EXCERPT: The O’Farrell’s had operated this flour mill, and now bakery, for several generations. Fia O’Farrell was the last living member, and given she was single and past middle age, many wondered what she envisioned for its future. The back room, which used to house events, and the ground, middle and top floors of the mill, which used to be open for tours, had all been closed to the public for over a decade. But it was still a gorgeous structure, and the bakery, which was housed in the very front portion of the building, was as cheerful inside as it was out. Siobhán took in the outdoor tables with colourful umbrellas, flowers beaming from planters along the front of the building, and the banner above the wooden doors that read: WELCOME IRISH BAKERS!
ABOUT ‘MURDER AT AN IRISH BAKERY’: In Kilbane, opinions are plentiful and rarely in alignment. But there’s one thing everyone does agree on–the bakery in the old flour mill, just outside town, is the best in County Cork, well worth the short drive and the long lines. No wonder they’re about to be featured on a reality baking show.
All six contestants in the show are coming to Kilbane to participate, and the town is simmering with excitement. Aside from munching on free samples, the locals–including Siobhan–get a chance to appear in the opening shots. As for the competitors themselves, not all are as sweet as their confections. There are shenanigans on the first day of filming that put everyone on edge, but that’s nothing compared to day two, when the first round ends and the top contestant is found face-down in her signature pie.
The producers decide to continue filming while Siobhan and her husband, Garda Macdara Flannery, sift through the suspects. Was this a case of rivalry turned lethal, or are their other motives hidden in the mix? And can they uncover the truth before another baker is eliminated–permanently . . .
MY THOUGHTS: This is the second book I have read in this series and I enjoyed it far more than the first.
Murder at an Irish Bakery is a delightfully Irish cosy-mystery featuring a husband and wife garda team, both of whom have a sweet tooth.
You’re going to have to suspend a bit of belief with this but, hey, it’s a cosy, not a police procedural. Similarly, there’s no great depth to any of the characters. But I had great fun trying to figure out who was behind the killings, and there’s a praiseworthy twist or two to confuse the issue.
WARNING: stock up with snacks before you settle down with Murder at an Irish Bakery, because the beautiful pastries, cakes and desserts described in the course of this book will have you salivating and your stomach rumbling.
BONUS: There’s a recipe for Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Guinness Cake at the end with a link to the recipe published in the New York Times.
Murder at an Irish Bakery is easily read as a stand-alone.
THE AUTHOR: Born into a long line of Irish storytellers, Carlene O’Connor’s great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland filled with tales in 1897 and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places she’s wandered across the pond, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork, the setting of her Irish Village Mystery series.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Kensington Books for providing a digital ARC of Murder at an Irish Bakery, written by Carlene O’Connor for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
It’s been a lovely autumn day here in New Zealand. Cool overnight, which is lovely for sleeping, and in the mornings, but beautifully warm days. The evenings are also cool. The leaves are also starting to turn, much earlier than usual.
Currently I am reading Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry – lovely atmospheric Irish fiction.
And listening to The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly.
Mickey Haller gets the text, “Call me ASAP – 187,” and the California penal code for murder immediately gets his attention. Murder cases have the highest stakes and the biggest paydays, and they always mean Haller has to be at the top of his game.
When Mickey learns that the victim was his own former client, a prostitute he thought he had rescued and put on the straight and narrow path, he knows he is on the hook for this one. He soon finds out that she was back in LA and back in the life. Far from saving her, Mickey may have been the one who put her in danger.
Haunted by the ghosts of his past, Mickey must work tirelessly and bring all his skill to bear on a case that could mean his ultimate redemption or proof of his ultimate guilt.
This week I have seven titles to read for review and I know that I am not going to be able to complete them all, but I will do my best.
The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson, which I am excited about.
There was always something slightly dangerous about Joan. So, when she turns up at private investigator Henry Kimball’s office asking him to investigate her husband, he can’t help feeling ill at ease. Just the sight of her stirs up a chilling memory: he knew Joan in his previous life as a high school English teacher, when he was at the center of a tragedy.
Now Joan needs his help in proving that her husband is cheating. But what should be a simple case of infidelity becomes much more complicated when Kimball finds two bodies in an uninhabited suburban home with a “for sale” sign out front. Suddenly it feels like the past is repeating itself, and Henry must go back to one of the worst days of his life to uncover the truth.
Is it possible that Joan knows something about that day, something she’s hidden all these years? Could there still be a killer out there, someone who believes they have gotten away with murder? Henry is determined to find out, but as he steps closer to the truth, a murderer is getting closer to him, and in this hair-raising game of cat and mouse only one of them will survive.
The Summer House by Keri Beevis
Mead House was once our childhood home.
Despite my fears, I always knew we would have to return to face the demons of our past.
Back to the place where it happened, to where, as carefree teenagers, we lost our elder sister in the most brutal of circumstances.
As executors of our grandmother’s will, my twin brother, Ollie, and I needed to empty the house for resale.
What I didn’t expect to discover was my sister’s secret journal that contained her most private thoughts and shocking dark secrets.
Now I am questioning everything that I saw that night. Did I get it wrong, who I saw?
Did my evidence send an innocent man, my then boyfriend’s brother, to jail for the last 17 years?
I know I have no choice. If I want to find answers, I will have to go back to that fateful night my sister died. When she made her last visit to the summer house.
