The bestselling priest & novelist Andrew M. Greeley continues the tales of the intrepid Bishop Blackie Ryan with this absorbing & suspenseful mystery, set in France, of a missing beloved television priest. Not just an ordinary priest but a priest/television superstar, idolized by the people of France, loved by everyone except, of course the French hierarchy, the church, state and the Paris television community. The Archbishop of Paris, familiar with Bishop Blackie Ryan's impressive sleuthing skills, asks Blackie's boss, the Archbishop of Chicago Sean Cardinal Cronin, for help in finding this missing priest. As usual, Cardinal Cronin resolves the matter with a brusque "See to it, Blackie." In Paris, Blackie meets a young and beautiful woman begging for money at the door of the church of St-Germain-des-Prés. When he hires her as a translator, she turns out to be an excellent Dr. Watson and a brilliant musician as well. She is at his side as Blackie learns that neither the Church nor the police are eager to have the saintly priest returned, and once the public discovers the disappearance of their beloved priest, the miracles start-and nothing scares the Church more than miracles. Undaunted, Blackie and his beautiful sidekick defy uncooperative Paris police, an unbending church, and reluctant witnesses to find the bizarre solution to one of the most fascinating puzzles he has ever encountered. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Falling into Grace is a study of Andrew Greeley's fiction and the message behind his words, revealing many timeless political and theological ideas. Professor R.W. Carstens shares the findings of his deep exploration into Greeley's novels as evidence of a set of ancient values and key political ideas that are needed today more than ever. As a great storyteller, Greeley's message is significant-that grace sustains us, unites us, comforts us, and sometimes overwhelms us, but it is also evidence of our freedom. Carstens' careful examination into the deeper meaning behind the stories demonstrates that Greeley's characters and the world in which they live portray life as acts of faith, hope, and love, and prove that God is alive and well in the hearts of many in the world. As Carstens discusses Greeley's imagination and his political and theological concepts, he develops his own theories about how these ideas can be applied in today's world by creating freedom, limiting authority, and building communities where people are united by common goals. In the end, Carstens' study demonstrates that Greeley's fiction shows us a way to go home -- -to the images that appeal to the best in us, and therefore tell us what might be.

Andrew M. Greeley's Blackie Ryan stories are reviewed and explicated in this study of the author's novels featuring the delightful and leprechaun like detective. The book surveys detective fiction in which the unique, irrestible, and sometimes irrepressible Blackie Ryan, who is sometimes, but not always, a persona for the author, appears. A composite portrait of Blackie is drawn for the reader. The themes—both sociological and religious—that occur in the fiction are highlighted and explored, as are the various literary devices that the author employs to create his stories. The book includes a "Foreword" written by Andrew M. Greeley, world renowned sociologist, priest, and Professor of Social Science at the university of Chicago.

The irrepressible Bishop Blackwood Ryan returns as his Cardinal dispatches Blackie to The University on the South Side of Chicago to investigate a baffling locked-room mystery. Someone has assassinated a Russian Orthodox monk in his office at the Divinity School-despite the fact that the door of his office was bolted shut from the inside and no killer was found within. Who shot Brother Semyon Ivanivich Popov? There were only four professors in the building on the night of the shooting: a feminist theologian, a distinguished scripture scholar, an expert on the Talmud, and a young tenure-seeking professor whom Blackie compares to a silverback gorilla. It turns out that the mystery of the locked room is simple compared to the international intrigue that swiftly develops around the case. Intelligence agents from diverse nations seem to be involved, as well as both the Sicilian and Russian mobs. Blackie soon finds himself the target of threats and actual bullets as he seeks to unravel the deepening mystery surrounding the murdered monk-whose murky secrets may stretch all the way to the Vatican itself! Murder is more than academic in yet another delightful whodunit by one of America's most popular storytellers. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A biographical and bibliographical guide to current writers in all fields including poetry, fiction and nonfiction, journalism, drama, television and movies. Information is provided by the authors themselves or drawn from published interviews, feature stories, book reviews and other materials provided by the authors/publishers.