The Bishop at the Lake (Blackie Ryan Series) Book

Matters of succession lead to attempted murder in the latest of Greeley s popular mysteries.

Archbishop Malachi Nolan has designs on the Diocese of Chicago despite the fact the Most Reverend Blackwood Ryan, himself recently appointed an archbishop, is currently in line for the post. Assigned to keep watch on his rival, Blackie travels to the Nolan family estate in Grand Banks, where he soon finds himself immersed in an entirely different dynastic struggle.

Spike Nolan, founder of Aviation Electronics, isn t even dead yet, but his children, grandchildren, and their respective spouses are already feuding over who will inherit control of the multimillion-dollar company. The only family member who doesn t have a stake in the quarrel is the clerical Malachi . . . so why is he the one targeted by an unknown killer?

To get to the bottom of the mystery, Blackie will have to sort through the tangled family dynamics of this highly dysfunctional clan, as well as figure how out his fellow archbishop was nearly stung to death by hornets inside a locked room!

Kirkus Reviews

Bishop Blackie confronts another locked-room mystery, this one with hornets. Chicago's coolest cleric is dispatched to posh Grand Beach, enclave of the rich and contentious Nolan clan, under orders to sniff around. The recent, possibly sneaky behavior of Archbishop Malachi Nolan, son of the progenitor, has piqued the interest of Sean Cardinal Cronin, Blackie's boss. Ever alert to the surge of others' ambition, the Cardinal is concerned about the precise shape of Malachi's. Opportunities for sniffing, however, vanish when Malachi is ferociously attacked. His whole family knows Malachi's unfortunate history with hornets, whose bites have led to severe allergic reactions. Someone has managed to introduce and unleash a swarm of them into the locked room in question, and the result is nearly lethal. Is it a case of attempted murder? Is the Pope Catholic? "Well, you better solve that locked-room mystery, or your perfect record will be ruined," the Cardinal enjoins Blackie, who solves it, of course-as will many, many readers, since it's not all that mysterious. Or interesting. As for the internecine war among the Nolans, here too the author has done better. As usual, Father Greeley serves up heaping helpings of the Irish goo (Irish Linen, 2007, etc.) that his audience has always found yummy.