Murder Visits a French Village by Susan C. Shea
Ariel Shepherd is devastated by the sudden loss of her husband, but nothing could have prepared her for inheriting the rundown French château they’d visited on their honeymoon four years ago. With finances tight she has no choice but to swap her Manhattan apartment and city lifestyle for a renovation project in a peaceful French village.
When Ariel hires an expert to help her uncover the legacy of her beautiful ruin, life only becomes more complicated. Christiane, the historian, is found dead in the moat, and although the local police aren’t suspicious, Ariel is. She joins two other ex-pats, Pippa and Katherine, to investigate, but with plenty of workmen – and errant tools – around the château, many people had the means, but who had the motive? Why would anyone want to kill a historian?
Ariel begins to suspect that her French village life will be anything but peaceful! Can she solve the suspicious murder and make her château in Burgundy the perfect new home?
A Gentle Murderer by Dorothy Salisbury Davis – a new author to me.
On a hot Saturday night in Manhattan, Father Duffy sits in a confessional, growing alarmed as he listens to the voice of a distraught young man who speaks of bloody hair and a dead woman and a compulsion to do things with a hammer that he does not understand. Before the priest can persuade the man to confess to the police, the killer flees, still clutching the hammer.
The next day, Father Duffy learns that a high-class call girl on the East Side has been savagely murdered, and no suspect has been found. As he searches for the disturbed young man who he fears will kill again, cerebral New York Police detective Sergeant Ben Goldsmith takes the lead in the investigation of the call-girl murder, racing against the clock to catch a very clever killer who, when enraged, cannot control his need to swing a hammer.
Dinner Party by Sarah Gilmartin, another new author.
To mark the anniversary of a death in the family, Kate meticulously plans a dinner party – from the fancy table setting to the perfect baked alaska waiting in the freezer. But by the end of the night, old tensions have flared, the guests are gone, and Kate is spinning out of control.
Set between from the 1990s and the present day, from Carlow to Dublin, the family farmhouse to Trinity College, Dinner Party is a beautifully observed, dark and twisty novel that thrillingly unravels into family secrets and tragedy.
The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish, an author I love.
Wrong time. Wrong place. Wrong man.
Alex lives a comfortable life with his wife Beth in the leafy suburb of Silver Vale. Fine, so he’s not the most sociable guy on the street, he prefers to keep himself to himself, but he’s a good husband and an easy-going neighbour.
That’s until Beth announces the creation of a nature trail on a local site that’s been disused for decades and suddenly Alex is a changed man. Now he’s always watching. Questioning. Struggling to hide his dread . . .
As the landscapers get to work, a secret threatens to surface from years ago, back in Alex’s twenties when he got entangled with a seductive young woman called Marina, who threw both their lives into turmoil.
And who sparked a police hunt for a murder suspect that was never quite what it seemed. It still isn’t.
No one else could have done it. Could they?
Apartment 303 by Kelli Hawkins, yet another new author to me.
Twenty-six-year-old Rory rarely leaves her apartment, though her little dog Buster keeps her company. Days are spent working for her aunt’s PI business, and watching and imagining histories for the homeless men, the Dossers, across the road. At night she walks Buster on the roof, gazes at the stars and wonders.
The night before New Year’s Eve, one of the Dossers is murdered, an incident which brings the world – police, new neighbours, her dark past and new possibilities – crashing through Rory’s front door.
She thought she was keeping her fears at bay. But has her sanctuary turned into her prison? Or is it safer for everyone if Rory stays locked away?
I have had no new ARCs this week. I haven’t requested any, and I have deleted a number titles from my pending list. I have also deleted a number of titles from my ARC list, but still have somewhere around 240 to read for review. But these are titles I really want to read.
After the video conference with Pete’s care team on Friday we now know that there is more cancer in his face, mainly in the area under his right eye. Because of the proximity to his eye it is going to require a multi-faceted approach. We have an appointment with the oncologist this coming Friday and, in conjunction with the surgeon, a plan of attack will be finalised.
Because of this, and increasing pressures at work, I have decided to take a break from posting every day. I hope to be able to continue with my weekly catch up, and to post reviews as I finish a read. I am currently only reading two books a week as I am so tired from running around and stress. I will still try to interact with you all, but it may not be possible every day, so please cut me some slack.
Thank you all for your understanding, and happy reading my friends.
We’ve had Luke for the weekend and he has just gone home. He fell off the swing at school the Friday before last and broke his right wrist. It doesn’t seem to worry him at all except this morning when he wanted to play tennis. I explained that I didn’t think it was a good idea or that he would be able to, but . . . he tried, couldn’t, and had a meltdown. He was soon distracted by a couple of Oreos and the basketball hoop. He managed to score 42 times and was quite happy. I,on the other hand, am exhausted. Although I am doing aquarobics and walking when the weather permits, I am obviously unfit. I haven’t played tennis at all this summer, and it shows. I need to get back into it.
I am currently reading Life or Death by Michael Robotham, an Australian author I love. This is a paperback copy I picked up in a charity shop. Robotham always manages to draw me in with his beautifully crafted characters and his intriguing plots. Life or Death is no exception and I can’t wait to find out why Audie Palmer has escaped from prison the day before he is due to be released.
I am almost finished listening to Midnight at the Blackbird Café. I adore Heather Webber’s writing and have been savouring this. I will probably finish this tomorrow.
