You Have Gone Too Far

County Kerry Mystery #3

by Carlene O'Connor

With the haunting, moody prose of Tana French and the compulsive storytelling of Dervla McTiernan or Ann Cleeves, bestselling author Carlene O'Connor lures readers to a remote village on Ireland's southwest coast, where winding windswept roads open to spectacular views of rugged cliffs against immense, lonely beaches...and some fear a mysterious cult could be connected to the disappearance of a young pregnant woman.
After two pregnant women in Dingle who have never met each receive a chilling email warning them that they're in grave danger, the two decide to meet each other to figure out what is going on. But when one of the mothers, Shauna, a deaf woman, arrives at their meeting place at the village Spring Festival, she fears a trap and hurries off to meet the couple who plan to adopt her baby.

Meanwhile, Dimpna Wilde has her hands full with lambing season and keeping track of her father, so she's grateful for the help of a well-meaning ten-year-old boy, Dylan, at the veterinary clinic. But when the lad goes missing after going into a bog on a dare with two other boys to search for a "monster," she is desperate to help find him.

After the adoptive couple are discovered tied up in their home, telling a terrifying story of a deaf pregnant woman being abducted by a man wearing a butterfly mask, Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien and Detective Sergeant Barbara Neely fear a repeat of a disturbing case from twenty years earlier, when a charismatic leader calling himself the Shepherd, lured poor pregnant girls into his enigmatic cult. Though allegations of baby smuggling were never proven, he'd been put away on other charges. But then they learn that the Shepherd has recently been released from prison.

Trapped in a cold, dark room with a frightened boy, Shauna fears for their lives as well as that of her unborn baby. If she has any chance of getting out and away from the Moth Man, as she calls her abductor, she'll have to figure out the truth behind who she really is and how that connects to the ordeal she finds herself in now. But time is running out and her baby will be born soon . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Ireland, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Irish Literature

606 pages, Library Binding

First published October 22, 2024

About the author

Carlene O’Connor is the USA Today Bestselling author of The Irish Village Mystery Series, The Home to Ireland Series and the County Kerry Mystery series. The first in the County Kerry Series, NO STRANGERS HERE received a starred review from Kirkus and was the Mystery Pick of the Month at Barnes and Noble in September of 2023. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. She currently lives in New Mexico.

https://carleneoconnor.net/

Reviews

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still enjoy our two main characters, though I wish they would share some more actual page time, and I love the small town Irish setting. That said, though this story started out strong, I feel that it went a bit off the rails just so the author could shout "Plot twist!" In the end it just got too convoluted and didn't make much sense if you actually thought about it. There were a couple of instances where I got the impression that perhaps the author made some story changes in a later draft but overlooked some areas to correct so that the new narrative flowed seamlessly from what came before. For example, there is an instance where the main female character is recalling a particularly embarrassing moment from her adolescence and she is remembering how another character didn't say much of anything to her in that moment, how he looked on her with empathy, in fact...but in the very next paragraph she's thinking of the horrible thing he said to her, so horrible that she's never told another soul about it in 20 years. I'll still read the next book for the characters and the setting and just hope that the author doesn't go too overboard in her efforts to deliver surprise twists.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.25 stars)
I love a good mystery and Carlene O’Connor writes great ones. You Have Gone Too Far is the third book in her County Kerry mystery series, a decidedly non-cozy mystery series. This series features the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland and the main character is Dimpna Wilde, a veterinarian. Cormac O’Brien is the local detective inspector and is becoming a romantic interest for Dimpna, but the mystery is front and center in these books. This time the story revolves around danger to pregnant women. There are flashbacks to the 1990s, when a small cult existed, focusing on pregnant young women - and it led to tragedy. Eventually the present day dangers do get linked to those of the 90s. Dimpna isn’t the main focus of this story but she gets drawn in, due to circumstances.

The story was quite creepy and it kept me guessing. I don’t want to spoil the story but be aware that there are some gory scenes and some confinement issues, including one with a young boy. I loved the deaf representation of one of the pregnant women. She was really smart and really brave.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this series, due out next month. (I’m a bit behind on my reading!)

