Rite of Spring

From Andrew M. Greeley, author of eight consecutive national bestsellers with more than 11 million copies in print, comes a riveting novel of romance and suspense in which a Chicago lawyer follows a deadly trail to find the mysterious woman he loves. "Greeley's vivid imagination has spun a fine, gripping tale."--United Press International. HC: Warner.

That extended Irish family, the Ryans, are back in Greeley's latest novel, and once again the world is divided into two kinds of womenthe embittered ones and the warm, motherly sortand two kinds of familiesthose who pull together against all odds, and those who exist in an emotional war zone. Behind mild Brendan Ryan is an unhappy ex-wife, an alienated and volatile teenage daughter, Jean, and a set of old friends who have truly seen better days. In a plot that aims to rework the search for the Holy Grail, Brendan is rejuvenated by love for a strapping Irishwoman, whose mysterious past comes to light when she disappears completely, stranding him in the midst of a police investigation into the bombing death of his ex-wife. He and his newly reconciled daughter follow Ciara's faint trail to an IRA splinter group that kidnaps Jean, turning Brendan into a gunslinging hero hellbent on rescuing his loved ones. Greeley marshalls plot lines with little reference to character development or plausibility, and even his staunchest fans are likely to be dismayed by stilted dialogue and repetitious sexual romps that are more embarrassing than erotic.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Greeley's latest novel is a wonderfully written, complex modern quest story. It begins in Chicago with Walter Mittyish tax lawyer Brendan Ryan's "rite of spring" affair with the beautiful and elusive Irish lass, Ciara Kelly. As Ryan is a psychic with unusual gifts, when Ciara disappears he, and we, at first are not sure whether she ever existed at all. The first half of the story is a romantic, lusty, mysterious, love story. The second half, a thriller that follows Ryan's search for Ciara in Ireland, features appealing settings and a cogent summary of the problems in Northern Ireland. A literate, exciting tale with depth. Jean B. Palmer, Andover, Mass.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.