This week I am hoping to read four books: A Mischief of Rats by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett.
When a driver dies during a glamourous classic car event at her family’s estate, Dr Nell Ward is in a race against time to uncover the truth and prevent the killer from making a speedy getaway…
Back in her natural habitat, Dr Nell Ward heads to a woodland pond to survey local newt populations. She’s shocked to discover a car submerged in the water – with the driver dead behind the wheel.
Nell recognises the dead man as professional racing driver, and tabloid love rat, Jack Rafferty, whose performance on (and off) Finchmere’s racetrack had earned him enemies.
Suspecting this isn’t the tragic accident it appears DI James Clark calls upon Nell and her ecological skills to help find the murderer. But she soon finds that more lurks under the surface than she could ever have imagined. Despite the danger, Nell is determined to dredge up the truth from the murky depths of this case, before it’s too late…
The Holiday Home by Daniel Hurst. I have both Kindle and audio format for this so will switch from one to the other.
I sit sipping champagne in the warm water, bubbles frothing around me as I admire the breath-taking view of gorgeous blue skies and mountains. I can’t believe I’m here, at this stunning holiday home. It’s to die for…
My best friend and her husband have invited me and my family to their lakeside property for the weekend, to experience their luxury lifestyle. I’m not envious of their wealth, although I know my husband Ryan is. All I want is to escape from our recent troubles and get my marriage back on track.
Then I overhear Ryan having a whispered conversation late one evening, and he says something that sends a shiver down my spine. In this beautiful paradise my whole world is turned upside down.
Just when I think things can’t get any worse, I discover a second secret. The truth is even more shocking than I imagine, and now I have no idea who to trust.
This was meant to be the perfect holiday, but someone isn’t going to survive it…
The Close by Jane Casey. I read this author’s previous book and loved it.
At first glance, Jellicoe Close seems to be a perfect suburban street – well-kept houses with pristine lawns, neighbours chatting over garden fences, children playing together.
But there are dark secrets behind the neat front doors, hidden dangers that include a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing.
It’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to uncover the truth. Posing as a couple, they move into the Close, blurring the lines between professional and personal as never before.
And while Maeve and Josh try to gather the evidence they need, they have no idea of the danger they face – because someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind.
Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry, a new author to me.
Recently retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home, a lean-to annexed to a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea. For months he has barely seen a soul, catching only glimpses of his eccentric landlord and a nervous young mother who has moved in next door. Occasionally, fond memories return, of his family, his beloved wife June and their two children, Winnie and Joe.
But when two former colleagues turn up at his door with questions about a decades-old case, one which Tom never quite came to terms with, he finds himself pulled into the darkest currents of his past.
I have received two new ARCs through Netgalley this week. They are:
The Fall by Gilly Macmillan
The Monk by Tim Sullivan, another new author to me.
I am seriously considering taking an hiatus, or even a semi-hiatus, of indeterminate length. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with dealing with Peter’s health problems and ongoing problems at work. Things will hopefully become clearer after his video-conference with his care team on Friday and I will wait until after this to make my final decision. So if I miss a post or two in the interim, or am not interacting with you as normal please understand why. I am struggling to concentrate on what I am reading and feel like I don’t have an original thought in my head when it comes to writing reviews. Thanks for your understanding.
Greetings from a sun-soaked but devastated New Zealand. While our area escaped this week’s cyclone virtually unscathed, the small west coast communities north of Auckland and the Hawkes Bay Region of the North Island have been decimated. Eleven are dead, including two firefighters killed when a house they were evacuating slid over the cliff. There are many still missing. To all my New Zealand bookish friends, I hope that you and your loved ones are all safe.
I haven’t had much time to read during the week and doubted, at one point, that I was going to finish even one read for the week. But it is now late Sunday afternoon and over yesterday and today I managed to finish three of my four reads.
Currently I am reading Blind Eye by Aline Templeton, #5 in the DI Kelso Strang series.
I am still reading The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling.
And I am listening to Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber
Nestled in the mountain shadows of Alabama lies the little town of Wicklow. It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café.
It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about.
As the truth about her past slowly becomes clear, Anna Kate will need to decide if this lone blackbird will finally be able to take her broken wings and fly.
This coming week I have two books to read for review – Getting Even by Lisa Jackson
Trask McFadden is back.” Those are words that Tory has been waiting to hear, half in dread, half with longing. It’s been five years since Trask landed her father behind bars for horse swindling, using things she’d told him in confidence. Her father died there, but now Trask insists he has information that could help prove who was really responsible for the crime, not to mention his own brother’s death. Trask needs her help. But he won’t get it, not after destroying her family, her ranch, and the love they shared.
Lauren Regis’s ex-husband has kidnapped her children. There’s nothing she won’t do to get them back, including hiring Zachary Winters. The unconventional attorney has made a name for himself by locating people–especially those who don’t want to be found. But he’s got a darker reputation too, and there are rumors swirling about the fate of his ex-wife. How much is Lauren willing to trust him–or to lose?
Murder at an Irish Bakery by Carlene O’Connor
The picturesque village of Kilbane in County Cork, Ireland, is the perfect backdrop for a baking contest–until someone serves up a show-stopping murder that only Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan can solve.