In addition to the print version, I listened to the audiobook, narrated beautifully by Emily O’Mahoney. I loved listening to the local accents.

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Joann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first encountered Carlene O’Connor this summer in her Irish Village Mystery series. After quickly devouring the entire series, I was excited to see her County Kerry books on the library shelf. I was drawn into the grittier narrative while meeting new and complex characters in the village of Dingle. When I saw the 3rd book was being offered in the Giveaways, I immediately signed up and was thrilled to be a winner. The book was hard to put down. This is her darkest and most compelling book yet. O’Connor blends the past with the present through vivid characters from the previous books and new faces with hidden connections. The story of kidnapping, cults, and murders is a fast-paced and complex story that left me wanting more. While I was a bit disappointed that the budding romance between Dimpna and Cormac was pushed into the background, the last chapter assured me there will be more. I highly recommend this book to O’Connor fans. Thanks, Goodreads for the Giveaway.

[PlantingReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Will update Netgalley review in a bit, trying to remember password*

This is my third ARC from the series, and I once again loved it. I loved the atmosphere, setting, and most importantly Dimpna and (Cormac).

I always enjoy reading about Dimpna and all of her animals at the clinic she runs or her helping out the locals with their pets. It's part of my favorite part of every book. 😆

This one was a bit darker than the other two, and tbh it was hard at times to get through the chapters with some of the pregnant characters. That may be a *me* issue though since becoming a parent, not on the author! I still really enjoyed it.

This was a solid 4/4.5 for me.

As always, I will look forward to the next books in the series from this author. I will refrain from posting in detail things I liked about it until it's out!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

cormac o'brien and dimpna wilde are so important to me personally

[Tessa Teevan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve really enjoyed this whole series; this one is SO GOOD! The premise, the execution, the twists? I was hooked!

[Charles Burbridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a GoodReads giveaway.

"You Have Gone Too Far" suffers mightily in the third act, going from competent crime novel into a finale where the point of view characters disappear for long stretches, reveals come fast, furious, and out of left field, and virtually none of the detective work in the previous 200 pages matters to the reveal and instead a visit to a psychic does.

I can't recommend this book, even though the first two-thirds are above average, because it breaks the rule all suspense books should follow -- the story has to play fair with the audience, and this story does not.

[Ashley Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third read from this series. I found the first one last year shortly before the second came out and that was that. I'm now a resident of Dingle and I hope to never leave. The characters are rich and complicated, the town is real and deep, I can't get enough. Every book reveals more layers of the people and the town. Centralizing around the town vet and the new Inspector. It may sound like overkill after all how can one town have this much fucked up history? Realistically if you've never lived in a small town you can't understand or even fathom how accurate that can be.
The grasp this book had on me cannot be overstated. I literally forgot to eat while I was engrossed in the pages. I could not get enough of the story. As far as mysteries go it wasn't mysterious for long. Maybe it's because this is my favorite genre, maybe it's because it's my third of O'Connor's works and I've picked up on her patterns, I don't know but I frankly don't care. Once I figured it out I had to keep reading to see if I was right! I had to see how all the pieces fell together. I couldn't let it go until I had everything.
Reading this as a 7 month pregnant woman certainly played to the emotion but the writing would have done that either way. Beautifully done as usual. Each book just gets better. This one is by far the darkest installment and I don't think I'll ever get over some of the parts in this book but again I don't care. Disgust me with horrors anytime Carlene!

[Dee Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too dark and too much of a thriller for me. Only read about 10%

[Cheryl Tabor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a great reading experience. Ms. O'Connor writes with twist to make you squirm. Every turn of the page there were characters you were anxious to find out more about. The plot kept getting thicker and thicker. I am anxious to read more of this author. I am thankful to have had the opportunity for this ARC read. Thanks Goodreads, Kensington Publishing and the Author Ms Carlene O'Connor.

