Plot Summary of Irish Lace – A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel
"Irish Lace – A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel
Andrew M. Greeley
Tom Doherty Associates, Inc., 1996, 303 PP
ISBN: 0-312-86234-2
Nuala (pronounced Noola) Anne McGrail has finished Trinity College Dublin and has moved to Chicago where she works as an accountant for Arthur Anderson by day and sings Irish ballads a couple of nights a week at a grungy Chicago Pub. Dermot Coyne is also back home in Chicago dividing his time between courting Nuala Anne and pursuing his budding writing career.
Nuala Anne is fey, which in ancient times would have made her a seer or prophetess but, as Nuala Anne describes it, nowadays fey just means she "sees things". The things she "sees" are snippets of tragic events from the past associated with the location where she has the fey experience.
The action begins with the first sentence of the book as Nuala Anne suddenly "sees" "men dying everywhere!" as she and Dermot are driving along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Dermot, meanwhile, has been listening to the radio reporting the news of another art gallery robbery.
The two immediately get swept up in trying to find answers to questions surrounding the Civil War era Camp Douglas Conspiracy (an actual historical event). At the same time Nuala Anne is charged with involvement in the art gallery robberies and Dermot has to find the facts to prove her innocence.
In this second book in the series, Nuala Anne emerges as the main character with Dermot assuming the roles of faithful companion and narrator. As Nuala Anne "sees" pieces of the event in question, Dermot is dispatched to research the historical record to dig out the full story behind the clue she has seen.
Throughout the entire book the sexual tension that started in Irish Gold, between Dermot and Nuala Anne continues to grow. The two are heading rapidly toward marriage but the book ends with their merely setting the wedding date thereby leaving that story for the next book."
Chuck Nugent, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of Irish Lace – A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book descript. of violence and chases - 10% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- catching thief
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- business executive
Has special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character:
- clairvoyant
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
The antagonists are:
- government bureaucracy
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Dumb
Setting
City?
Yes
City:
- Chicago
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- hundreds or more
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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