In Kilbane, opinions are plentiful and rarely in alignment. But there’s one thing everyone does agree on–the bakery in the old flour mill, just outside town, is the best in County Cork, well worth the short drive and the long lines. No wonder they’re about to be featured on a reality baking show.
All six contestants in the show are coming to Kilbane to participate, and the town is simmering with excitement. Aside from munching on free samples, the locals–including Siobhan–get a chance to appear in the opening shots. As for the competitors themselves, not all are as sweet as their confections. There are shenanigans on the first day of filming that put everyone on edge, but that’s nothing compared to day two, when the first round ends and the top contestant is found face-down in her signature pie.
The producers decide to continue filming while Siobhan and her husband, Garda Macdara Flannery, sift through the suspects. Was this a case of rivalry turned lethal, or are their other motives hidden in the mix? And can they uncover the truth before another baker is eliminated–permanently . . .
In the past week I have received four new ARCs for review.
Murder at the Willows by Jane Adams, a new author to me, but one I have heard only good things about.
The Rush by Michelle Prak
The Fall by Louise Jensen
And Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne – I adore Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends. I still have my original copy of this from when I was a child. It is greatly treasured.
To all my bookish friends who have been asking about my husband, Pete, thank you. I appreciate your support and concern. He is feeling well in himself and is returning to work on Monday on light duties while we wait to hear when he starts chemotherapy.
Have a wonderful week my friends and happy reading. ❤📚
Even though this book is twenty years old, it is as fresh and enjoyable today as when it was published.
EXCERPT: Eva could hardly find her breath. How dare he? How dare he talk to her like that? Hands trembling, heart thumping, she summoned every scrap of pride, stood and picked up her bag. There was nothing else to say. Feeling like a robot, she climbed the steps to the front door, opened it and started walking as quickly as she could.
Then, just a few steps along the footpath, she realised she did have something else to say. So she turned around and came back.
The other customers shifted expectantly in their seats. ‘Excellent,’ one of them said to her friend. ‘Round two.’ They settled back to listen.
Eva walked up to Dermot’s table and stood right in front of him. She could feel her cheeks burning in anger and embarrassment. This time he had the grace to look uncomfortable.
‘One last thing, Dermot. You can forget about the shop. My uncle isn’t selling it.’ Because he wants to give it to me, she was about to add.
But Dermot interrupted her. ‘Oh, well,’ he shrugged. ‘There’ll be others.’
Somehow, that hurt more than anything he’d said before. Standing looking at him, she thought of his deceit, his imagey ways, his American slang. All the things that had annoyed her rushed at her memory.
At that moment his mobile phone started to ring, playing a very loud tune. The sound reminded her of one of his particularly annoying habits. Moving quickly, she picked up the ringing phone, silver-plating and all, and upended it into his pint glass. The dark liquid gurgled and slopped around it.
‘No, Dermot, don’t tell me. Let me guess the brand by the sound it makes.’ She waited a beat as they both watched the phone glug to the bottom of the glass. ‘Ah, yes. Now I have it,’ she said clearly. ‘It’s a Guinness.’
With that, she walked out again. And this time she didn’t come back.
ABOUT ‘UPSIDE DOWN INSIDE OUT’: Eva is off to Australia, hoping to forget a fizzled romance and find inspiration for a new career. Joseph is taking a vacation from his stressful London job. Each is on a search for some answers about life. Then something unexpected happens: They meet each other.
MY THOUGHTS: I absolutely adored this light-hearted romantic comedy from Monica McInerney. I laughed a lot and cried a little at the comedy of errors that conspired to keep Joe and Eva apart. The characters are wonderful and very realistic, including the two cads Greg and Dermot. As well as love, romance, and friendship, Upside Down Inside Out deals with a particularly poignant family relationship. There’s also a wonderful black kitten called Tyrannosaurus Rex who causes his own brand of havoc.
Recommended to be read with a platter of antipesto and a good Australian Shiraz.
I: @monicamcinerneyauthor @penguinbooks
T: @PenguinBooks
THE AUTHOR: Monica grew up in a family of seven children in the Clare Valley wine region of South Australia, where her father was the railway stationmaster and her mother worked in the local library. Before becoming a full-time writer she worked in children’s television, tourism festivals, book publishing, arts marketing, the music industry and as a waitress, a hotel cleaner, a Kindergym instructor and a temp. For nearly thirty years she and her Irish husband have been moving back and forth between Australia and Ireland.
EXCERPT: The dead man wore a designer suit to the beach. He was found along Slea Head Drive, at the base of a small cliff, on Clogher Strand. There he was, early on a Sunday morning in June, reposed against a craggy boulder in his fancy navy suit, starched white shirt and vibrant green tie. Next to his body, two words had been formed using sixty-nine gleaming black stones: LAST DANCE. The stones popped against the pale sand. It wasn’t a whisper, it was a shout. His legs were straight out in front of him, his hands rested palms up on his thighs, and his sky-blue eyes were open, forever staring out to sea. The only visible sign of distress was the white foam pooling at the corners of his gaped mouth. The lines fanning out across his face, and wisps of silver hair clinging to a mostly bald head betrayed his advanced age. A card with a black background peeked out of the dead man’s suit pocket. Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien maneuvered around the cordon they’d placed around the body to get a closer look.