[Haly Hoards Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. O'Connor knows how to write a story that begins as a gentle breeze and ends as a whirlwind! The last 20 pages required me to take frequent breaks so that I could step away for a few minutes to digest all of the revelations.
While reading I thought I had figured out who the bad guys were but then my theory was blown up. After further reading I again thought I had it all figured out only to find that I was again wrong. (This usually does not happen with me.) When the true perpetrators where revealed I was gob smacked!
I will certainly be reading more of Ms. O'Connor's riveting books!
I was so fortunate to receive an Advanced Readers Edition from the author, Charlene O'Connor, and Kensington Publishing through a Goodreads giveaway!

[Pam Karlberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read most of Carlene O’Connor’s mysteries because they have interesting characters and a story that isn’t easy to figure out. However, I struggled with this one because the crimes were so dark. I almost didn’t keep reading but I did want to know what happened. The ending was different than I expected which is typical of her writings. I will continue to recommend her books to others but I might add caution with this one.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me this was an overly complicated mystery that lost the sense of place and compelling characters that made me enjoy the first two books in this series. Having so many new characters with multiple names m1ade it difficult to keep up and enjoy the solving of the mystery.

[Karen Stallman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You Have Gone Too Far” by Carlene O’Connor it's the 3rd instalment in the County Kerry Series, grapples with death, friendships, and secrets…
Some fear a mysterious cult from 30 years ago could be connected to the disappearance of a young pregnant woman and small boy…

The story is character-driven and also very descriptive you feel like you are right there in Dingle, Ireland. I’m a huge fan of the authors other mystery series set in Ireland , but her more gritty and suspenseful mystery novels are becoming my favorite.

The mystery is interesting and had lots of twists which kept me guessing. With so many suspects to follow I was surprised I guessed just before it was revealed.

I highly recommend this book to all my Irish Mystery loving friends.

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Pamela Sewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads Giveaway. County Kerry Mystery #2. This haunting narrative was one of the most compelling I have read in recent months. In a remote village on the Irish coast pregnant women are going missing. When a ten year old boy is abducted from the bog where the latest victim is found the tension intensifies. Villagers remember a cold case from 29 years ago and wonder is the Shepherd active again? Local veterinarian Dimpna Wilde and her partner policeman Corman O'Brien desperately utilize all their local contacts for leads. I have read some of this author's Irish village mysteries but much prefer this grittier, more intense series now that I have discovered it. A solidl y plotted storyline with good character development. I will be seeking out the first entry in the series and will continue to follow it. A recommended read.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you discovered Carlene O'Connor?

l love the way she writes and the stories she weaves.
The County Kerry novels are not cozies like her Irish Village series, but this Dingle novel was especially dark with tragic subject matter. A cult that abducts pregnant women...certainly kept me turning the pages, but l'm ready to visit the cozy Irish Village series now!

Dimpna continues to be an inspiring amateur sleuth and compassionate veterinarian while her relationship with Conrad O'Brien heats up and grows.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This creeped me the FUCK out. Cults are bad, kids.

[GEOrocks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder mystery set in Ireland with lots going on - pregnant women going missing, old cult members and stolen babies for starters.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third installment of the series. I’m really hoping the author continues the series. This was such a different, interesting storyline. It had lots of twists. There were definitely things I hadn’t figured out. It had the right amount of creepy. I would have liked for Cormac and Dimpna to have shared the pages a little more than they did. This series is a little darker than her Irish Village books. Completely different, but still incredible. I don’t want to give away plot points, but it will have you on the edge of your seat, and keep you guessing the whole time.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ In a book where practically 90% of the characters lie at some point, it is hard for a reader to swim to the truth. (Poor DI O’Brien, as well.)

