Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9780425251898
Berkley Publishing
304 Pages
$7.99; $2.99 Amazon
February 5, 2013
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Honoring the wish of her late grandmother, Maura Donovan visits the small Irish village where her Gran was born - though she never expected to get bogged down in a murder mystery. Nor had she planned to take a job in one of the local pubs, but she finds herself excited to get to know the people who knew her Gran.
In the pub, she's swamped with drink orders as everyone in town gathers to talk about the recent discovery of a nearly half-century-old body in a nearby bog. When Maura realizes she may know something about the dead man - and that he might be connected to another, more recent, death - she fears she's about to become mired in a homicide investigation. Maura has a sinking feeling she may really be getting in over her head...
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Maura Donovan grew up in Boston with an Irish grandmother who could barely support them both. Her father died when she was young, and her mother left them shortly afterward. Now she's gone to Leap, Ireland, to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish - to say a Mass for her in the church where she was married.
Maura discovered, going through her Gran's things, that there had been people she'd kept in touch with, and when Maura told them of her death, a Mrs. Nolan told her she would be welcome and not to worry about anything. But Maura is still surprised that the elderly friend of her Gran has secured lodging for her - and more, as Maura is soon to find out.
Maura meets a young girl who works at a nearby pub, and is soon finding herself helping - Maura tended bar and waitressed back home - and discovers a letter among the bills of the late owner, who also has recently passed. When a body is found in a peat bog, and the letter mentions an uncle who disappeared years ago, she wonders if they're related. But as Maura finds herself becoming immersed in this little town, she also finds that there are others who don't want her here - and will do anything to see she leaves...
I have to say that I grabbed this book for purely self-serving reasons: I, for one, am sick and tired of reading new books and finding that authors think we're interested in their personal beliefs and political views. I'm tired of them being 'subtly' thrown in here and there, like they think I'll be influenced somehow. So that's why I wanted to read a book which had been written years ago. I didn't want to be preached to, I wanted to be entertained, which is what books are supposed to do. (Admittedly, not all authors do this, but if I find more than one, it's one too many.)
Therefore, I'm glad this is the one I've chosen, because entertained is what I was. Ms. Connolly takes us to the small village and the people that inhabit it. There are all sorts, just as there are everywhere. She finds friends among them, people who are willing to see that her stay is a pleasant one, and help her any way they can. Their kindness overwhelms this young woman, who has grown up with little money, no computer, no car, no cell phone. It makes you understand why Maura doesn't trust people and thinks negatively with the life she's led. Perhaps here she can finally come to grips with her past and find a better future.
She wrestles with herself as to whether she will stay longer than the week she'd intended. When she becomes drawn into the mystery of the found body and the letter, and discovers the man was murdered, she has more reason to wonder if they're one and the same. She's also becoming interested in the people around her, and wonders if she might decide to make Ireland her home. But when she has an accident - that she knows was not an accident - it's apparent someone wants to change her mind and set her running back to Boston.
What ensues is a delightful mystery that turns into much more; it merges the past and the present together seamlessly and while we look for a killer we're also watching to see what it is that will make Maura decide to stay (as we know she will). This, in turn, makes for a very good mystery indeed, and I look forward to reading the next in the series. Recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Buried-Bog-County-Cork-Mystery/dp/0425251896/ref=
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3174275585
More on Sheila Connolly's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/sheila-connolly/
No comments:
Post a Comment