The ''Nuala Anne McGrail series'' of

mystery novels Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

were written by

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Andrew M. Greeley Andrew M. Greeley (February 5, 1928 – May 29, 2013) was an American Catholic priest, sociologist, journalist and popular novelist. Greeley was a professor of sociology at the University of Arizona and the University of Chicago, and a researc ...

. The novels feature Nuala Anne McGrail and her husband, Dermot Michael Coyne.

Novels

There are twelve novels in the series: * ''

Irish Gold Irish gold is gold that occurs naturally in areas of Ireland and highly prized because of its origin and scarcity. Ireland was the major area of gold working in the Bronze Age British Isles. Irish gold is especially well known from the Irish Br ...

'' (1994) * ''

Irish Lace Irish lace has always been an important part of the Irish needlework tradition. Both needlepoint and bobbin laces were made in Ireland before the middle of the eighteenth century, but never, apparently, on a commercial scale. It was promoted by I ...

'' (1996) * ''

Irish Whiskey Irish whiskey ( ga, Fuisce or ''uisce beatha'') is whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The word 'whiskey' (or whisky) comes from the Irish , meaning ''water of life''. Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world, though a lo ...

'' (1998) * ''

Irish Mist Irish Mist is an Irish whiskey-based liqueur produced in Tullamore, Ireland, by the Irish Mist Liqueur Company Ltd. In September 2010 it was announced that the brand was being bought by Gruppo Campari from William Grant, only a few months af ...

'' (1999) * '' Irish Eyes'' (2000) * '' Irish Love'' (2001) * '' Irish Stew!'' (2002) * '' Irish Cream'' (2005) * '' Irish Crystal'' (2006) * ''

Irish Linen Irish linen ( ga, Línéadach Éireannach) is the name given to linen produced in Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). Linen is cloth woven from, or yarn spun from, flax fibre, which was grown in Ireland for man ...

'' (2007) * '' Irish Tiger'' (2008) * '' Irish Tweed'' (2009)

Characters

Nuala Anne McGrail

Nuala Anne McGrail (née ''Moire Phioulaigh Ain Mac Griel'', or ''Marie Fionnuala Anne McGrail'') is a native of

Carraroe Carraroe (in Irish, and officially, , meaning 'the red quarter') is a village in County Galway, Ireland, in the Irish-speaking region (Gaeltacht) of Connemara. It is known for its traditional fishing boats, the Galway Hookers. Its population i ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

popular and a very successful professional singer. She is married to Chicago native Dermot Michael Coyne. They met in Ireland but maintain their principal residence in Chicago. Nuala Anne is "fey," or

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...

(one of the "dark ones"), and relies on her intuition to help her solve mysteries rooted in the past.

Dermot Michael Coyne

Dermot Michael Coyne is the American husband of Nuala Anne McGrail. He became an accidental millionnaire at the age of 25 while working at the

Chicago Mercantile Exchange The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc", or "the Merc") is a global derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board, an a ...

, by mistakenly reversing an order. Deciding that he had no business being in that business, he retired to write. He is the primary narrator of the stories and assists Nuala Anne in solving mysteries (his

photographic memory Eidetic memory ( ; more commonly called photographic memory or total recall) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''pho ...

helps with historic and other relevant details), though he describes his involvement as being merely her "

spear carrier A spear carrier is a minor actor in a play or, by extension, a person whose actions are of little significance. Overview In the world of opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are tak ...

Their family

Mary Anne, better known as Nellicoyne, is an avid and skilled photographer, and is also fey like her mother. Micheal Dirmuid, named after his father and known as the Mick, is a year-and-half younger than Nellicoyne. A sports fan who loves to play with trucks, he also usually has a sketchbook in his pocket and often translates his sketches to computer graphics. Socra Marie, a year-and-a half younger than the Mick, was a "miracle" child, beating the odds to survive a very premature birth. She is small for her age and wears glasses but makes up for it in vitality and is often referred to as the "tiny terrorist" for her unintentional skill in wreaking havoc. Josef Porrig (Joseph Patrick), known as Jopat, is two-and-a-half years younger than Socra Marie. He was described by one of Dermot's sisters as "just like his father, big, strong, good-looking, and useless." Fiona, a white Irish wolfhound, formerly with the Garda, is now the self-appointed guardian of Nuala Anne and her family. Maeve, Fiona's offspring, also white, is co-guardian of the family. Rev. George ("Prester George") Coyne, is Dermot Michael's brother.

Other recurring characters

Cardinal Sean Cronin Coadjutor Archbishop John Blackwood ("Blackie") Ryan Mike Casey Cindasue L. McLeod, United States Coast Guard Captain, neighbor and friend; mother of Nelliecoyne's best friend. Novel series Mystery novels by series Chicago in fiction {{2000s-mystery-novel-stub