Happy Are the Poor in Spirit

Blackie Ryan #6

by Andrew M. Greeley

Responding to a call for an exorcist, Bishop Blackie Ryan learns about rich and famous Bart Cain's three narrow escapes from attempted murders and the eerie phone calls that Cain received from a woman who is believed to be dead. Original.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

293 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1994

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

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blackie Ryan busts another ghost, and says the word "arguably" 50,000 times. I don't think this series is for me.

[Chuckles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bishop Blackie Ryan looks into a mystery where it is believed someone has attempted to kill the patriarch of a wealthy, prominent family on three occasions. He has also received several threatening phone calls from an unknown woman. His new young wife and his youngest daughter believe a ghost is behind it. Because there is a second mystery; that of a girl who went missing fifty years before, after attending prom with the old man. But there are plenty of other suspects, including his other children and a sibling, all of whom feel they aren't getting their share.

This was a cool set up and I like how Greeley reminds up that Blackie is after all a Catholic Priest, as he ministers to characters while he is working on the mystery. So I guess it wasn't surprising that that aspect of Blackie felt more realistic than his solving the mystery, which was done well nor realistically.

I started reading Greeley's books in the early 2000s, and really the whole cachet of his novels is that he is a priest. If these were written by a layperson I wouldn't have bothered, even with the interesting characters of Bishop Blackie Ryan, the books are not well written, the mysteries are not even as well done as the Father Dowling and Father Brown novels which came before. I felt like the authenticity that Greeley brought to the characters and novels was offset by his poor skills in crafting a mystery story and devising the plot, how the detective actually solved it, and then choreographing the reveal in a satisfying way. In every one of these novels I rolled my eyes and had to suspect a lot of disbelief regarding the last quarter of the stories. It is also clear there was little to no revision done to these novels, which was common at the time when publishers just pumped out pulp so long as readers were buying it. Greeley was prolific as a writer, having hundreds of non-fiction and fiction books published in his life. You can see that in the writing, it is pure storytelling so you get the fun of that but also the clunkiness.

I enjoyed reading these books for a time because I admired Greeley (he had a weekly column in the Sun-Times), I loved the Chicago setting, liked the uniqueness of the character, and the almost wholesome feel of the the books and some of the relationships. But eventually I tired of the poorly plotted mysteries. If you live in Chicago or are interested in that setting in an older era, I might recommend these. Otherwise, there are many, many, many, much, much, better mysteries out there.

[Debby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan. What can I say? The writing style doesn't appeal to me. Father Blackie keeps saying he knew who it was but the logical approach to figuring it out is missing. The plot was all over and didn't make sense. This will be the last of the series that I read.

[Gwen Keegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good mystery

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the mystery and the theological truths here. Some of the language but me off a bit. Will be looking for more of this series.

[Lynn Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top of his form.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't like the ending. Too far fetched.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blackie Ryan certainly is a spirited sort of clergyman now isn't he? His quick one word responses and dedication to the Chicago Bulls is supposed to endear him to me, the reader, right? Well...er....hum... He's smart I guess

This is a story about a young girl who disappeared 45ish years ago and has come back in "ghost" form to call her "supposed" killer after near death "accidents" occur to him. Did you notice all the " "? Yes, that is a sign of a mystery.

A typical mystery, with twists and turns and tons of characters or suspects to get to know, this book stays true to form. Blackie Ryan certainly is a better detective than I though as even after it being explained to me how he "solved" the mysteries, I struggled to understand the reasoning of one. I spend my fair share of time in a courtroom (not as a defendent mind you) so am familiar with investigation techniques and substantial proof etc. etc. and Blackie doesn't have it. I guess that is not really the point as the mystery is "solved". I may just be too concrete and legalized minded I guess.

Good "fluff" reading but I wouldn't really recommend it as it has been done much better.

[David Freas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bishop Blackwood ‘Blackie’ Ryan deals with attempts on the life of a wealthy older man and his new young wife in this the sixth novel in the series. Are his children behind it, hoping to inherit his money before he changes his will and leaves it to his new wife? Or is it related to the disappearance of his prom date fifty years earlier?

Blackie runs around talking to people and gathering information but never putting it all together until almost the end. Then, in classic mystery style, he calls all the suspects together and exposes the guilty party.

As always, Greeley tells a complex tale lightened by Blackie’s wry attitude about himself. And love is always a central theme. There is never any gratuitous or gory violence in his books and the foul language is usually kept to a minimum. Except here. One character has a mouth like a sewer but it is in keeping with the character’s persona.

Greeley’s Blackie Ryan mysteries make a nice break from darker, more violent mysteries. Try them.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the idea of reading about a mystery-solving priest (bishop, really) set in Chicago. What fun! I might even give another book in this series a chance since this is the first one I've read and it may not be typical. What was "stunning" to me was not the plot, but the sex-obsessed, profanity-laced dialog. It was way over the top and got very old very fast. Even an endearing young high school girl in Father Blackie's parish did not hesitate to discuss her parent's sex life with him and curse like a sailor when she felt like it. Seriously? We were to understand that this is all normal in the Irish/Catholic/Chicago community and maybe it is. Neither the quality of the writing nor the mysteries themselves were good enough to divert my attention away from the repetitious barrage of attention given to the main characters' sex life.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I know Greeley is trying to make bigger points than just his ability to write mysteries. However, I think he must have gotten his hands on a book of mystery plots or specific ways of working murder mysteries because this is the third book in a row dealing with the "locked-room mystery". Always a slightly different conclusion to the mystery, but usually dealt with from the same range of possibilities. The specific Chicago settings are familiar to me so that made it interesting; however, the mis-spellings (or bad editing) of the names of specific places always grates.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Father Blackie saves the day again! A good novelist, Greeley keeps the details of the crime to himself (and Blackie) until the very end, which keeps the reader to the end of the book.

Quick, easy and a great way to learn new words (sui generis and tumescent, if you didn't already know them).

Not so much pulp fiction for me, as a guilty little pleasure. :) Can't wait to get my hands on another Blackie mystery.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick and easy little read. While the details of the family involved in the murder were a bit more adult than anticipated, for the most part I enjoyed it. The story of a wealthy man in a series of accidents thought to be caused by the ghost of his prom date 40 years earlier. The truth of the ghost was not surprising. The twist involving the Irish terrorist group seemed out of place. I'll keep Greeley on my shelf for another read.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Blackie Ryan!

[Gail]

This book had a good puzzle, although I had partially figured one of the questions about half way through. I don't the stilted Irish dialogue. It detracts from the story.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Blackie Ryan...I certainly never talk to my priest about some of the things these folks do!

[Katrina Bergherm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing thrilling; just some junk food reading to pass the time. Some one gave me this book a while ago and I felt obligated to read it before passing judgement and moving it out of my house.

[DaraB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this when I was younger so it didn't really hit home. Plus I hadn't read any of the other books in the series.

[David Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always enjoy the Father Blakie books - although would not want to read too many in a row - kind of an inbetween other sort of book. Appreciate his humor and often witty side comments.

[Annette Caissie]

Good mystery.