I began this book on audio because I love Emily O'Mahony's narration with her wonderful Irish accent, but I couldn't finish it before it was due back, so switched to print copy. I was glad I did, because to keep up with the plot, I ended up having to go back and forth in the book to put together several charts of the characters over two time periods with their genealogies/ relationships to each other (which I kept having to update as new info came in). That was complicated, and the ending seemed a bit far-fetched to me, though I appreciated the innovative narrative vision of a certain kind of cult. One loose end for me is that O'Connor never explained what the motivation was of The Shepherd for the events that happened in the 1990s.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corp. for the opportunity to read "You Have Gone Too Far" the 3rd book in the County Kerry Mystery series, in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story start off with a strange email talking about butterflies, a wolf, a hound and sheep. This is followed by messages debating the first email.

There are a lot of characters introduced and complicated storylines. There are different timelines as well. A body in the bog, but no one finds it, a couple adopting a baby but they disappear, two pregnant girls and a cult? I'm a huge, huge fan of Carlene O'Connor and read everything she writes but this plot just confused me. I was expecting more along her usual Irish mystery style.

[Stephanie Sinek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing, but also baffling. The story covers two time periods about 20(?) years apart. Some things just didn’t add up. An interesting read but a few plot points that just didn’t make sense.


Spoilers begin here:
Why did the shepherd tell Dimpna’s dad to make her leave town when she was pregnant? If he’s the shepherd, he can either easily keep tabs on her or just ignore her.
What would make Orla’s husband (Kevin), who had only recently met his birth mother, partake in her wild scheme, dispose of bodies, etc.
Why was Dylan kidnapped? I think at one point the golden one said she needed him but why?
The womb - described as such an interesting building yet no one in the small town has heard of it or knows where it is?
What is the point of the wolfhound breeder?

[Sharon O'Dwyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first two books in this series. This one started out strong but lost its way 2/3 of the way through. The story became convoluted and confusing. It was like a different author wrote the last chapters, and without an editor. In addition, the age of the main pregnant character had to be an error as it was way off from the rest of the story line. No detail, as it might be considered a spoiler. Thus, I am marking this review as having spoilers just to be cautious.

[David Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you know from my reviews, I love Ms. O'Connor's "Irish Village Mystery" series, because I absolutely adore Siobhán O’Sullivan, the rest of the "O'Sullivan Six," and the other residents of Kilbane, Cork County. However, I had struggled to warm up to Dr. Dimpna Wilde, Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien, and the rest of the characters in this "County Kerry" series - at least through the first two books.

But all that changed with this gripping third entry.

As usual, Ms. O'Connor, whose ancestry is Irish and who splits her time between the United States (New Mexico) and Ireland, once again does a masterful job of describing the quaint setting on the Emerald Isle. As I regularly note in my reviews of the Irish authors I read, Ireland is often more of a character than just the setting.

Also, she's getting a better sense of the characters, which is typical in series. I'm finally starting to appreciate Dr. Dimpna Wilde, Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien, and the rest of the characters.

But the biggest strength of this work - especially in comparison to the first two novels in the series - was an intriguing and gripping plot. As you know, I avoid going too deeply into plots in my reviews to avoid spoilers. But here's the book jacket description:

"After two pregnant women in Dingle who have never met each receive a chilling email warning them that they're in grave danger, the two decide to meet each other to figure out what is going on. But when one of the mothers, Shauna, a deaf woman, arrives at their meeting place at the village Spring Festival, she fears a trap and hurries off to meet the couple who plan to adopt her baby.

Meanwhile, Dimpna Wilde has her hands full with lambing season and keeping track of her father, so she's grateful for the help of a well-meaning ten-year-old boy, Dylan, at the veterinary clinic. But when the lad goes missing after going into a bog on a dare with two other boys to search for a "monster," she is desperate to help find him.

After the adoptive couple are discovered tied up in their home, telling a terrifying story of a deaf pregnant woman being abducted by a man wearing a butterfly mask, Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien and Detective Sergeant Barbara Neely fear a repeat of a disturbing case from twenty years earlier, when a charismatic leader calling himself the Shepherd, lured poor pregnant girls into his enigmatic cult. Though allegations of baby smuggling were never proven, he'd been put away on other charges. But then they learn that the Shepherd has recently been released from prison.

