"A magical mystery"
Dermot Michael Coyne accompanies his wife Nuala Anne
McGrail as she performs at the Celtic international music
festival in Milan. While in Italy, Dermot and Nuala Anne
meet fellow Chicago resident Seamus Costelloe and his
family. After unceremoniously dumping Seamus into the pool
for insulting his wife, Dermot and Nuala Anne agree to
joining the Costelloe brood for dinner. Nuala Anne noticed
the mark of death on Seamus, a blowhard with many enemies
not all in organized crime. Meanwhile the couples' daughter hears the explosion
associated with the Windy City's Haymarket Riot. The only
problem is that the incident occurred over a century ago.
To provide solace to his daughter who believes that someone
is crying for fairness through her, Dermot tries to uncover
the truth over who really started the riot. Meanwhile
Nuala Anne, perhaps being the only person to see any good
in Seamus, tries to keep him alive as she believes that is
why her Irish fey powers gave her the sign. The latest Nuala Anne tale is a fun to read story
because the two lead characters are a delight to watch in
action even if she is a too perfect Irish goddess. The
dual story lines require leaps of faith as the audience
will struggle with why Nuala Anne feels obligated to
protect Seamus and why Dermot believes he must solve the
Haymarket Riot mystery. Still fans of Andrew M.
Greeley's "Irish" series and those paranormal cozy readers
who can forgive the chasm between the first and second
dominos of the plot will dine on IRISH STEW. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted February 19, 2002
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