ABOUT ‘NO STRANGERS HERE’: On a rocky beach in the southwest of Ireland, the body of Jimmy O’Reilly, sixty-nine years old and dressed in a suit and his dancing shoes, is propped on a boulder, staring sightlessly out to sea. A cryptic message is spelled out next to the body with sixty-nine polished black stones and a discarded vial of deadly veterinarian medication lies nearby. Jimmy was a wealthy racehorse owner, known far and wide as The Dancing Man. In a town like Dingle, everyone knows a little something about everyone else. But dig a bit deeper, and there’s always much more to find. And when Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien is dispatched out of Killarney to lead the murder inquiry, he’s determined to unearth every last buried secret.
Dimpna Wilde hasn’t been home in years. As picturesque as Dingle may be for tourists in search of their roots and the perfect jumper, to her it means family drama and personal complications. In fairness, Dublin hasn’t worked out quite as she hoped either. Faced with a triple bombshell—her mother rumored to be in a relationship with Jimmy, her father’s dementia is escalating, and her brother is avoiding her calls—Dimpna moves back to clear her family of suspicion.
Despite plenty of other suspects, the guards are crawling over the Wildes. But the horse business can be a brutal one, and as Dimpna becomes more involved with her old acquaintances and haunts, the depth of lingering grudges becomes clear. Theft, extortion, jealousy and greed. As Dimpna takes over the family practice, she’s in a race with the detective inspector to uncover the dark, twisting truth, no matter how close to home it strikes . . .
MY THOUGHTS: No Strangers Here is a mystery thick with both atmosphere and compelling characters. O’Connor sets the scene in the very first chapter, leaving the reader in doubt where they are: a colorful and historic town right on the coast of southwest Ireland relying on tourism and fishing for its livelihood. The scenery is gorgeous and moody, the characters complex and all hiding something.
O’Brien has been brought in as an outsider to solve the murder of a wealthy and well-known local man. As an outsider it is expected that he have no history with anyone involved, no personal agenda. But is that going to be enough to combat the far-reaching powers of the wealthy O’Reilly family who have already made up their minds who is responsible for this murder and are calling for a speedy arrest. Dimpna, a petite veterinarian whose own life has imploded, now finds herself battling not only the O’Reilly’s but the police in an effort to clear her parents from suspicion. Dimpna has battled the O’Reilly’s before – there’s no love lost there. What she discovers is a tangled web of secrets and lies, some going back as far as her childhood.
I have read some of Carlene O’Connors Village Mystery books previously, but here her writing has reached a whole new level. Somewhat darker than a traditional cosy-mystery, and with plot-twists I never saw coming, O’Connor kept me intrigued throughout. County Kerry Mysteries is a new series that I am excited about.
I listened to the audiobook of No Strangers Here, superbly narrated by Emily O’Mahony
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
#NoStrangersHere #NetGalley
I: @writergirlchi @recordedbooks
T: #CarleneOConnor @RBMediaCo
#cosymystery #contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #family drama #irishfiction #murdermystery #smalltownfiction
THE AUTHOR: Born into a long line of Irish storytellers, Carlene O’Connor’s great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland filled with tales in 1897 and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places she’s wandered across the pond, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork, the setting of her Irish Village Mystery series.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to RB Media for providing an audio ARC of No Strangers Here, written by Carlene O’Connor and narrated by Emily Mahony, for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
EXCERPT: With my mother it is all work: us, the butter making, the dinners, the washing-up and getting up and getting ready for Mass and school, weaning calves and hiring men to plough and harrow the fields, stretching the money and setting the alarm. But this is a different type of house. Here there is room, and time to think. There may even be money to spare.
ABOUT ‘FOSTER’: A small girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm in rural Ireland, without knowing when she will return home. In the strangers’ house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. And then a secret is revealed and suddenly, she realizes how fragile her idyll is.
MY THOUGHTS: Claire Keegan writes with a poetic beauty that reminds me of calm waves lapping at the shore. Although the reality of where this young girl has come from, and will be returned to, is harsh and stark, Keegan’s writing is anything but.
There is a stunning emotional depth in this novella. Keegan conveys much in very few pages. There are a lot of lessons to be learned here on how to treat a child, and the blossoming of this girl away from a life of overcrowded poverty, just one of many children, in a place where she is recognised and cherished as a person in her own right, is a wonderous experience.
I have been awed by everything I have so far read by this author.
THE AUTHOR: Claire Keegan was born in County Wicklow, the youngest of a large family. She travelled to New Orleans, Louisiana when she was seventeen, and studied English and Political Science at Loyola University. She returned to Ireland in 1992 and lived for a year in Cardiff, Wales, where she undertook an MA in creative writing and taught undergraduates at the University of Wales.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Grove Atlantic via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Foster by Claire Keegan for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
Welcome to a wet and windy New Zealand Sunday afternoon. The wind howling around the house, the heavy rain and the thunder and lightning kept me awake last night. Today is a lot calmer, I’m pleased to say.
Unusually for me, I am not currently reading anything! Sorry, should I have warned you to be sitting safely down before I made that statement? But be reassured, it’s not as bad as it sounds. I finished reading two books this morning: The novella Foster by Claire Keegan
A small girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm in rural Ireland, without knowing when she will return home. In the strangers’ house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. And then a secret is revealed and suddenly, she realizes how fragile her idyll is.
The Plot Thickets by Julia Henry, A Garden Squad Mystery #5
Ever the quintessential New England town, Goosebush, Massachusetts, truly shines in springtime, but when an underhanded undertaker digs herself an early grave, only Lilly Jayne and her Garden Squad can unearth the cryptic killer . . .
