Irish Cream

Nuala Anne McGrail #8

by Andrew M. Greeley

Countless readers have been delighted by Father Andrew M. Greeley's bestselling tales of Nuala Anne McGrail, a fey, Irish-speaking woman from Galway blessed with the gift of second sight and a knack for unraveling mysteries, and her hapless husband and accomplice, Dermot Michael Coyne. From Irish Gold through Irish Stew! this spirited couple has untangled many a knotty mystery, both at home in Chicago and back in Erin. Now they return in another captivating blend of romance, humor, and intrigue Damian "Day" O'Sullivan is a troubled young man who blames himself for a tragic vehicular homicide he may not have committed. Trouble is, Day's entire family seems to be conspiring to pin the crime on the poor lad, which only leads Nuala and Dermot to wonder who really ran over (three times!) Rodney Keefe in the parking lot of a ritzy Chicago country club. The O'Sullivans are a ruthlessly ambitious clan of South Side Irish, who consider themselves the cream of the Irish-American community. The sensitive Day has always been something of a black sheep in the family---and perhaps a scapegoat as well. But the twisted saga of the O'Sullivans isn't the only mystery to be unraveled. Having stumbled onto the diary of Father Richard Lonigan, a nineteenth-century parish priest assigned to a remote village in old Donegal, Dermot and Nuala find themselves caught up in the closely guarded secrets and scandals of that desolate time and place, where simmering resentment against the ruling English sometimes erupted into violence and murder.... Irish Cream is another rich and satisfying concoction by one of America's most popular storytellers.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Romance, Irish Literature, Historical, Ireland, Literature

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

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

[Loraine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up on this book 3 chapters in. The husband's repeated reference to his wife's anatomy and other sexual innuendos stopped me dead cold.

It may be an interesting cozy mystery but I would not recommend it as a clean read.

[Echo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irish Cream is book number eight in Andrew M. Greeley's Nuala Anne series, a series about an Irish-American author and his Irish wife who is fey and can sense all sorts of interesting things. In this book, they're trying to unravel a mystery in some diaries of a priest in Donegal, Ireland shortly after the Great Famine. They have also hired a nice young man, Damian, to take care of their dogs. He reveals that he is on probation for having run over and killed a man while he was drunk several years ago. Nuala decides he was framed, and she and Dermot go about trying to solve who really killed the man and how they can help Damian to clear his record.
This one was alright. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the others in the series, but it was well written and all. They kept talking about solving a mystery in the priest's diaries, but I didn't know what on earth they were trying to figure out, because they don't read about the murder and attempted murder (they were trying to figure out who the killer was) until near the end of the book. It also seemed like he got just a tiny bit preachy in this one, and when I was reading those parts I sort of rolled my eyes a little. Overall, though, it was ok.

[Katrina Roets · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, the characters delighted me. This is book 8 in the series, but don't let that stop you from reading it if you get a chance. It works perfectly as a standalone. I loved the addition of Day to this book! He's the perfect project for Nuala and crew!

I do, however, have to report that the switching between the Father Lonigan "mystery" and the modern happenings did throw me off. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out the connection between the two events and since the mystery isn't revealed until the very end, it just felt as if I were reading two separate books. That being said, both were enjoyable!

So, in conclusion (I'm feeling fancy today!), I really do recommend any of the Nuala books written by Andrew Greeley. They're all delightful. Well, at the least the ones I've had the joy of reading have been. I'd say they're the perfect curl up under a blanket and lose yourself in a story type of book.

[Kate K. F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book series with the mixture of romance, history and mystery. Nuala and Dermot are one of my favorite fictional couples to visit with and I know I'll end learning about some history usually of Ireland or Chicago. Greeley writes about how complicated families are in this one and how important it is to help young people find their own way.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another tale about Nuala Anne McGrail, Irish Mystic. Another look at Ireland in the 19th century as she investigates the journal of an Irish priest. Greeley holds my interest in each book of this series and I learn about Irish culture. I need to find the next installment.

[Raine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was okay. Find it hard to believe with all the touchy feely and sex that it was written by a priest.

[Christy Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Andrew Greeley for a predictable structure, characters who amuse me with their Irish Catholic and slightly fey selves as they solve light mysteries. The format of the Nual Anne McGrail series bounces between a historical and modern story plot and both were written well, if slightly filled with cliche as is often the case with Greeley. Still, one knows what to expect with this writer and series and I read them for the comfort of an enjoyable and entertaining story with a bit of theology, a bit of romance, a slight mystery and some historical information thrown in. The characters are consistent from book to book and I enjoy returning to a known scene to see what they are all up to in each novel. This one, blessedly, had a bit less of the sometimes over the top sexual descriptions that some of Greeley's books do. I found the two year old daughter in the story to be a bit tiresome and not very believable. Other than that, it was a generally enjoyable easy read for my muddled head while I've been sick.

[Cynthia Grove · Rating 4 out of 5]

As behind most of Greeleys' fiction books which I have read (nowhere near all), there is a clayton's sermon (the sermon you have when you are not having a sermon) lurking behind the narrative. As a sociologist and RC priest Greeley has his novels explore human relationships and humanity's relationship with God.
This series about Nuala Anne McGrail generally has two stories running in each book; one is set in the past which Nuala and her husband, Dermot, explore through documents found the other is modern. There is a swinging between behaviour and values that show goodness, and behaviour, speech, and beliefs that show the negative side of humanity.
If read superficially the books could perhaps be described as slight, and at times unsavoury. Let your mind explore the issues Greeley writes about and there is much to be found in this and other books in the series.
This isn't my favourite but it is certainly a good read.

