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| Irish Linen: A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel (Nuala Anne McGrail Novels) | 
| Author: Andrew M. Greeley
Publisher: Forge Books
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $0.82
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Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 195447
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0765355000
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780765355003
ASIN: 0765355000
Publication Date: February 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
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Fine Linen June 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This installment of the adventures of Nuala Anne McGrail is particularly interesting to me. Usually Nuala Anne novels present both a current mystery and a historical one. In Irish Linen, the historical situation involves Germany in 1930-1945. I was stationed in Germany for 3 years so, for me that was like reliving parts of my experience. The current situation, the search for the runaway son of a prominent family, is set in Chicago where I was stationed three times. I like Chicago.
There are three elements that I will discuss: The development of the Coyne family, the setting and characters for the historical tale, and a few short references to the two puzzles.
Irish Linen immerses me again in the delightful Coyne family. Nuala Anne has gained some confidence in her abilities as a detective, an entertainer, and a wife and mother. Dermot is often as clueless with Nuala as many males are with their sweetheart and spouses. The children are rapidly maturing, with Nelliecoyne becoming mature well beyond her eight years, while "the Mick" is still a quiet boy. Socra Marie has blossomed into a very effective "terrorist" with the frequent energy of several people. The new edition, Patjo (Patrick Joseph in English) is a pleasant and cute child.
The historical tale tells the story of Timothy Patrick Ridgewood, his friends Claus Graf von Stauffenberg, and Annalise von Sternberg. Timothy, while studying in Germany, meets Claus and they become friends. Claus introduces Timothy to Annalise, an orphaned girl about 16, with the hope that he will fall in love with her and rescue her from life in Hitler's Reich.
Later Tim returns to Germany as the Irish Ambassador. The events of Hitler's arming of Germany and his strategy for war are told to Timothy by Claus and by Admiral Canaris, a German noble stationed in German Intelligence. Neither the Admiral or Claus believe in Hitler and his policies. The stress among the characters in Hitler's Germany make for an exciting story. Will anyone stand up to Hitler? Will those who are against the Nazi authorities survive? Will Timothy develop a meaningful relationship with Annalise?
The current mystery is an intriguing story of family dynamics. Is the son really missing or simply rebelling from his parents? Nuala Anne and Dermot interview witnesses who contradict each other and sometimes even contradict themselves. The resolution of the puzzle is rather satisfying to Andrew Greeley fans.
Irish Linen is a fine story in an exciting setting. I recommend it, especially for those who enjoy experiencing historical Germany.
 Another Great Andrew Greeley book April 20, 2008
Andrew Greeley is one of my favorite authors. His quirky characters live for me and Nuala Anne McGrail and her Dermitt and their children are some of my favorites. I have a real problem putting them down. I find the conbination of historical mysteries woven around a "contemporary" one fascinating. Please Father Greeley may I have some more.
'Tis a Fine Story Altogether January 13, 2008
Irish Linen is another charming interlude with the feisty Nuala Anne McGrail and her adoring husband Dermot Coyne. Dermot is researching the history of the Irish ambassador in Germany during World War II, and Nuala is trying to determine the whereabouts of a fellow Irishman from Chicago, Desmond Doolin, who has gone missing somewhere in Iraq and is presumed dead. The two parallel stories are unrelated other than the Irish-ness of the main characters, however both stories are interesting in their own right. I particularly enjoyed the historical background of the Irish ambassador in Germany. However, the fact that these stories are told in alternating chapters and are essentially unrelated seems to indicate that the contemporary story (the search for Desmond) is not meaty enough to sustain a complete novel in itself.
As in all Greeley novels in this series, the characters are charming and likeable, the language is peppered with Irish phrases, and there is an undercurrent of theology adapted to modern times.
Father Greeley is inarguably one of the most prolific writers of our time. Wikipedia lists 80 non-fiction and 60 non-fiction works. "Irish Linen" is the 10th in the Nuala Ann McGrail "Irish" series. The O'Malley clan is also featured in 6 other novels. I eagerly await each new publication, as it takes the writer into a world surrounded by the charm, luck, culture and language of the Irish, filled with intrigue and insights into modern issues and problems.
Another pleasing entry, same old formula... August 23, 2007
Fans now have their tenth novel following the lives of Dermot and Nuala, rich and talented Chicago Irish Catholics who solve mysteries in both the present and the past in each outing. If there is anything surprising here, it is the historical section, which shows us Claus von Stauffenberg, the man who tried to blow up Hitler and end World War II a year earlier than it actually took. This is timely, because Tom Cruise is currently in Germany making a film about Stauffenberg's tragedy. And the WWII love affair this time around is actually more interesting than what Nuala and Dermot are doing in the present. This series requires a suspension of belief, as all novels do, and an interest in Catholicism or Chicago or the Irish (past and present). As a person currently going through an unwanted divorce, I got emotional in a couple of places near the end, because the kind of love and marriage and family created by Dermot and Nuala is the idealized dream that many of us have not been able to sustain. In some ways, I am a sucker for sappy love stories, and I suppose that isn't macho, but this couple makes me envy them and covet their romantic skills.
Typical good read August 13, 2007
This was a very enjoyable read although the story in the past, Irish Ambassador to Nazi Germany, had very little to do with the current problem of a lost person, I don't want to give too much away. Greeley is slowly joining his two main series, Nuala Anne and Blackie Ryan; this was very nicely handled and there was at least a hint in my mind of a future story back in Ireland.
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