing deep here, but a lovely way to spend a sick day.

[David Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm enjoying working my way through all the "Blackie Ryan" books...how could I not with a name like "Ryan". Andrew Greely is no longer with us, sadly. The books are light reading, fast. Usually a sort of book I read when I am inbetween others.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bishop Blackie Ryan solves a locked room mystery in his amusing and arguably self-chiding way. Under orders from his Cardinal, "No haunted rectories in my Archdiocese! ...See to it, Blackwood!" He does just that. In his favorite response, "Arguably."

[Cathie Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. It was quite interesting. Plot and storyline were fun. Characters were well defined. Lots of twists and turns. Love the humor. Blackie is such a fun character. Maybe it gives us an interesting insight into Andrew Greeley himself. Highly recommend.

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A church is apparently haunted by the ghost of its mean former pastor. Blackie Ryan is called in to investigate. It turns into a sedate murder investigation.

Nothing to really glom onto.

[Ronn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third or fourth of Greeley's Blackie Ryan books I have read. I like the character a lot. But it has already occured to me that while the stories are interesting, Greeley's writing is very formulaic and frankly, kind of ponderous. A character will make a statement, and then there will be several long paragraphs before there is a response. This can make for the need to go bacvk and re-read just to keep up with the conversation.

I will give one or two more books a shot [not right away], but if this doesnt change, I will take a pass on the rest.

[Jim Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mystery solution in Andrew Greeley books always seems to me to be based too much on facts not clearly established in the text. However, even with that shortcoming I still enjoyed this book. It not only presents a mystery, but also challenges my vocabulary.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really like this series as mysteries, but there is a lot of information regarding the Archdiocese of Chicago that I find fascinating.