Andrew M. Greeley: The Mysteries of Grace

About the Book

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 themes—both sociological and religious—that 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.

About the Author

Dr. Allienne R. Becker, Ph.D.is the author of a number of books published by Greenwood Press, which include Visions of the Fantastic, 1996 and The Divine and Human Comedy of Andrew M. Greeley,2000, among others, and Eagle in Flight: The Life of Athanasius, the Apostle of the Trinity and I, Paul: the Life of the Apostle to the Gentiles, Writers Club Press, 2002. Dr. Becker has a B.A. degree from Duke University, two M.A. degrees from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D from the Pennsylvania State University.