With spring’s arrival in Goosebush, Lilly and the Beautification Committee turn their eyes to new projects. A cleanup of the historic Goosebush Cemetery may be in order, after Lilly and Delia find the plots there sorely neglected and inexplicably rearranged. Lilly soon discovers that Whitney Dunne-Bradford snapped up custodianship of the graveyard once she inherited Bradford Funeral Homes. But before Lilly can get to the bottom of the tombstone tampering, she stumbles upon Whitney’s body at the Jayne family mausoleum . . .
Though at first it appears Whitney died by suicide, Lilly has doubts, and apparently, so does Chief of Police Bash Haywood, who quickly opens a murder investigation. Plenty of folks in town had bones to pick with Whitney, including her stepdaughter, Sasha, and funeral home employee, Dewey Marsh–all three recently charged with illegal business practices. But when the homicide inquiry suddenly targets an old friend, Lilly and the Garden Squad must rally to exhume the truth before the real killer buries it forever . . .
I have written reviews for both of these, and I also finished listening to The Tilt by Chris Hammer, but am still to write my review on this Australian crime thriller.
A man runs for his life in a forest. A woman plans sabotage. A body is unearthed.
Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her home town, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder – a ‘file and forget’.
But this is no ordinary cold case, as the discovery of more bodies triggers a chain of escalating events in the present day. As Nell starts to join the pieces together, she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her. Could her own family be implicated in the crimes?
The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more dangerous the present becomes for her, as she battles shadowy assailants and sinister forces. Can she survive this harrowing investigation and what price will she have to pay for the truth?
I actually read all the books that I had planned to read for the week (1 dnf) , a definite bonus of having a chest infection.
I have loaded Day’s End by Garry Disher, #4 in the Paul Hirschausen series, to start reading when I have finished this post.
Hirsch’s rural beat is wide. Daybreak to day’s end, dirt roads and dust. Every problem that besets small towns and isolated properties, from unlicensed driving to arson. In the time of the virus, Hirsch is seeing stresses heightened and social divisions cracking wide open. His own tolerance under strain; people getting close to the edge.
Today he’s driving an international visitor around: Janne Van Sant, whose backpacker son went missing while the borders were closed. They’re checking out his last photo site, his last employer. A feeling that the stories don’t quite add up.
Then a call comes in: a roadside fire. Nothing much—a suitcase soaked in diesel and set alight. But two noteworthy facts emerge. Janne knows more than Hirsch about forensic evidence. And the body in the suitcase is not her son’s.
I have also loaded The Work Wives by Rachel Johns to start.
For work wives Debra and Quinn, it’s a case of opposites attract. They are each other’s lifelines as they navigate office politics and jobs that pay the bills but don’t inspire them.
Outside work, they are also friends, but where Quinn is addicted to dating apps and desperate to find love, Deb has sworn off men. Although Deb is not close to her own mother, her teenage daughter is her life and there’s nothing she wouldn’t do to protect her. But Ramona has other ideas and is beginning to push boundaries.
Life becomes even more complicated by the arrival of a new man at the office. One woman is attracted to him, while the other hoped she’d never meet him again.
But when Deb, Quinn and Ramona are forced to choose between friends, love and family, the ramifications run deeper than they could ever have expected.
And No Strangers Here (County Kerry Mystery #1) written by Carlene O’Connor, and narrated by Emily O’Mahony, to listen to.
On a rocky beach in the southwest of Ireland, the body of Jimmy O’Reilly, sixty-nine years old and dressed in a suit and his dancing shoes, is propped on a boulder, staring sightlessly out to sea. A cryptic message is spelled out next to the body with sixty-nine polished black stones and a discarded vial of deadly veterinarian medication lies nearby. Jimmy was a wealthy racehorse owner, known far and wide as The Dancing Man. In a town like Dingle, everyone knows a little something about everyone else. But dig a bit deeper, and there’s always much more to find. And when Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien is dispatched out of Killarney to lead the murder inquiry, he’s determined to unearth every last buried secret.
Dimpna Wilde hasn’t been home in years. As picturesque as Dingle may be for tourists in search of their roots and the perfect jumper, to her it means family drama and personal complications. In fairness, Dublin hasn’t worked out quite as she hoped either. Faced with a triple bombshell—her mother rumored to be in a relationship with Jimmy, her father’s dementia is escalating, and her brother is avoiding her calls—Dimpna moves back to clear her family of suspicion.
Despite plenty of other suspects, the guards are crawling over the Wildes. But the horse business can be a brutal one, and as Dimpna becomes more involved with her old acquaintances and haunts, the depth of lingering grudges becomes clear. Theft, extortion, jealousy and greed. As Dimpna takes over the family practice, she’s in a race with the detective inspector to uncover the dark, twisting truth, no matter how close to home it strikes . . .
Other books that I have to read for review this week are: Auld Acquaintance by Sofia Slater
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Millie Partridge desperately needs a party. So, when her (handsome and charming) ex-colleague Nick invites her to a Hebridean Island for New Year’s Eve, she books her ticket North.
But things go wrong the moment the ferry drops her off. The stately home is more down at heel than Downton Abbey. Nick hasn’t arrived yet. And the other revellers? Politely, they aren’t exactly who she would have pictured Nick would be friends with.