Trapped in a cold, dark room with a frightened boy, Shauna fears for their lives as well as that of her unborn baby. If she has any chance of getting out and away from the Moth Man, as she calls her abductor, she'll have to figure out the truth behind who she really is and how that connects to the ordeal she finds herself in now. But time is running out and her baby will be born soon..."

Unlike in the first two novels of the series, Ms. O'Connor does a terrific job of developing this plot into a page turner. Having said that, my wife (who actually read it first) and I agreed that the plot was almost TOO complex at times. In fact, a character chart and/or a family tree graphic would have been helpful. (I don't want to go any deeper than that to avoid giving too much away.) But that's why I gave this four, not five, stars.

In the end, however, the author hooked me on this series with this terrific read. Who knows? Perhaps I'll grow to love this series as much as I do her "Irish Village Mystery" series.

[Speranca]

Ono što je zanimljivo je da sutra počinje treći tjedan vrtića, a bolesno nije moje dijete, već ja. Nisam očekivala taj scenarij, ali možda mi je to i draže.

Napadaju me užasne vijesti i predviđanja za ovaj svijet i počela sam, kao što sam već više puta u zadnjih nekoliko postova rekla, bježati u knjige. Neki su izbori za taj cilj bili vrlo dobri, dok su neki, zapravo, dosta bili dosta loši. Današnja je knjiga, u biti, i jedno i drugo.

Iako bolesna, glava i oči mi zuje i teško se koncentrirati, od jučer navečer do danas ranije poslijepodne pročitala sam ovu knjigu. Trebalo mi je nekoliko sati, čitala sam ju na engleskom, mojem ne materinjem jeziku. Što to govori o knjizi?

An Irish Village Mystery

Carlene O'Connor otkrila sam slučajno, kupivši jednu njezinu knjigu na nekom sniženju za kindle. Trebalo je sto godina da ju krenem čitati, ali kad jesam samo sam htjela što više. Bila je to knjiga iz njezine serije An Irish Village Mystery, koja prati mladu policajku u jednom malom irskom selu i njezinu braću i sestre kako navigiraju kroz život bez roditelja vodeći mali bistro i rješavajući nezgodna ubojstva koja ih prate gdje god se nađu. Knjige su lagane, zanimljive i tople - posebno kada se prati njihova obitelj i odnosi, odnosi među mještanima i odnos između policajke i glavnog detektiva.

A County Kerry Mystery

No, Carlene O'Connor piše i drugu seriju romana, A County Kerry Mystery, koja, iako isto u Irskoj i također prati događaje u malom mjestu, ima potpuno drugi osjećaj, vrlo jeziv osjećaj. Slučajevi u ovoj seriji, kao i atmosfera, puno su više jezivi i hladni i manji je naglasak na odnosima glavnih likova, iako ih ima, ali kao da su ipak u drugom planu istraživanju.

You Have Gone Too Far (Otišli ste predaleko - u slobodnom prijevodu)

Pročitana me knjiga toliko uvukla u sebe. Počela je vrlo jezivom i čudnom e-mail prepiskom, koja mi je, opet, dala finu tjeskobicu, a zatim se selimo u gradić Dingle i polako ulazimo u slučaj. Upoznajemo mladu, gluhu trudnicu, koja se sprema dijete dati na posvajanje, ali kratko nakon početka netko ju otima, dok u isto vrijeme u močvari pokraj grada pronalaze mrtvo tijelo druge mlade trudnice i njezinog djeteta. Otet je još i desetogodišnji dječak i glavni inspektor Cormac O'Brien, uz pomoć inspektorice Neely i svoje prijateljice (moguće djevojke), veterinarke Dimpne počinje istragu u nadi da će što prije pronaći otete ljude i riješiti umorstvo.

