Great farce of a mystery novel!! Really, it got so I was disappointed when Greeley did not use outlandish adjectives such as "purgatorial," "cardinalatial," and "orotund."

At first I thought Greeley was using as a template JFK, Bill Clinton, or even Barack Obama, but clearly he wasn't using any of them, so I must apologize for thinking so....

He clearly knew Chicago and Chicago politics. May even have attended Notre Dame University (I say this because of his "name dropping"), but I doubt he ever has actually been to DC or did any research or ever even read a book about it. Several times he mentioned being "in the Beltway." It sounds pretty painful to me. Although for those who deal with Beltway traffic, they may sometimes feel they are indeed "in" it. The phrase, dear author, is INSIDE THE BELTWAY.

For the record, American University, while an admirable liberal arts school (and my alma mater), does not have, and has never had, a HOSPITAL associated with it.

And, as anyone who has ever watched the news in the years between when Ronald Reagan was shot and Dick Cheney had his last heart attack, it is GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL that is used for emergencies (and in case Greeley plans another foray into DC politics, they go to BETHESDA NAVAL for routine and scheduled exams)--not Georgetown, Catholic though that may be. Actually Jesuit, hmmm. Okay, I won't quibble.

Finally, I wonder in which universe it is that young women (in high school or in college, or even White House staffers) speak so "extreme uncool." LY. Adverbs often have endings of their own, even in today's lingua franca.

Well, I learned much about liturgical vestments and other props; about ancient civilizations and medieval times, so I suppose I owe Greeley a word of thanks.

But I cannot do it without feeling adjectivally inadequate. Sigh. ( )

I used to enjoy Greeley. I still enjoyed his style, for the most part. But, I found his political commentary offputting. Some of it was neccessary or useful for a book about the president, but there were a lot of strong political opinions that distracted me from the story. Interesting book, quick read, seemed like the same style as his other Bishop Blackie books - but it's been many years since I've read another. ( )

Very dissapointing! He's way to political personally and it comes across in his writing - bummed ( )

Blackie goes to Washington DC where one of his friends, Jack Patrick McGurn, has surprisingly just been elected president and needs his help. Blackie,s first confrontation is with Washington bureaucracy; the powers that be don't want to give Blackie a pass to wander in and out of the Oval Office at will. The bureaucracy blinks first and Blackie gets his pass. Blackie, who can do anything, has been called on to deal with ghosts in the White House. Yes, poltergeists. But there are more problems in the White House than ghosts. ( )