Worse still, an old acquaintance from Millie’s past has been invited, too. Penny Maybury. Millie and Nick’s old colleague. Somebody Millie would rather have forgotten about. Somebody, in fact, that Millie has been trying very hard to forget.
Waking up on New Year’s Eve, Penny is missing. A tragic accident? Or something more sinister? With a storm washing in from the Atlantic, nobody will be able reach the group before they find out.
One thing is for sure – they’re going to see in the new year with a bang.
The Next Best Day by Sharon Sala
A fresh start for a young teacher to build the life she’s dreamt of A second chance at romance for a single dad The warm and uplifting small-town community cheering them on
After two back-to-back life-changing events, first grade teacher Katie McGrath left Albuquerque for a fresh start in Borden’s Gap, Tennessee. She is finally back in the classroom where she belongs, but it will take a little while for her to heal and feel truly like herself. She’ll need to dig deep to find the courage it takes to try again—in life and in love—but with some help from her neighbor Sam Youngblood and his adorable daughters who bring her out of her shell, her future is looking brighter than she dared imagine.
A Body at Lavender Cottage, (A Kate Palmer mystery #6) by Dee MacDonald
Nurse Kate Palmer is Cornwall’s answer to Miss Marple! But when a body turns up in her own garden can Kate solve the crime? Or is the murder a bit too close to home?
Kate Palmer is stunned when she wakes up one morning to discover the body of a man in the beautiful garden of Lavender Cottage. She’s spent the last few years renovating her cozy, clifftop cottage with its gorgeous views of the sparkling Cornish sea. And a death right under her nose is more than a little unsettling…
When Woody Forrest, Kate’s new husband and the village’s retired detective inspector, takes a closer look he realises the victim is none other than Frank Ford – Woody’s old nemesis. Now, Frank is lying dead amongst the daisies… strangled with Woody’s blue police tie.
Kate is certain the man she loves is not a murderer and is determined to prove his innocence. But who would want to kill Frank and frame Woody? As Kate investigates, Frank’s family seem to be the obvious suspects. Could it be Jason Ford, the youngest son, who has an odd obsession with birdwatching? Sid Kinsella, the angry father-in-law? Or Sharon Mason, the troublesome daughter?
When another member of the Ford family bites the dust while Woody is tending his allotment, it’s clear the killer is determined to bury Woody’s reputation. But when a chance conversation on Bluebell Road provides Kate with a clue, she must find a woman named Rose, who could hold the answers Kate is looking for.
But Kate needs to dig up the truth – and fast! – before poor Woody is thrown behind bars. Can she solve the case and save her husband before it’s too late?
I received six new ARCs from Netgalley this week, including the audio of No Strangers Here. They are: Devil’s Way by Robert Bryndza
Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea
On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry
Tell Me Lies by Teresa Driscoll
And the audiobook, The Couple in the Cabin, written by Daniel Hurst and narrated by Eilidh Beaton and Matt Bates
Do you have any of these on your tbr shelf?
Before I go, does anyone have a nice, tasty pumpkin pie recipe that they don’t mind sharing? I love pumpkin pie, but there are so many recipes out there it’s mind boggling!
No matter how exasperating she was, somehow Molly had a special connection to each of us. Molly and Blur shared a history of minor crime and rescued each other from dodgy situations without alerting the wider family. She and Oasis led marches to government buildings about the environment. After babysitting late one Easter weekend, Molly accidentally got hooked on the Masters and, ever since, she and Uncle Mike compared notes on all the Majors – a more unlikely golf fan there never was. Molly indulged Aunt Angela by attending 7 a.m. mass although, unbeknownst to Angela, Molly spent the time alternating between meditating and singing the soundtrack to Evita in her head. Molly brought Ann to life, was more reasonable than Even-Steven and ate Helen out of house and home. Aunt Frances approved of Molly’s non-conformist walkabout lifestyle and, weirdly, Molly and Bobby both loved swimming in the rain. There was a reason John was so worked up – sometimes it seemed like Molly was the daughter he’d never had. Molly had a connection to each of us but, more than that, she brought us all together – for good reasons and bad. Molly Black was like electricity – sometimes she lit up the world. Sometimes she electrocuted you.
ABOUT ‘THERE’S BEEN A LITTLE INCIDENT’: ‘There’s been a little incident…’
Molly Black has disappeared. She’s been a bit flighty since her parents died (sure, hadn’t she run off with a tree surgeon that time?) but this time, or so says her hastily written leaving note, she’s gone for good.
That’s why the whole Black clan – from Granny perched on the printer all the way through to Killian on Zoom from Sydney – is huddled together in the back room of Uncle John’s semi-D in the Dublin suburbs, arguing over what to do.
Cousin Bobby’s having a hard enough time of it as it is, convincing his family he’s happy single and childless. Lady V reckons this is all much too much fuss over a thirty year old. And Uncle Danny knows all too well how it feels to be lost with no one trying to find you.
But Uncle John is determined never to lose anyone again. Especially not his niece, who is more like her mum than she realises.
MY THOUGHTS: Warm and witty doesn’t even begin to cover it. There’s Been a Little Incident is a story of grief, of family, of love, in all it’s various forms.