Naravno, nije sve to toliko jednostavno jer se u cijeli slučaj upleće i stari slučaj iz prošlosti. Čudnovati, neugodni dnevnički zapisi iz 1994. izmjenjuju se sa sadašnjim događajima i počinju se nazirati veze između njih koje govore da inspektorica Neely možda nije ispravno riješila slučaj 30 godina prije. Knjiga je zakukičasti labirint ružnih događaja koji izazivaju jezu i tjeskobu dok se konačno sve ne razrješi, a nagrada je konačan spoj glavnih likova - Cormaca i Dimpne (ne mogu si pomoći) - čiju je sporogoruću kemiju autorica majstorski razvijala tijekom prijašnjih knjiga.

Zašto je knjiga dobar i loš izbor? Zato što brzo uvuče, ima hrpu događanja, nema sporog i praznog hoda, događaji su zanimljivi, likovi su prilično dobro izgrađeni za 350-ak stranica i kraj je zadovoljavajuć, dok s druge strane, pogotovo ako ste trudni ili nedavno imali dijete, možda biste mogli preskočiti knjigu, zbog same teme i događaja u njoj, možda nekih pregrafičkih opisa; i djelomično je zato tu bila tjeskobica i bilo je malo teže u knjizi pronaći bijeg od ružnih vijesti.

Carlene ipak svoje knjige završava u pozitivnim notama i s nekom nadom za sretan kraj pa tu ima nekog iskupljenja za prijašnje patnje kroz knjigu, nazovimo ih tako.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series, set in tiny Dingle, Ireland, is focused on Dimpna Wilde, a veterinarian. In the first two novels, Dimpna was front and center, but in this third outing she takes a bit of a back seat to a full on, ticking clock police investigation. Stepping up is Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien, who catches the most nightmarish of cases, and it’s haunted by a similar case from 20 years ago. The perpetrators of that case have recently been released from prison, and Cormac’s Sergeant, Barbara Neely, has never gotten over working that one. It drives her forward with pure fury.

The book dips back and forth between two timelines. In one, around 1994, the author portrays a cult where pregnant women live with a “Shepherd” and a “Staff” (Staff is the muscle) awaiting the birth of their children. With the birth of the fist child, everything goes sideways, and the women realize the set up may not be what they thought it was. When one of them is discovered with her throat slit, the two men in charge are ultimately sent to prison.

In the present, the two have recently been released. They live in supervised housing and are still under the watchful eye of the law. However, when another pregnant woman is found murdered in the same fashion, the eyes of the community turn to these two men and things get ugly. Uglier. The crime is so horrific it threatens to swallow Cormac just as it did Barbara; and when another pregnant woman goes missing along with a ten-year-old, the investigation becomes laser focused. Secrets of not only the two men but of several others in town begin to come to light.

One of the real strengths of these books is the community O’Connor has built around her main character, Dimpna. O’Connor also writes cozies, and in a cozy novel, community is king. Bringing a different slant to things with a grimmer storyline doesn’t erase the author’s skill with what fantasy writers call “world building.” I would call it world building here as well, it’s just that the world is our own familiar one.

Dimpna is grounded by her veterinary practice, her retired vet father who now has Alzheimer’s, her psychic mother, who lives in a trailer next to her Dad, and her son, Ben, who has recently returned to Dingle. She also has a brother who has just launched his own tattoo parlor. Dimpna, as it happens, is involved with Cormac and being a part of the investigation seems natural as she provides him with several essential clues in his search for the killer of the young woman.

This novel works on many levels. It’s a propulsive read, for one thing. This author tends toward the operatic in her violence level but somehow her books aren’t as disturbing as they might be – if this story was penned by Elizabeth George, for example, it might be almost unreadable. O’Connor has a glint of optimism throughout, even when writing about the most dire of circumstances, and the characters and community she has created back her up. While this book is indeed full of grim occurrences it’s also full of hope, in a weird way.

The ending is actually a pretty happy one and the complex crime at the center of the story is satisfactorily resolved. I’m pretty sure there are a couple readers in my book club who might have sussed out the culprit, but I was surprised. Not in a bad way, as the author had fairly set things up for her ultimate reveal. My main critique of this series are the completely unmemorable titles. This is a thoughtful, well written book and even if you can’t remember the title, you’ll remember the story and the characters.

