In the eighth installment in Greeley's immensely entertaining Irish series (after 2002's Irish Stew!
), Nuala Anne and her husband, Dermot Coyne, once again look into mysteries past and present: the first chronicled in the diaries of Father Richard Lonigan, a 19th-century parish priest in Donegal, Ireland, the second involving poor Damian "Day" O'Sullivan, whom the couple hire to take care of their two Irish wolfhounds. Amid the troubled political and religious environment in Donegal, where mostly poor Catholic villagers are overseen by Protestant Lord Skeffington, Father Lonigan investigates two shootings while striving to prevent further violence. In present-day Chicago, Nuala and Dermot face opposition to hiring Day O'Sullivan from the lad's father, since Day is not only a profound disappointment to the O'Sullivan family but also a convicted felon. The "fey" or psychic Nuala Anne believes the young man has been framed by his family and is determined to find out why Day inspires such loathing and disgust in his own kin. As with previous titles in the series, the sexual antics of Nuala and Dermot lend spice. (Feb. 1)
