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Nuala Anne McGrail #10
Irish Linen
The perils of wartime add special urgency to latest mysteries being investigated by Nuala Anne McGrail and her adoring husband, Dermot Coyne. More than a little fey, Nuala has a well-deserved reputation for getting to the bottom of even the most tangled intrigues, even when they may be taking place on the other side of the world.
Desmond Doolin, an idealistic young man from their West Side Chicago neighborhood, has gone missing in Iraq. Having flown off to the Middle East in the name of peace, he hasn't been heard of since. The U.S. government denies any knowledge of his whereabouts, and his grieving family has all but written him off as dead, but Nuala is convinced that there's more to the story . . . and herself won't stop asking questions until she finds out what has really become of Desmond, one way or another.
Meanwhile, a parallel investigation uncovers the story of another young man abroad in dangerous times. Poking around in the past, Dermot and Nuala happen upon the memoirs of Timothy Patrick Clarke, the Irish ambassador to Nazi Germany, who risked his life for the sake of a beautiful German widow . . . and a secret plot to kill Adolf Hitler.
Working together as always, Nuala and her husband find themselves engrossed in the secrets of the past, the present, and two very different wars.
Irish Linen is another captivating installment in a series that Publishers Weekly calls "immensely entertaining."
Desmond Doolin, an idealistic young man from their West Side Chicago neighborhood, has gone missing in Iraq. Having flown off to the Middle East in the name of peace, he hasn't been heard of since. The U.S. government denies any knowledge of his whereabouts, and his grieving family has all but written him off as dead, but Nuala is convinced that there's more to the story . . . and herself won't stop asking questions until she finds out what has really become of Desmond, one way or another.
Meanwhile, a parallel investigation uncovers the story of another young man abroad in dangerous times. Poking around in the past, Dermot and Nuala happen upon the memoirs of Timothy Patrick Clarke, the Irish ambassador to Nazi Germany, who risked his life for the sake of a beautiful German widow . . . and a secret plot to kill Adolf Hitler.
Working together as always, Nuala and her husband find themselves engrossed in the secrets of the past, the present, and two very different wars.
Irish Linen is another captivating installment in a series that Publishers Weekly calls "immensely entertaining."
351 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
21 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
Andrew M. Greeley
376 books318 followersAndrew 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...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/andrew...
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 16, 2013
Generally I read Greeley's Blackie Ryan mysteries and while this is in a similar vein, it uses another of his ongoing characters, Nuala Anne McGrail, as the central character. As with many of Greeley's books, I found the characters fun if not terribly complex. What was more complex in this light mystery was the historical storyline of a diplomat from Ireland during WWII in Germany who falls in love while a plot is underway to kill Hitler. The real history of one Claus Graf von Stauffenberg, part of a secret group intent on killing/overthrowing Hitler as a revolution was one I was both unfamiliar with and found interesting told as it was through the everyday experiences of our diplomat character. Chapters alternated between this history and a modern light mystery, but the historical chapters were a far better read and flowed easier. The modern plot lacked enough depth for my taste. Still, as with all Greeley books, his liberal Catholic theology is nicely interwoven and for one such as myself who was raised in that faith tradition, I always end up wondering how we could have been part of the same faith tradition and wishing I'd had Greeley instead of the teachers of faith that accompanied my own formation as a youth. This is not my favorite Greeley book, but was a pleasant read in his prolific bibiliography.
March 25, 2020
The brilliance of these characters; the intricacy of the plot with its interwoven history that keeps one foot firmly in the present and one firmly in the past; the charm of Greeley's ability to write dialogue and accent so convincingly that you are reading it in the Irish accent... all of it combines to make any book in the Nuala Anne McGrail series a joy. And to top it off, Greeley keeps faith, family and a committed marriage ever in the forefront of the stories. You might start anywhere in the series, but one 'hit' and you'll be looking for the rest of them. Hooray for Nuala Anne, and her adoring 'spear-carrier' Dermot!
May 30, 2017
I love Andrew Greeley. I have yet to find one of his books to be not enjoyable. I have to admit, I like his Bishop Blackie ones best, but they are all good. I liked the way this one had the WWII story in there, though I'm still 100 o/o clear on the connection of the two stories. Still enjoyable.
May 28, 2018
I really liked the German story line.
July 11, 2008
Irish Linen is not a bad book; it just lacks freshness, excitement. I love this series, but I would put this book as my least favorite. I had a very hard time reading Irish Linen, in fact I set it down twice in order to read, finish and review two other books; I have never done that before. My main problem with this book was while reading it I had a vague sense of Déjà vu.
Nuala and Dermot get 'hired' by some parents to find their missing adult son, Des, who has flown to Iraq. While investigating his whereabouts they discover a memoir in the church basement. The memoir is written by a man named Tim Ridgeland, an Irish ambassador to Germany during WWII. Normally, the historical aspects of Mr. Greeley's stories are linked to the present day stories. I really felt the link between these two stories was weak at best. Des was supposed to be in Iraq for Peace, but I saw it as more of a culture visit.
Dermot acts like an adolescent in his thoughts and actions regarding a certain part of his wife's anatomy. He reminds me of a teenage boy with his first look at the female body. Their love scenes always seem a bit silly and childish to me. Then we have Tim and his Annalise professing love almost immediately after meeting, it was a bit ridiculous.
The ending of the book seemed a bit rushed, in both the historical and present stories. Locating and rescuing Des from Iraq was rather far fetched and anticlimactic; in fact Mr. Greeley himself starts the last chapter by saying just that.
I did enjoy the relationship between the fictional ambassador and his friend, the real life Claus Graf Von Strauffenburg. I thought Mr. Greeley did an excellent job of blending historical fact with fiction.
After all the other books in this series, I was anxious and a little impatient to read the next one. After reading this book I am rather contentedly and patiently awaiting the next one.
Nuala and Dermot get 'hired' by some parents to find their missing adult son, Des, who has flown to Iraq. While investigating his whereabouts they discover a memoir in the church basement. The memoir is written by a man named Tim Ridgeland, an Irish ambassador to Germany during WWII. Normally, the historical aspects of Mr. Greeley's stories are linked to the present day stories. I really felt the link between these two stories was weak at best. Des was supposed to be in Iraq for Peace, but I saw it as more of a culture visit.
Dermot acts like an adolescent in his thoughts and actions regarding a certain part of his wife's anatomy. He reminds me of a teenage boy with his first look at the female body. Their love scenes always seem a bit silly and childish to me. Then we have Tim and his Annalise professing love almost immediately after meeting, it was a bit ridiculous.
The ending of the book seemed a bit rushed, in both the historical and present stories. Locating and rescuing Des from Iraq was rather far fetched and anticlimactic; in fact Mr. Greeley himself starts the last chapter by saying just that.
I did enjoy the relationship between the fictional ambassador and his friend, the real life Claus Graf Von Strauffenburg. I thought Mr. Greeley did an excellent job of blending historical fact with fiction.
After all the other books in this series, I was anxious and a little impatient to read the next one. After reading this book I am rather contentedly and patiently awaiting the next one.
April 30, 2009
Absolutely among the better of Greeley's Irish novels. With the added bonus that I was so bound up in the B-plot that Nuala's perfect life annoyed me much less than it usually does. (Rich, talented, famous, married to the sweetest guy on earth with four adorable children, and she's younger than me.)
I loved the Stauffenberg plot: wish that Bonhoeffer had been given his due, instead of just two quick references, but then, he's a Protestant... Adored the character of Timmy Pat. All Greeley's young men are fairly alike, but as I like them, that's not a problem.
As something of an aside, I bet Fr Greeley wishes that he hadn't already written The Bishop in the West Wing, now that he has a Chicagoan as a President in real life!
Greeley is, as always, a wonderful read.
I loved the Stauffenberg plot: wish that Bonhoeffer had been given his due, instead of just two quick references, but then, he's a Protestant... Adored the character of Timmy Pat. All Greeley's young men are fairly alike, but as I like them, that's not a problem.
As something of an aside, I bet Fr Greeley wishes that he hadn't already written The Bishop in the West Wing, now that he has a Chicagoan as a President in real life!