[Jodi C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was my very first Goodreads giveaway win, and I never win anything, so I was tickled pink. You Have Gone Too Far by Carlene O'Connor is marked as #3 in the County Kerry Series, but I didn’t feel that I was at a disadvantage having not read the first two. There is obviously history between a few of the main characters, but nothing that I felt I needed to know to enjoy this story. And enjoy it, for the most part, I did.

This story is set in Ireland, and I have never had the pleasure of visiting. There were phrases here and there that I had either never heard before, or some that I had heard before, but they mean something totally different than they mean here in the States. An example would be, “taking the piss.”

There is some dark subject matter here and that sort of thing isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Murder, kidnapping, and a twisted cult that targets pregnant women. I just wanted to throw that in.

I loved the spirited dialogue throughout this story, and one conversation in the beginning of the book literally made me laugh out loud because I could see that scene so clearly in my head based on the way that it was written. I walked around speaking with an Irish accent to the cats for a couple of days after that.

I got the impression that Cormac and Dimpna were supposed to be the main characters, but it was Shauna who held my attention. I liked Shauna’s spunk, and the fact that she is deaf makes for an interesting twist throughout the story.

Cormac is a stand-up guy, funny, and seems to be protective toward Dimpna, who he clearly has the hots for. He might be funny and honorable, but good grief, this man is an awful detective. There was one major twist that was obvious about 150 pages before his lightbulb came on. I am going to assume he was a better detective in the previous books in this series and give him the benefit of the doubt.

The first half of this book was great and I enjoyed it immensely, but it goes seriously off the rails after that until it kind of crash lands at the end. There are too many names and nicknames to the point that I had no idea who was who at more than one point. In all honesty, I am not sure I am totally clear on it still.

There are also relationships tossed in where you have to suddenly figure out who is related to who, what their real name is, what their nickname is (Seven Star, Golden One, Red Rose, Twisted Sister, Maple Syrup…), and then also remember their REAL name because sometimes that is used instead of the nickname. I just don’t have that much brain capacity left at this stage in my life.

The ending just lost me and had me stuck on... ummm... what? It was a buzzkill after that strong start. The strong start, however, is what makes me want to check out the first book in this series because I am interested in reading more from this author.

I am still stoked that I won this book. Merry Christmas to me!

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won an arc from GR of this and while there were a few times I wished I had read books 1 &2 it wasn't all that hard to catch up. CW - kidnapping, murder of pregnant women, pregnant women being held until they give birth, child kidnapping

So yeah, this is dark content. Set in Dingle, Ireland, the book darts back and forth between three main point of view characters Dimpna Wilde veterinarian, Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien and Shauna a young deaf ready to give birth woman. If I'm honest there were a few things about the beginning and ending that bothered me but I rounded up from a 3.5 here.

Even though an amateur sleuth is part of this, it's definitely a police procedural in feel. Dimpna is there because she is smartly drawn in by helping with the lambing and calming the young son of the rancher (as birth is traumatic) which is important later and one of the former cult members comes to her clinic.

Because yes, this does tie into a cult that was in the area some decades before that Cormac's Detective Sergeant Barbara Neely had worked and while they jailed 2 people not all the cultists were caught (we also get to see the journals of those women). The disappearances of pregnant women now (and the death of one) looks so much like what happened decades ago and the men they put away have been released because they served their sentence.

Dimpna is also worried about her dementia ridden father, her psychic mother, her newly adult son without much direction in life, her frayed friendship with someone else, Sheila, potentially mixed up in this as her cousin is also 9 months pregnant and Dimpna's relationship with Cormac that's starting up. So there's a lot going on in this.

I like DImpna and Cormac (but I didn't feel I got to know him as well, he has some serious quirks that I might have known better had I read the first two books) I also liked Shauna, the kidnap victim who sums up what the cultists are looking for (I don't want to spoil that) but at the same time has a strength to her that I liked.

