The Bishop and The Missing L Train (A Father Blackie Ryan Mystery) - Softcover

Greeley, Andrew M.

3.71

611 ratings by Goodreads

9780812575965: The Bishop and The Missing L Train (A Father Blackie Ryan Mystery)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0812575962 ISBN 13: 9780812575965

Publisher: Forge Books, 2001

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Millions of Blackie Ryan fans will be thrilled with his return in this exciting novel of mystery and suspense. Bestselling novelist Andrew M. Greeley has captured the imagination of the mystery reading public with the improbable Bishop Blackie Ryan, who works for the aristocratic, haughty, sometimes arrogant but often slyly good humored Sean Cardinal Cronin, the Archbishop of Chicago.

The Vatican has just assigned auxiliary Bishop Gus Quill to the Archdiocese of Chicago over the violent protests of Archbishop Sean Cronin, and the not so silent protests of Bishop Blackie. Bishop Quill is under the illusion, one might say delusion, that he has been sent from Rome to replace the good Cardinal when in fact Rome was dying to get rid of him because of his incompetence. Immediately on arriving in Chicago, he manages to disappear while riding the L Train and it is up to Blackie to find him. As the Cardinal says, "The Vatican does not like to lose bishops, even auxiliaries."

And thus begins the search for the missing bishop who no one really wants to find.

Of course, none of this is too much for the intrepid little Bishop Ryan. He faces these problems squarely and, with the kind of deductive mind reminiscent of G.K Chesterton's Father Brown, manages to find solutions to some of the most baffling mysteries he has ever encountered.

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Review:

The Bishop and the Missing L Train is the ninth entry in Andrew Greeley's deservedly popular Father Blackie Ryan series. Auxiliary Bishop Augustus Quill, recently posted to the Chicago Archdiocese, could not be described as a loved man. His nickname, bestowed upon him by fellow seminarians, is "Idiot." Despite his relatively high position, one that implies significant intelligence, wit, piety, and compassion, the man seems lacking in all departments save piety. In fact, so disliked is Quill that someone is willing to stop at nothing--at least nothing short of absconding with an entire subway car, bishop included--to keep him from his appointed rounds.

Sean Cardinal Cronin, the Archbishop of Chicago, is no more a fan of Quill's than anyone. Still, the act of losing a bishop (or, more precisely, not retrieving an absconded-with bishop) would not be smiled upon by Rome. Fortunately for Cronin (and fans of humorous, clever, well-written amateur-sleuth mysteries everywhere), Bishop Blackie Ryan is on his side.

"We cannot permit this, Blackwood!"
"Indeed."
"Auxiliary bishops do not slip into the fourth dimension, not in this archdiocese."
"Patently."
"Especially they do not disappear on L trains that also disappear, right?"
"Right!"
"You yourself have said that we will be the prime suspects, have you not? Don't we have powerful reasons for wanting to get rid of him?"
"Arguably," I sighed. "However, as you well know, in the best traditions of the Sacred College we would have dispatched Idiot with poison."

As with any amateur sleuth worth the paper he's written on, Ryan has a cadre of variously talented (and oft-related) professionals--cops, psychologists, reporters, etc.--at his beck and call. And good thing, too, for there are that many and more likely suspects--about the same number, arguably, as there are reasons to devour the entire Ryan series. The Bishop and the Missing L Train is another ecclesiastical lulu. --Michael Hudson

About the Author:

Priest, sociologist, author and journalist, Father Andrew M. Greeley built an international assemblage of devout fans over a career spanning five decades. His books include the Bishop Blackie Ryan novels, including The Archbishop in Andalusia, the Nuala Anne McGrail novels, including Irish Tweed, and The Cardinal Virtues. He was the author of over 50 best-selling novels and more than 100 works of non-fiction, and his writing has been translated into 12 languages.

Father Greeley was a Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona and a Research Associate with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. In addition to scholarly studies and popular fiction, for many years he penned a weekly column appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers. He was also a frequent contributor to The New York Times, the National Catholic Reporter, America and Commonweal, and was interviewed regularly on national radio and television. He authored hundreds of articles on sociological topics, ranging from school desegregation to elder sex to politics and the environment.

Throughout his priesthood, Father Greeley unflinchingly urged his beloved Church to become more responsive to evolving concerns of Catholics everywhere. His clear writing style, consistent themes and celebrity stature made him a leading spokesperson for generations of Catholics. He chronicled his service to the Church in two autobiographies, Confessions of a Parish Priest and Furthermore!

In 1986, Father Greeley established a $1 million Catholic Inner-City School Fund, providing scholarships and financial support to schools in the Chicago Archdiocese with a minority student body of more than 50 percent. In 1984, he contributed a $1 million endowment to establish a chair in Roman Catholic Studies at the University of Chicago. He also funded an annual lecture series, "The Church in Society," at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois, from which he received his S.T.L. in 1954.

Father Greeley received many honors and awards, including honorary degrees from the National University of Ireland at Galway, the University of Arizona and Bard College. A Chicago native, he earned his M.A. in 1961 and his Ph.D. in 1962 from the University of Chicago.

Father Greeley was a penetrating student of popular culture, deeply engaged with the world around him, and a lifelong Chicago sports fan, cheering for the Bulls, Bears and the Cubs. Born in 1928, he died in May 2013 at the age of 85.

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