Andrew M. Greeley: The Mysteries of Grace

Andrew M. Greeley's Blackie Ryan stories are reviewed and explicated in this study of the author's novels featuring the delightful and leprechaun like detective. The book surveys detective fiction in which the unique, irrestible, and sometimes irrepressible Blackie Ryan, who is sometimes, but not always, a persona for the author, appears. A composite portrait of Blackie is drawn for the reader. The themesboth sociological and religiousthat occur in the fiction are highlighted and explored, as are the various literary devices that the author employs to create his stories. The book includes a "Foreword" written by Andrew M. Greeley, world renowned sociologist, priest, and Professor of Social Science at the university of Chicago.