Rite of Spring

New York: Warner Books, 1987. BH2 - A first edition (First Printing November 1987 stated with complete numberline) hardcover book in very good condition and a very good dust jacket. Dust jacket has some wrinkling and chipping on the edgs and corners, scattered rubbing, light discoloration and shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, some light stains on the page edges, light discoloration and shelf wear. Although not marked in any way, this copy comes from the personal collection of Otto Penzler, legendary editor and founder of the Mysterious Press, an award-winning icon in the genre. 9.25"x6.5", 436 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Chicago attorney Brendan Ryan is a classic "Quiet Man,and one about to discover that passion can transform even the mildest man into a fierce fighter ready to ruthlessly defend the woman he loves. But all of that is far from Brendan's mind on the gorgeous Illinois spring day when he meets CiaraKelly-vibrant, Irish, and beautiful. Or does he meet her? Later, Brendan will doubt that she ever existed. Even as a child, he had a gift for experiencing the fantastical: shadowy events from the past or disturbing glimpses of the future. Now, totally, inexplicably in love, he will soon wonder if he hasn't become a victim of one of his own fantasies. Middle-aged, recently divorced, and unhap-pily distanced from his daughter by an inability to show her his caring, Brendan's world has been as gray and lifeless as the city's drab winter. Worse, he is agonizing over his discov-ery that one of his oldest friends has betrayed him in a million-dollar commodities swindle. Then, like a miracle of rebirth and renewal, a fiery woman with a light in her eye and all Ire-land in her laugh seems to have given him a chance to begin again. Yet this miracle- and Brendan has no doubt that Ciara is that- is to be his only if he has the courage and determina-tion to battle for it. A force of palpable evil is gathering to shatter his spring idyll and turn it into a medley of death. A terrifying explosion will rip apart Brendan's precious boat Brigid only hours after he and Ciara have left it. Aboard are two bodies burned beyond recognition. In that deadly flash, Brendan becomes a murder suspect, and his alibi is gone. The lovely woman who captured his heart has vanished as if she never existed. Even Brendan's law part-ners and friends begin to doubt his sanity. But Brendan is part of the Ryan clan. And his cousin Father Blackie Ryan knows that there is more on this earth than science can explain with facts. He also believes that Ciara is real and urges Brendan to search for her... even when the trail of blood and desire leads into a netherworld of political intrigue and a violent, momentous confrontation between love and hate on the misty Strand at Inch in Ireland's Dingle Bay. A magnificent, tension-filled story of man's infinite capac-ities for both pure goodness and darkest evil, Rite of Spring gives us an intensely real, richly developed hero unafraid to follow his heart into a contemporary Valley of Death. Here, spies, terrorists, and danger turn this wonderful new story by Andrew M. Greeley into a high-voltage thriller, one fueled by both electrifying suspense and the energies of an erotic and powerful love.. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.