What i didn't like so much was a couple of the clues/red herrings in the first 40 pages because they seemed heavy handed, a little too obvious but that was fine. However the ending bugged me a lot more. Without spoiling it, I can say it felt like it would have played out the same with or without Dimpna and Cormac and that was annoying.

Overall, though, I liked it a lot. I would definitely read more in this series.

[Anne, Unfinished Woman · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPOILER ALERT

I really like this series though I find that the writing is choppy at times and I have trouble connecting with the characters of O'Brien and Dimpna Wilde. This was also a very complicated and at times confusing story, given that a significant number of the characters have assigned names and roles in the cult, apart from their current life.

A body is found near a pond, in a very disturbing situation. First, three boys are enticed with ten euros to go to the spot where the body is posed. The third boy, Dylan Walsh, who refuses initially, responds to a dare and goes to the spot after the others, disappears, kidnapped. The woman they find is very pregnant, and when the police later look closely, the child has been born in what is termed a "coffin birth", the baby lying dead with the mother. The woman had been killed because her son had died in utero, not viable for the purpose she had been taken. The body has no ID but will be later identified as Fiona Sheehan. Her parents are on holiday. Their neighbor pulls piles of mail falling out of their box and discovers at the back a cell phone and note telling of her abduction, and giving them a limited time for a ransom, which has passed.

Thus begins an investigation that will return to the case of thirty years before, of a cult, murdered women and the conviction of two men, the Shepherd, Cahal Mackey, and the Staff, Flynn Barry, both recently released, and living in County Kerry. The community is convinced that they are behind the current death. A building called "the Womb" is where Dylan Walsh is being held along with a deaf, pregnant woman, Shauna Mills. The woman who is now leading the new cult is one of the past members, Golden One, Moira, whose son had been taken from her at birth and sold. She is now recreating the son, and his childhood she missed. She has found her son, has taken Dylan, representative of a young child and is waiting for the birth of Shauna's baby for the experiences of a newborn.

Dr. Dimpna Wilde will become involved as DI Cormac O'Brien begins a bewildering and complex case dealing with a raging community going after the former cult leaders, and former cult members trying to create new lives and not willing to share information. Long time resident, Danny Maguire, now old, is revealed as the grand ruler of the former cult, and the others his assistants, a man that Dimpna had always shied away from.

It is an interesting, if creepy, story.

[J Kromrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

"You Have Gone Too Far" by Carlene O'Connor is a captivating mystery novel that takes readers on a thrilling journey filled with unexpected twists and turns. O'Connor's deft storytelling and well-drawn characters make this book a standout in the genre, offering a gripping and immersive reading experience.

The story centers around Emma Sullivan, a determined and resourceful investigator who is known for her tenacity and keen instincts. When a seemingly straightforward case of a missing person spirals into a complex web of deceit, corruption, and danger, Emma finds herself pushed to her limits. As she uncovers layers of secrets and lies, she must navigate a treacherous landscape where trust is a rare commodity and every clue leads to more questions.

O'Connor's writing is sharp and evocative, creating a palpable sense of tension and urgency. The plot is intricately woven, with each chapter building upon the last to create a narrative that is both compelling and unpredictable. The characters are richly developed, each with their own motivations and complexities that add depth to the story. Emma, in particular, is a strong and relatable protagonist whose determination and vulnerability make her a character to root for.

"You Have Gone Too Far" explores themes such as justice, morality, and the blurred lines between right and wrong. O'Connor skillfully delves into the psychological and emotional toll of the investigation, making the stakes feel real and the outcomes deeply impactful.

The setting of the novel adds to its atmospheric tension, with vivid descriptions that transport readers into the heart of the action. Whether it's the bustling streets or the eerie, isolated locations, O'Connor's attention to detail brings the world of the novel to life.

"You Have Gone Too Far" is a masterfully crafted mystery that showcases Carlene O'Connor's talent for creating suspenseful and thought-provoking narratives. It is a must-read for fans of the genre and anyone who enjoys a well-told story that keeps them guessing until the very end. This novel is a testament to the power of determination and the lengths one will go to uncover the truth.