This vast extended family reminds me of the diagram of an atom; you remember the one with a nucleus and all the particles whizzing about it? Only I’m not quite sure who the nucleus is here. It could be Uncle John, who loves to be the centre of things; the organiser. But it’s more likely that the nucleus is fluid and that each individual slips effortlessly in and out of the role in some strange uncoreographed dance that only they know the steps to.
Molly is a wonderful character. She seems to be a free spirit, but perhaps she’s simply lost, untethered, unsure of her place in this world. She appears relaxed and nothing seems to irritate her. She sings ‘Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina’ (off-key) when she’s driving, and counts upwards in fives when she’s stressed. She can’t stay in any one place for any length of time; she is always on the move – running, running, running, mostly from herself and the insurmountable grief that she doesn’t know how to live with. But, of course, the problem with running away is that you take yourself with you.
I love the dynamics in the Black family; the way they both support and gossip about one another. Electrons and neutrons.
I also enjoyed the mystery that is woven into this story. Because Molly was not the only person to disappear that night . . .
There’s Been a Little Incident is a superb debut novel and Alice Ryan is an author I will be watching for.
Family was sometimes simultaneously not enough and too much. You needed them and there were times when what you needed was not to need them.
THE AUTHOR: Alice Ryan grew up in Dublin. After moving to London to study at the LSE, she spent ten years working in the creative industries, holding roles in publishing, film and TV. She was Head of Insight and Planning at BBC Studios before returning to Ireland. She now works at The Arts Council of Ireland and lives in Dublin with her husband Brian and their daughter Kate.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Head of Zeus, Apollo via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of There’s Been a Little Incident by Alice Ryan for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
EXCERPT: Auntie’s job was to keep me under surveillance. I was not to break free again, once was enough. I was too much like my mother, who abandoned the mothering ship early; too much like my father, who we don’t talk about. He’s a traveller, not of the world, just the roads of Ireland, a king of the long acre. I’ve never heard his name, though he has plenty of labels. He’s a gypsy, a tinker, a knacker, a pikey, and plenty worse besides. I heard all of them from Granda, so I was well-prepared for what I was to hear at school. It bounced off me, the abuse of amateurs. Granda doesn’t have any truck with men who don’t own land, who don’t work it but who want to borrow it from time to time without paying their proper dues. It’s not decent to use land when it’s not going to be handed on.
One of the things that will make his fists form fast is the reality that I am his rightful heir. Indeed, I am his only heir, but I’m so tainted that he’s had to make alternative arrangements. He’s against anything of mixed blood – mongrels, Catholic and Protestant unions of any kind, Romany filth coming anywhere near a girl who was raised to be good. That I’m a bastard born under his roof is more than he can stomach. That he kept me and my mother is the single thing I have never been able to understand. His threat to put me and her out to the open road where we belonged was part of our daily bread.
ABOUT ‘THE SAINT OF LOST THINGS’: There was a time when Lindy Morris escaped to London and walked along the Thames in the moonlight. When life was full and exciting.
Decades later, Lindy lives back with her Auntie Bell on the edge: on the edge of Donegal and on the edge of Granda Morris’s land. Granda Morris is a complicated man, a farmer who wanted sons but got two daughters: Auntie Bell and Lindy’s mother, who disappeared long ago.
Now, Lindy and Bell live the smallest of lives, in a cottage filled with unfulfilled dreams. But when the secrets they have kept for thirty years emerge, everything is rewritten. Will Lindy grasp who she is again?
MY THOUGHTS: Raw and brutal, but with a beauty all its own.
These characters got inside my head. Lindy with her freaky-deaky smile – I just cracked up at her description of her antics in the supermarket – and a wicked sense of humour, one that I admired; and Bell, full of rage and resentment, are confined together in a cold and desolate house on the edge of a bog. Their detente is not at all cordial. They take what pleasure they can in rubbing one another up the wrong way. The one thing that they are united on is their fear of Granda. Quick with his fists and sharp with his tongue he never lets them forget.
Lindy is the ‘wrong child’ – in more ways than one. Granda punishes her for being alive, he punishes her for her dead mother’s sins, he punishes her because he can. Lindy uses her times of incarceration in ‘the Clinic’ to spread a little fear of her own.
But Lindy has a secret, one she has managed to keep from Bell and Granda, and the ‘wimmen’ who come to visit each week. Mrs. Martha Kennedy who is kind; Mrs. Kitty Barr, a ‘bitchy bitch’; and Mrs. Deirdre McCrossan who likes nothing better than to rake muck on people’s lives and spread it about. The sole light shining in Lindy’s miserable life is her friend Miriam, a happy, settled woman, with grandchildren who will occasionally distract Bell so that Lindy can get up to a little mischief.
She is resigned to her life until the Parish Priest, who enjoys a good chinwag with Lindy, makes a discovery . . . and nothing will ever be the same again.
The characterisation is superb, but if you’re looking for a joyous read, this isn’t it. It is beautiful, sad and bleak; tales of hopes dashed and crushed, but with perhaps a little redemption in the end.
THE AUTHOR: Tish Delaney was born and brought up in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. Like a lot of people of her generation, she left the sectarian violence behind by moving to England. After graduating from Manchester University, she moved to London and worked on various magazines and broadsheets as a reporter, reviewer and sub-editor. She left the Financial Times in 2014 to live in the Channel Islands to pursue her career as a writer.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Hutchinson Heinemann via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Saint of Lost Things by Tish Delaney for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com
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