Irish Stew!

Andrew Greeley begins this novel with a celebration of love. We are introduced to Socra Marie, a less than one pound premature baby with a determination to live. Against medical advice the parents, Naula Anne McGrail and Dermot Coyne, decide to keep the child alive and she becomes the center of a family love fest. Greeley provides a testament to the wonders of modern medical science where such a child only twenty years ago would have been called a miscarriage and the parents left to grieve the loss of a child. Irish Stew is one of the Naula Anne McGrail series, which chronicles the lives and adventures of Naula and her husband Dermot. Every story contains mysteries which Naula investigates, usually by using her psychic senses. Each story absorbs the reader in the growing Coyne family and their increasing devotion to each other. Socra Marie is their third child. They also have two very accomplished Irish wolfhounds. Irish Stew highlights the historical Haymarket riot of 1886. The contemporary characters, using a diary that provides flashbacks, investigate the riot. Although the story is fictionalized, the major players and incidents of the Haymarket events are real. Greeley's presentation is entertaining and intriguing. The characters he describes are realistic and captivating. This is a fun way to review history. The Haymarket scenes share another love story that began in Irish Love. Irish Love (Nuala Anne McGrail Novels) Ned Fitzpatrick, while in Ireland , began a loving relationship with Nora, a very poor widow. Although he knew that she did not love him, he married her and brought her to America to protect her and her baby. In Irish Stew their relationship continues and, slowly, she begins to love him. Ned and Nora are delightful people. I have read all of the previous novels in this series, and liked them all. This one communicates a selfless love. I recommend Irish Stew, it is a refreshing tale of benevolent love and social justice. It is a great family love story and an exciting historical mystery.

I started in the middle of the series last summer-- enjoyed "Irish Mist," so much I scoured my hometown and the internet until I found and have now read the whole Nualla series (in order). "Irish Stew" is not the best of the series, but if you were hooked from the previous books, you'll enjoy this one too. The only thing is that this one lives a little too much in the past and you don't get a lot of Nualla and Dermot, but the way he leaves you hanging as you go from the present story of Dermot and Nualla to Ned from long ago Chicago (same Ned as Irish Eyes) you find yourself hooked. I just hope the good father has one more Nualla story up his sleeve to quench my addiction.

If you are going to read any of the "Nuala and Dermot" books, start with the first one and do them in order. If you hate the first, it's OK to quit. I like them all, but then I like nearly 90 percent of Fr. Greeley's output, and over the decades I've probably read about 90 percent of his total. I am only an eighth Irish, have only been to the airport in Chicago, and no longer consider myself Catholic, but I still am hooked. This group of novels are just plain fun. There are two mysteries, one from the past, one in the present, to solve, plus a progressive love story and cameo appearances by many of Greeley's stock characters in the Ryan-Kane-Murphy-Casey extended families. To enjoy these books, one has to suspend a lot of disbelief...Nuala Anne McGrail Coyne, our sexy, feisty, low self-esteem Irish peasant heroine, achieves a world class singing career rather too easily, for instance, and her husband, Dermot, may be too rich too easily, and too multi-talented to be credible. However, both are so darn likeable you won't give a flip about the unreality. If you like any of Greeley, I cannot imagine not liking this series. Each book has sex, humor, suspense, a bit of danger, a lot of history, an explication of how modern-day yuppies can still be practicing and sincere Catholics. the "Irish" series may not earn respect from the academic literati, but the plots are not dull, and the feeling when you are done is that all can be (mostly) right with the world if you do your part to play by the rules. For a celibate priest, Andy Greeley sure knows how to write about the healthy parts of lust and love and desire and the mysterious compulsion that brings men and women together despite their being different creatures altogether.

In "Irish Stew," Father Andrew Greeley has again interwoven a compelling and interesting historical tale with the equally interesting modern day Coynes. This time the historical sleuthing involves Chicago's Haymarket Riot and the subsequent trial - which to this reader has many correlations to the later Police Riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the subsequent trial of the "Chicago 7." I suppose one could start with this novel - but why miss all the fun? Start with Irish Gold and follow the family's growth and adventures. Friends from other Greeley series also make cameo appearances, including "the little bishop" (Blackwood "Blackie" Ryan.) As herself would say: "`Tis a brilliant series altogether!" I do, though, have one wee complaint - the fonts on this edition - while very pretty - are hard to read, especially when switching to almost illegible italics to tell Ned's Haymarket tale. Go on with ya, Forge/ Tom Doherty Associates printers! Father Greeley and his readers deserve better!

Dermot Michael Coyne accompanies his wife Nuala Anne McGrail as she performs at the Celtic international music festival in Milan. While in Italy, Dermot and Nuala Anne meet fellow Chicago resident Seamus Costelloe and his family. After unceremoniously dumping Seamus into the pool for insulting his wife, Dermot and Nuala Anne agree to joining the Costelloe brood for dinner. Nuala Anne noticed the mark of death on Seamus, a blowhard with many enemies not all in organized crime. Meanwhile the couples' daughter hears the explosion associated with the Windy City's Haymarket Riot. The only problem is that the incident occurred over a century ago. To provide solace to his daughter who believes that someone is crying for fairness through her, Dermot tries to uncover the truth over who really started the riot. Meanwhile Nuala Anne, perhaps being the only person to see any good in Seamus, tries to keep him alive as she believes that is why her Irish fey powers gave her the sign. The latest Nuala Anne tale is a fun to read story because the two lead characters are a delight to watch in action even if she is a too perfect Irish goddess. The dual story lines require leaps of faith as the audience will struggle with why Nuala Anne feels obligated to protect Seamus and why Dermot believes he must solve the Haymarket Riot mystery. Still fans of Andrew M. Greeley's "Irish" series and those paranormal cozy readers who can forgive the chasm between the first and second dominos of the plot will dine on IRISH STEW.Harriet Klausner