Greeley is, as always, a wonderful read.
June 22, 2010
The tenth in the Nuala Anne McGrail mystery series, Nuala and her spear-carrying husband, Dermott Michael Coyne, must figure out what has happened to Desmond Doolin. Especially since his family is certain that he is dead and have no desire to find out what has happened to their son.
At the same time, they have found the memoirs of Timothy Patrick Clarke, an Irish Ambassador to Nazi Germany, who has befriended Claus Stauffenberg and become privy to an attempt on the life of Hitler.
Once again, I enjoyed this mystery and the interactions between Nuala and Dermott are quite entertaining. You always know they are going to solve the mystery, but the path to solving the mystery is so enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the storyline that takes place in Nazi Germany.
At the same time, they have found the memoirs of Timothy Patrick Clarke, an Irish Ambassador to Nazi Germany, who has befriended Claus Stauffenberg and become privy to an attempt on the life of Hitler.
Once again, I enjoyed this mystery and the interactions between Nuala and Dermott are quite entertaining. You always know they are going to solve the mystery, but the path to solving the mystery is so enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the storyline that takes place in Nazi Germany.
May 4, 2009
For the most part, this classifies as light reading. I did get frustrated by the number of narrarators. In the midst of telling a story from the viewpoint of the husband of the heroine of the story, interspersed with a story from a journal written by a second man, the author put in a chapter in the voice of the heroine. I also felt that too many of the main male characters were too similar to each other. The historical story woven into the novel was interesting, and I enjoyed that, but once again had some difficulty believing the characterization.
September 2, 2019
My only problem with finishing this book is that there are only (to my knowledge) two more Nuala MacGrail books left for me to read!
I have been a fan of Fr. Greeley's since the first Blackie Ryan mystery, and while I still have a few books from his other series to read, he was taken from us far too damned soon for my tastes. I have never finished a book of his without learning something, whether it be about Catholicism, the Irish, history, or just how to tell a good story. He definitely leaves behind a much bigger gap in the universe than his physical being occupied.
I have been a fan of Fr. Greeley's since the first Blackie Ryan mystery, and while I still have a few books from his other series to read, he was taken from us far too damned soon for my tastes. I have never finished a book of his without learning something, whether it be about Catholicism, the Irish, history, or just how to tell a good story. He definitely leaves behind a much bigger gap in the universe than his physical being occupied.
December 21, 2012
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.
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.
November 21, 2015
Another charming and interesting Nuala book, this one bringing together the Valkyrie plot to overthrow and kill Hitler and the violence in Iraq. One aspect I found uncomfortable in this one was all the mentions of rape in the World War II sections. I know they reflected the real fears of the era but at times they pulled me out of the story. A good book from a series I enjoy.
April 13, 2009
Loved this book - includes story of a couple that meets in Germany after WWI and goes through WWII and ties it in a couple that is figuring out a mystery in modern day Chicago.
No need to see the Valkyrie if you read this story.
No need to see the Valkyrie if you read this story.
April 11, 2011
I am a huge fan of Andrew Greely, but this was not my favorite book in the Nuala Anne series. I found it a bit boring at times. It bobbled back and forth between WWII and present day as they tried yet again to solve a mystery. It just didn't hold my attention.
February 10, 2016
This was better than the last book in the series. Greeley always has parallel stories, one in modern time and one in history. I almost always like the modern story, can't say the same about the historical one. However, this time both were good. Again, these are good beach/plane reads.
June 9, 2008
A nice comfortable, enjoyable read.
March 8, 2009
This is the most contemporary of Greeley's books I have read. It was one of the best. I hope he recovers from his injuries!
July 6, 2010
i finally finished!
September 20, 2009
I learned of the opposition to Hitler in Germany existed in the mid 1930's and there was an active plot to stop him.
June 30, 2010
Lad from Chicago went to Iraq to study languages and family thought he was dead. Nuala didn't think so.
January 10, 2011
superb!
Read
April 7, 2011EXCELLENT
December 30, 2012
I love the history Greeley adds to the story. Made it very interesting.
April 21, 2017
I've always enjoyed Andrew Greeley books. This one did not disappoint me.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews