Angels of September

by Andrew M. Greeley

An explosion at the Reilly Gallery changes the lives of gallery owner Anne Reilly and police deputy superintendent Mike Casey, who together discover an old love reawakening

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Thriller

451 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

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

[Everydayreader1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Reilly has spent much of her life afraid, trying to do the right thing, and trying to navigate her Catholic faith. Suddenly, she is confronted by her past, as it collides with her present. As the owner of a well known art gallery, she agrees to exhibit the paintings of a Catholic priest who spent years hospitalized with mental illness. Unexplained things began to happen to her. Will those who love her be able to put the picture together in time to save her life?

Father Andrew Greeley is a master story teller. He brings the characters he writes about to life in vivid detail. And, he writes, without apology, about the flaws of his characters and the flaws of the Church, past and present.

I first read this book shortly after its publication in 1986, and have reread it a few times since. I find it fascinating each time I reread it. It was a book my mom enjoyed, so it is special to me for that reason also. I'm reminded of the quote: "Get knocked down seven times, stand up eight." This is precisely what Anne Reilly does, along with so many people in real life. Suffice it to say, I have an affinity for strong characters, especially strong women.

[Annette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not like this book. I understood the underlying issues of guilt and the Catholic Church, after having been raised a Catholic. But I thought the story rather contrived and outlandish. I don't think that Anne was a believable character---and certainly not a very interesting one. I plowed through this but wish I had of put it down with my first inclinations.

[Shelly Spiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I continued reading to see how it ended, but it was a bit painful. This woman spent half the book torturing herself for her many sins of her life, including believing that she set a fire that murdered her sisters and several other students. Anne Reilly is experiencing supernatural events when she begins showing the "Mad Priests" art at her gallery. Is she going crazy or is this reality? She spent half the book pushing away true love and happiness. And I kept waiting for her to put her daughter Beth in her place. As always it was great to see the Ryan family. But other than that, it was hard to read.

[Jeff Clausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A harrowing tale full of crazed characters, some real, some not so real. Lots of Catholic rhetoric from one who knows, this tale has less of Blackie than other Greeley novels. The constant Chicago references are fun to imagine and seem spot-on. Even Notre Dame gets some shout-outs. True to a detective story, the answers wait till the end to emerge, with Blackie thick in the middle. Pretty gripping and challenging, even for non-Catholics.

[Wendy Schlegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book but too much of the occult for me. I understood the main characters thoughtsand responses to what was going on around her. Some of the old beliefs though I would have disregarded. Did like the way the characters interrelated and I thought the author did a great job of bringing the characters to life.

[Cathy Biggers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of Andrew Greeley's books I've ever read. Not sure I will read any others. While he provides deep background into Catholic religion and how it was operated and how changes came about, there were times reading this book that I wasn't certain I should continue.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book I didn't want to read. However once I got into it I had to finish. The base of the story was hard to accept. Love, sin,guilt, and. TheCatholic Church. Altogether,scary.

[Gracie Boissel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

[Corine]

Good scary book. Difficult to decide if she was possessed or just manipulative.

[Daine Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially, I questioned myself as to why I would read this tale of a love affair. But, the added twist of a spiritual side intrigued me. In the end, I enjoyed this tale of a love affair between two mature albeit 'in-name only' Catholics that is affected by demonic intrusion. To the rescue is a non-conformist priest, Fr. Blackie Ryan. This situation is complicated because there is a lack of faith and sinful behavior that the two lovers dismiss. This is dealt with by Fr. Ryan refocusing them on the strength of God's love and His direction about matters of the heart. The author, Fr. Greeley writes with a sharp wit and takes a swipe at the naivete of many Catholics in regards to the subject of demonic oppression. He is straight-forward and entertaining in his crisp writing. I recommend this novel to anyone with a penchant for the unorthodox.

[Nikki Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would place this book under the genre of contemporary realistic fiction. Even though many of the events of the book have happened in real life, the story itself is not really about those events. The book is about the life of an Irish Catholic woman and the guilt she carried throughout her life after she accidentally kills her two sisters in a fire she started that got out of control. The book was written by a Catholic priest & the dominant theme of the book was showing the way that the Catholic church is changing in a more positive way and how that affects peoples lives. I rated it 5 stars because it was a very eloquently written story that brought to light a lot of the aspects of the church that are never really talked about and how those things affected the lives of people in the church. The book is definitely most suited for an adult audience due to the content of the book.

[Kelli Santistevan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNF’d this book at 25%. I read 115 pages and 23 chapters before deciding that I didn’t want to keep reading this book. The reason I didn’t want to finish is because I didn’t find the characters or the story very interesting and I wasn’t connecting with the characters. I thought it would be something I would like because the synopsis sounded really interesting to me. I like books where I can care about the story and the characters but this book didn’t make me feel that way.

[Angela Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different kind of book that I usually read. I love the suspense and the psychological part. It was different in a way that it has some catholic parts in it. Although, the answer to the mystery is not at all conclusive, I loved the story and the ending. I love the characters Annie and Mickey and I am rooting for them the whole time! :)

[Annie Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a middle-aged woman who has long believed she caused the school fire that killed her two sisters and numerous other children. Kind of bizarre, but with the usual Greeley humor and idealistic interpretation of all things Catholic. Enjoyable if not totally believable.

[Pat Baratta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reading

[Clifford Wollum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a haunting story of Anne and Mike the cop. Art gallery, exorcism, great description of attacks on a woman body.

[Alfie · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's not that good for me..

[Peggy]

#1, first one I read and really liked it and wanted to read more of his books

[Linda Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it !! Suspense!!

[Tina Underwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting. I couldn't put it down. But, I liked the psychological element more than the terror part. A little dark. Didn't really scare me.

[Barbara Holford]

loved it

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy all of Andrew Greeley's books. This has to be one of my favorites.

[Elliedakota · Rating 3 out of 5]

spooky

[Aileen]

Tiny print, I persevered with a few pages, but it wasn't holding my attention, so I've given up.