The Bishop in the West Wing FROM THE PUBLISHER
Blackie Ryan gets a call from his friend, the newly-elected Democratic president Jack Patrick McGurn--whom the media has seen fit to call "Machine Gun McGurn"--but of course the call is interrupted by Blackie's boss, the autocratic Cardinal Cronin. Cronin, without consulting Blackie, sends him off to the White House to solve a poltergeist problem. Ghosts in the White House? Of course.
Blackie encounters a great deal more than ghosts; an evil spirit out to get the President, a right wing conspiracy, and four beautiful women, any one of whom could be contributing to the mischief in the West Wing.
How Blackie solves the problem of the ghosts and the conspiracy, and perhaps even finds a beautiful wife for the lonely, recently widowed President makes The Bishop in the West Wing the best Blackie Ryan novel yet.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Fun is the word for bestseller Greeley's latest, lively Bishop Blackie (aka Blackwell) Ryan thriller. It's not a whodunit, but a hoodoo-done-it, the mystery being Who's the hoodoo? A poltergeist is stalking the corridors of the White House, threatening to embarrass the president, who's already confronting a fiercely divided Congress, accusations of sexual harassment and the threat of civil war in China. The press has dubbed President John Patrick McGurn "Machine Gun McGurn" and accused him of being a tool of the Chicago Irish Mafia. The far right view him as no less than Satan himself, being an Irishman, a Catholic and a liberal Democrat. There are rumors (which are true) of conspiracies to discredit McGurn and plots (also true) to take his life. Blackie receives an invitation to the White House from the president, who's an old friend. His cardinal orders him to go: "I baptized him, I officiated at his marriage, and I baptized his kids. I said his wife's funeral mass. Now that he is also president... it is unfitting, offensive, and intolerable that he be haunted by ungodly spirits." Known for his psychic gifts, Blackie has nine possible candidates for the intrusive spirit, including the president's daughters. Most likely the poltergeist is a young, troubled woman in need of love. Greeley dedicates the book to Bill Clinton, an obvious model for McGurn. Republicans may grumble, but plenty of others will appreciate the well-drawn characters, swift action and logical resolution. (July 25) FYI: West Wing and its star, Martin Sheen, receive mention, along with a not unsubtle hint that Sheen would make a good Blackie Ryan. Greeley is also the author of Irish Stew! (Forecasts, Feb. 18) and other novels in the Nuala Anne McGrail series. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Father Greeley's Chicago sleuth, Bishop Blackwood "Blackie" Ryan, is off to the White House in his latest adventure. Mysterious things begin happening in the White House as soon as Blackie's old friend Jack Patrick McGurn moves in as the new president. Dishes fly through the air, a portrait of George Washington keeps getting knocked to the floor, and contents of drawers are tossed about in disarray. This is the work of a poltergeist, Blackie decides, but while he tries to rid the house of the things that go bump in the night, the president is faced with a new and more dangerous situation: someone is out to kill him. Read by Paul Michael, this is one of Greeley's weakest mysteries-the poltergeist thing is just plain silly and should have been left at Hogwarts-but by now Greeley's fans will snap up anything he writes, and this book is a harmless amusement. Recommended for most public libraries.-Joseph L. Carlson, Lompoc P.L., CA Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
AudioFile
THE BISHOP IN THE WEST WING invites the reader to wade gamely into the vengeful realm of a poltergeist operative attempting to cause political harm and havoc to a widowed president, his beloved family, and a Democratic administration. Paul Michael's voice for all seasons is completely satisfying as the imperturbable Bishop Blackie, McGurn's teenaged daughters, a commanding attorney general, and an amiable leader of the free world. M.D.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Among the several matters distracting President Jack Patrick McGurn (POTUS, for those in the know), the peskiest is the attack of the poltergeist. Yes, an authentic poltergeist, everyone agrees, is flinging, spilling, and hiding things in the West Wing, so Irish Catholic President McGurn naturally turns to his old Chicago friend Bishop Blackwood Ryan, the surpliced sleuth last spotted in Paris (The Bishop and the Beggar Girl of St. Germaine, 2001, etc.). Blackie is known to have a way with these ornery mischief-makers: When he speaks, poltergeists listen. But he's well-advised not to leave his deerstalker's cap at home, since there's a more conventional and perilous mystery requiring his attention as well. Some person or persons unknown want to do away with the newly elected POTUS, and the list of suspected conspirators is long. One prominent candidate is a fulminating fundamentalist, Congressman Jeremiah Dillingham, to whom McGurn is "the de-generate in the White House." Even more dangerous is the Vice-POTUS, Eugenie Cruz-ambitious, ruthless, Lucrezia Borgia in a power suit. Mounting evidence indicates she may finally have gone round the bend. Aided by Blackie, President McGurn twice narrowly escapes death. Eventually the conspirators are caught and the poltergeist attack rebuffed-by the Bishop, of course-leaving at large only whichever wee folks are to blame for swiping so much of the plot from the story and replacing it with filler. Once again, Father Greeley preaches to the converted. No others need apply.
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