[Lisa Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't have finished this book if my Son hadn't given it to me for Christmas. I can't believe this was written by a priest. The couple had sex or sex talk at least twice a chapter. Unrealistic for someone with 3 young children having enough energy to have sex that often. It was boring at times and didn't have anything that really peaked my interest. It was a waste of story other than the little mentioned actual mystery. The 2 year old talked in baby talk throughout the book and the other two children were only mentioned generally when talking about the three children.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm surprised this book was published in 2005--I thought it would have been back in the 1970s judging by how the main character talks about women. Like another Goodreads reviewer, I gave up after a few chapters because of how Dermot talks about his wife and other women in the book. It also drove me nuts how 2nd person was used in the book when written in first person from Dermot's point of view--"It is pronounced Sorra and if you don't get that first syllable right in our house, you are corrected."

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting story of Nuala McGrail and her husband Dermot Coyne. Nuala has the second sight and has helped solve several mysteries. In this story Damien O'Sullivan has been blamed for running over a man while drunk even though he probably never did it. I found this story a bit confusing as Dermot goes back and forth between present day life and the old diary of Father Lonigan a nineteenth century priest who was sent to a village in the backwaters of Donegal.

[Sally Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the exception of the Catholic element in every one of his books, Andrew Greeley is a diverse author. I really liked this mystery with the interweaving of present and past. I may read some more in this series, because I've never read one before and liked it quite a bit.

[Susie]

I bought this book for 2$ at the library....I've read Andrew Greeley's books before with 'Nuala Anne McGrail'....they're fun...

[Lauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of his better novels

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beach read, and pretty corny at that.

[Barbara Harmonay armiento · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like Andrew Greeley's descriptions of his characters, and I also enjoy learning about Irish history.

[Meg Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters were endearing! I must say however, I was a bit surprised by some of the intimate scenes. They could have been a bit more tastefully written.

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Irish Cream" by Andrew M. Greeley
(from the back cover)
Countless readers have delighted in Father Andrew Greeley's tales of Nuala Anne McGrail, a fey, Irish-speaking woman blessed with the gift of second sight, and her hapless husband and accomplice, Dermot Michael Coyne. Now they return to untangle a knotty mystery involving a ruthlessly ambitious clan of South Side Irish--the cream of Chicago's Irish-American community. Damian "Day" O'Sullivan is a troubled young man who blames himself for a tragic vehicular homicide he may not have committed. Trouble is, Days's entire family seems to be conspiring to pin the crime on the poor lad, which leads Nuala and Dermot to wonder who really ran over Rodney Keefe in the parking lot of a ritzy Chicago country club.

As Nuala and Demot get to know the O'Sullivan family they find out some of their quirks. Like Mr. O'Sullivan is a very domerinering man over his family. His wife is almost invisible, as she never says anything to dispute him. She also drinks a lot. 2 sons work in his business and 1 daughter is a lawyer, but not a very good one. The other daughter is a successful doctor. Day on the other hand hasn't done anything his father is proud of. The day Rodney Keefe was killed, Day had beat his father at a golf tournement ath their country club. Costing his father 200,000 dollars. They had a big argument. Day got drunk and was sitting by the pool. His sister Maureen was running out of the building and not one knows who had the keys to the car that killed Rodney Keefe, or they aren't saying.

[Patricia Solla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book while looking for something to read on vacation (since I finished all the book I brought with me). I found it quite interesting. The storyline jumps between the present (in Chicago) and the past (in Ireland) and left me a bit confused as to why the past was being brought up as it didn't seem to connect to what was happening in the present. At the end there's a mention of a sort of connection but it wasn't enough to interest me. But what was happening in the present was so interesting that I want to read the next book (not sure I want to go back to the beginning of the series).

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've truly liked the books of this series. There are some mystical elements that are a bit strange, but the characters are interesting and have mostly good morals. All in all, these are good mysteries. They are written well also although I was surprised at the level of eroticism considering the series is by a priest.
In each book,the couple solves at least one older often ancient mystery and a current-time mystery that are slightly connected as well as work through a crisis in their relationship or,in the later novels,family life.

[Holyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another Nuala Anne novel - part mystery and part romance. I enjoyed this book very much but it was not quite as magnetic as others in the series have been (hence the lower rating).

In Irish Cream Nuala and her hubby are working to protect a friend of theirs from the trappings of his looney family - all while reading the diary of an Irish priest......is there a connection between the two? And can one mystery help solve the other? You will have to read to find out.....

[Kristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew M. Greeley and his "Irish" series are always good reads. Fast and fluff. Perfect for a lazy day!

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack O'Sullivan thought his kids were the Cream of the Crop - Irish Cream, except for the youngest Damian who was the scapegoat.

[Linda Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually have finished this book! Once again. I love Andrew Greeley!

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads like it was written by an Irish-American Roman Catholic priest. And it was. The plot was fun, but really, I could have done without the proselytizing.

[Gheeta · Rating 2 out of 5]

simply not my cup of tea. I sense I came into this series too late to catch the nuances and even plowing through the story doesn't make me want to go back to the beginning or to read further.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

mediocre. Plot not worth going into

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like almost all of Andrew Greeley's books -- and have read almost all of them.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, great Irish banter, a touch of history of Old Ireland. Easy read. Great for the beach!