Amazon.com The Bishop and the Missing L Train is the ninth entry in Andrew Greeley's deservedly popular Father Blackie Ryan series. Auxiliary Bishop Augustus Quill， recently posted to the Chicago Archdiocese， could not be described as a loved man. His nickname， bestowed upon him by fellow seminarians， is "Idiot." Despite his relatively high position， one that implies significant intelligence， wit， piety， and compassion， the man seems lacking in all departments save piety. In fact， so disliked is Quill that someone is willing to stop at nothing--at least nothing short of absconding with an entire subway car， bishop included--to keep him from his appointed rounds. Sean Cardinal Cronin， the Archbishop of Chicago， is no more a fan of Quill's than anyone. Still， the act of losing a bishop (or， more precisely， not retrieving an absconded-with bishop) would not be smiled upon by Rome. Fortunately for Cronin (and fans of humorous， clever， well-written amateur-sleuth mysteries everywhere)， Bishop Blackie Ryan is on his side. "We cannot permit this， Blackwood!" "Indeed." "Auxiliary bishops do not slip into the fourth dimension， not in this archdiocese." "Patently." "Especially they do not disappear on L trains that also disappear， right?" "Right!" "You yourself have said that we will be the prime suspects， have you not? Don't we have powerful reasons for wanting to get rid of him?" "Arguably，" I sighed. "However， as you well know， in the best traditions of the Sacred College we would have dispatched Idiot with poison." As with any amateur sleuth worth the paper he's written on， Ryan has a cadre of variously talented (and oft-related) professionals--cops， psychologists， reporters， etc.--at his beck and call. And good thing， too， for there are that many and more likely suspects--about the same number， arguably， as there are reasons to devour the entire Ryan series. The Bishop and the Missing L Train is another ecclesiastical lulu. --Michael Hudson From Publishers Weekly The lighthearted Bishop Blackie returns with this thoroughly beguiling entry in Greeley's series detailing the misadventures of venerable Bishop John Blackwood Ryan， the erudite assistant to Sean Cardinal Cronin， archbishop of Chicago. An embarrassment to the Vatican， oafish and mean-spirited Most Reverend Augustus (Gus) Quill is appointed by Rome to Cronin's archdiocese as an auxiliary bishop， infuriating Cronin， who calls Quill by his seminary nickname: Idiot. But when the unwelcome Quill disappears， along with the L train he was riding on， the sardonic， benevolent Bishop Blackie is in charge of finding him and unraveling the mystery of why the L never arrived at the terminal. Intertwined with the Quill enigma are the dual quandaries of Tommy Flynn Jr.， a young trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange who's smitten with Notre Dame's All-American star women's soccer captain， Christy Logan， and irresistibly sexy Jenny Carlson， an abused ex-wife of a Nobel also-ran， who is having a steamy affair with her boss. Tommy's lustful fantasies and Jenny's struggle to find happiness are waylaid when they both become suspects in the investigation， each having made public threats against the missing bishop. When Blackie finds Quill in an alley drugged with heroin， he sets out to track the villains. Bemused observers of Greeley's trademarkAan arguably adolescent， definitely titillating preoccupation with soft-core sexAwill not be disappointed. (July) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews