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County Cork Mystery #8
Fatal Roots
Some secrets are too big to stay buried...
A few months ago, Boston expat Maura Donovan was rekindled with her mother after more than twenty years of absence. Since then, Maura has been getting accustomed to Irish living, complete with an inherited house and a pub named Sullivan's. But now, her mother has returned--and she's brought Maura's half-sister in tow. To make matters more confusing, a handful of Cork University students are knocking on Maura's door asking about a mystical fairy fort that happens to be located on Maura's piece of land.
The lore indicates that messing with the fort can cause bad luck, and most everyone is telling Maura not to get too involved for fear of its powers, but Maura is curious about her own land, and she definitely doesn't buy into the superstition. Then one of the students disappears after a day of scoping out the fort on Maura's property.
Maura treads carefully, asking the folks around town who might have an idea, but no one wants anything to do with these forts. She has to take matters into her own hand--it's her land, after all. But when she uncovers a decades-old corpse buried in the center of the fort, nothing is for certain.
A few months ago, Boston expat Maura Donovan was rekindled with her mother after more than twenty years of absence. Since then, Maura has been getting accustomed to Irish living, complete with an inherited house and a pub named Sullivan's. But now, her mother has returned--and she's brought Maura's half-sister in tow. To make matters more confusing, a handful of Cork University students are knocking on Maura's door asking about a mystical fairy fort that happens to be located on Maura's piece of land.
The lore indicates that messing with the fort can cause bad luck, and most everyone is telling Maura not to get too involved for fear of its powers, but Maura is curious about her own land, and she definitely doesn't buy into the superstition. Then one of the students disappears after a day of scoping out the fort on Maura's property.
Maura treads carefully, asking the folks around town who might have an idea, but no one wants anything to do with these forts. She has to take matters into her own hand--it's her land, after all. But when she uncovers a decades-old corpse buried in the center of the fort, nothing is for certain.
325 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 7, 2020
346 people are currently reading
720 people want to read
About the author
Sheila Connolly
65 books1,389 followersSheila Connolly taught art history, structured and marketed municipal bonds for major cities, worked as a staff member on two statewide political campaigns, and served as a fundraiser for several non-profit organizations. She also managed her own consulting company providing genealogical research services.
She was a member of Sisters in Crime-New England (president 2011), the national Sisters in Crime, and the fabulous on-line SinC chapter, the Guppies. She also belonged to Romance Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America.
Sheila was Regent of her local DAR chapter, and a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants. She was also the grandchild of Irish immigrants. In addition to genealogy, Sheila loved restoring old houses, visiting cemeteries, and traveling.
She was a member of Sisters in Crime-New England (president 2011), the national Sisters in Crime, and the fabulous on-line SinC chapter, the Guppies. She also belonged to Romance Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America.
Sheila was Regent of her local DAR chapter, and a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants. She was also the grandchild of Irish immigrants. In addition to genealogy, Sheila loved restoring old houses, visiting cemeteries, and traveling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews
February 1, 2020
Dollycas’s Thoughts
This is a very hard review for me to write because this series had so much promise. I have been really enjoying my excursions to Ireland but for the second book in a row, the protagonist has driven me crazy.
Maura Donovan inherited a pub in Leap over a year ago through an agreement her grandmother, the woman who raised her, made with the previous owner. Her inheritance also included a cottage and we learn in this book several pieces of land. When she arrived she apparently signed a bunch of papers not realizing what she was signing and just went on her merry way showing up each day at the pub and returning to the cottage each night finding a dead body or two along the way. She recently reconnected with her mother and in this story meets her step-sister. She has two employees, a young lass named Rose, who is studying culinary arts so that the pub can start serving food, and Mick Sullivan, the bartender who Maura has a romantic relationship with.
Thank God for Rose and Mick because Maura knows nothing about running a business and after a year doesn’t seem willing to learn. She can’t answer basic questions about her business plans. She has a unique opportunity to get all the appliances she needs for free but has no clue what she wants or needs and passes all responsibility to Rose. Her younger sister who has just arrived in Ireland takes more interest and has more ideas than Maura.
In this story, a college student awakens Maura one morning asking to look for fairy forts on Maura’s land. I was excited to learn about the mystical fairy creations but when Maura didn’t even know what land was hers I was just shaking my head. While she may not be a farmer, her land could be rented out to make additional money to fix up the pub or other expenses but no one has ever approached Maura about this at all. That aside, the fairy forts are a very cool thing. A lot of folklore surrounds them and many believe they are best left alone and that angering the fairies could cause perilous consequences. The student offers to show Maura her maps on a computer but Maura explains she doesn’t have one and wouldn’t know how to use one if she did.
The student is joined by two classmates with equipment to help her investigate and record the fairy forts she finds but when they split up for lunch one of the students disappears. Maura gets the local garda involved and she and Mick do a little investigating on their own. They don’t find the student but do find a body buried in the center of one of the fairy forts. A body that has been there for decades. When the man is identified Maura finds there is a connection to her own past. In fact, the man’s story was an old one. A story just two people are still alive to tell, which they do after being put off for hours. Oh yes, and the student turns up too and is also connected to the old story.
I get that things in leap are laid back, at least around Sullivan’s Pub. Up the road, Maura’s mother is busy trying to get a hotel back on its feet following a murder in a previous book, but I just want Maura to be more engaged and not so lackadaisical. I like that her sister has come to visit and that Maura is making inroads with the mother that abandoned her.
My issues with Maura aside, and yes I qualified my review for the previous book the same way, there are some really good things in this story. I love Rose, she is smart and can think on her feet. The fairy fort theme was very interesting and after reading this story I want to know more. There was a lot of repetition throughout the book which was frustrating, tightening it up would make a shorter but better story.
Other series by this author have been very enjoyable and entertaining. With my Irish heritage, this series was a fave. I hope between now and the next book Maura has a grand awakening and realizes all she has been blessed with and starts to take it seriously.
This is a very hard review for me to write because this series had so much promise. I have been really enjoying my excursions to Ireland but for the second book in a row, the protagonist has driven me crazy.
Maura Donovan inherited a pub in Leap over a year ago through an agreement her grandmother, the woman who raised her, made with the previous owner. Her inheritance also included a cottage and we learn in this book several pieces of land. When she arrived she apparently signed a bunch of papers not realizing what she was signing and just went on her merry way showing up each day at the pub and returning to the cottage each night finding a dead body or two along the way. She recently reconnected with her mother and in this story meets her step-sister. She has two employees, a young lass named Rose, who is studying culinary arts so that the pub can start serving food, and Mick Sullivan, the bartender who Maura has a romantic relationship with.
Thank God for Rose and Mick because Maura knows nothing about running a business and after a year doesn’t seem willing to learn. She can’t answer basic questions about her business plans. She has a unique opportunity to get all the appliances she needs for free but has no clue what she wants or needs and passes all responsibility to Rose. Her younger sister who has just arrived in Ireland takes more interest and has more ideas than Maura.
In this story, a college student awakens Maura one morning asking to look for fairy forts on Maura’s land. I was excited to learn about the mystical fairy creations but when Maura didn’t even know what land was hers I was just shaking my head. While she may not be a farmer, her land could be rented out to make additional money to fix up the pub or other expenses but no one has ever approached Maura about this at all. That aside, the fairy forts are a very cool thing. A lot of folklore surrounds them and many believe they are best left alone and that angering the fairies could cause perilous consequences. The student offers to show Maura her maps on a computer but Maura explains she doesn’t have one and wouldn’t know how to use one if she did.
The student is joined by two classmates with equipment to help her investigate and record the fairy forts she finds but when they split up for lunch one of the students disappears. Maura gets the local garda involved and she and Mick do a little investigating on their own. They don’t find the student but do find a body buried in the center of one of the fairy forts. A body that has been there for decades. When the man is identified Maura finds there is a connection to her own past. In fact, the man’s story was an old one. A story just two people are still alive to tell, which they do after being put off for hours. Oh yes, and the student turns up too and is also connected to the old story.
I get that things in leap are laid back, at least around Sullivan’s Pub. Up the road, Maura’s mother is busy trying to get a hotel back on its feet following a murder in a previous book, but I just want Maura to be more engaged and not so lackadaisical. I like that her sister has come to visit and that Maura is making inroads with the mother that abandoned her.
My issues with Maura aside, and yes I qualified my review for the previous book the same way, there are some really good things in this story. I love Rose, she is smart and can think on her feet. The fairy fort theme was very interesting and after reading this story I want to know more. There was a lot of repetition throughout the book which was frustrating, tightening it up would make a shorter but better story.
Other series by this author have been very enjoyable and entertaining. With my Irish heritage, this series was a fave. I hope between now and the next book Maura has a grand awakening and realizes all she has been blessed with and starts to take it seriously.
January 9, 2020
I have enjoyed this series, up until this book. It almost felt like it was written by a different person. The plots and the dialogue were so repetitive and the mystery fizzled out long before it was solved. Midway I was so frustrated by the fact that the characters (particularly Maura) repeated herself over and over and over that I was ready to quit, something that has never happened to me before in this series.
January 17, 2020
2020 bk 23. I love the title, but this is the slowest book in the series, the dead body mystery doesn't kick in until late in the book. There are continuity errors - at the beginning Maura acts as if she doesn't know about the fairy rings (when Mick took her to one in the first book) and then later the information about the first ring pours out of her mouth. A lot of time is spent worrying over the kitchen at the pub, measuring and re-measuring and blithering. Maura's mother is back, with her half-sister Susan (age 15/16 - one age at one point, then 16 when she wants her to work in the pub). I think Connolly had problems deciding whether the mystery was - what's going on with Maura's Mom and sib or the dead man in the fairy ring. And then there is the whole missing grad student. Either he's missing and you really search or he's not and he's incidental to the story, which he isn't. A confusing book and sadly not the best of her series. And the cover even is wrong - her house faces the road, doesn't sit sideways and the fairy ring is on a hill up behind and to the side of the house - not sitting on level ground so near the house. GRRR. Sorry, I was disappointed.
October 7, 2019
The County Cork series has been extraordinary from the beginning and the 8th installment does not disappoint. Each story can be read as a standalone as they are complete but understanding the backstory is better, if read in order.
When Maura Donovan is alone after the death of her grandmother she heads to Cork County, Ireland. She has no friends. She is surprise to be left Sullivan's Pub and a house. Maura has a couple of problems in the book. Her Mother has return bringing with her, Maura's half sister. She learns along with the house, she also inherited a number of plots around the county. She hears about the 'fairy circles and several are located on her land. Looking around for one she finds one. In the shallow part in the center of one a murdered body is detect. Who is the man and why was he buried in a fairy circle? What is Maura's response to her Mother action? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.
Disclosure: Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for a copy through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
When Maura Donovan is alone after the death of her grandmother she heads to Cork County, Ireland. She has no friends. She is surprise to be left Sullivan's Pub and a house. Maura has a couple of problems in the book. Her Mother has return bringing with her, Maura's half sister. She learns along with the house, she also inherited a number of plots around the county. She hears about the 'fairy circles and several are located on her land. Looking around for one she finds one. In the shallow part in the center of one a murdered body is detect. Who is the man and why was he buried in a fairy circle? What is Maura's response to her Mother action? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.
Disclosure: Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for a copy through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
February 10, 2020
This book was such a chore to get through. 90% is repetitive filler. I have never felt that any of the County Cork series books were brilliant masterpieces, simply fluff reading for passing the time, but the combination of the setting in Ireland (a country I am completely in love with) and the story of Maura and her inheritance, managed to keep me going, despite the inconsistencies and shallow plot lines. But this book was truly terrible. How many times do I have to read that Maura's mother is sorry she left her? How many stupid, insecure questions is Maura gonna whine about? How many times is she gonna just "check and make sure" of a hundred little, dumb things? To call this series of books mysteries is a stretch, as nothing ever really happens, especially not in this latest book. All kinds of questions left unanswered (Why did the student disappear and where did he go?) and contradictions. Also, she repeats (over and over!) information we have already heard a million times, such as that Maura came to Ireland without knowing she had inherited the pub, house and land because her grandmother made an arrangement with Old Mick. We have heard this repeated to us about a dozen times PER BOOK. This is Book 8 - I KNOW how Maura got the pub, thank you. Looks like Sheila Connolly was contracted to write a certain number of these and she's just trying to fill enough pages with words to get them published. And she copy/pastes entire sentences just to get her word count up. One wonders why such a person even bothers writing this drivel instead of actually putting some thought into writing a clever novel. I know I am done with this series and especially this author. Rolling my eyes repeatedly and screaming "Oh Maura shut up!" at my book is NOT what I'm going for when I decide to read!
January 25, 2020
Maura Donovan is becoming a very whiny and unlikeable character. Her constant waffling and whining about what she doesn't know and how she hasn't had time to do this or that...Lady, you been running a pub for over a year. If it takes up so much time and you still are so clueless, then it is time to go back to Boston and forget it. Oh and if you can't figure out what is going on with you and your boyfriend by now....
I suspect that Connolly only had a certain number of books plotted, now she is beyond what she had planned and she is foundering in developing Maura. Maybe time for this series to end and another to start?
I suspect that Connolly only had a certain number of books plotted, now she is beyond what she had planned and she is foundering in developing Maura. Maybe time for this series to end and another to start?
December 17, 2019
Series: County Cork #9
Publication Date: 1/7/2020
Number of Pages: 237
This well-written and well-plotted series brings to life the verdant countryside of Ireland. The author’s descriptions make you feel as if you are walking into that cottage or pub or are just walking along one of the quiet lanes. I had begun to despair of Maura Donovan ever actually becoming self-aware. It seems she just floated along on the surface of her life in Boston and has done the same in the year she’s been Leap, County Cork, Ireland. She’s never asked questions about the past or the future and just sort of floated along in the here-and-now. So, I’m very happy to see that in this book she has finally started to question what happened in her family’s past that set up the current circumstances. I’m also happy that she has finally taken a further step in her relationship with Mick.
As always, there is a lot going on in this story and it keeps you jumping from page to page to find out what happens next. They are renovating and opening the kitchen at Sullivan’s Pub, Maura’s mother and step-sister arrive unexpectedly, graduate students have arrived wanting to examine the Fairy Forts that dot the countryside, and, of course, there is a dead body. Maura, Mick, garda Sean Murphy, Old Billy, and Bridget each contribute their knowledge and expertise to solve the mystery of the body that has lain in the center of the Fairy Fort for several decades.
One of the ways Maura has demonstrated her ‘floating on the surface’ mode is that she has been in Ireland for over a year and she has yet to realize the extent of what she inherited from old Mick Sullivan. When she arrived, she just signed whatever papers the lawyers told her to sign and didn’t inquire any further. She embraced the pub and the cottage – but in this book, she learns she has inherited several plots of land. At least one of those plots holds a Fairy Fort. BTW – be aware that you will hear – ad nauseum – that there was a body found on land she didn’t even know she owned.
Maura is awakened early one morning by a banging on her front door. It turns out to be an archaeology graduate student, Ciara McCarthy, from the university in Cork City. She and two friends, Darragh and Ronan, plan to map the circles, take pictures using a drone, and use ground-penetrating radar to see what might lie beneath the surface. It doesn’t take long before Darragh disappears and the search begins. Unfortunately – or fortunately – the search for Darragh leads to the discovery of a body buried directly in the center of the Fairy Fort.
Identifying the body leads to some revelations about Maura’s family’s past and Darragh’s as well. Will the discoveries lead to revenge or will it finally lay the past to rest? You’ll just have to read the book to see.
It was a delight to meet and spend time with Maura’s half-sister, Susan. She is a wonderful young lady and I look forward to spending time with her in future books. Helen, Maura’s mother, is another story. She’s trying to make amends to Maura and I applaud that – but – at the same time, she keeps excusing herself by saying she was young and desperate. That just doesn’t sound contrite to me.
As we left our visit to County Cork, the kitchen at Sullivan’s Pub was just opening its kitchen. Now, we can look forward to whatever delightful dishes Rose makes in the next book.
I definitely recommend this book and the series. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Publication Date: 1/7/2020
Number of Pages: 237
This well-written and well-plotted series brings to life the verdant countryside of Ireland. The author’s descriptions make you feel as if you are walking into that cottage or pub or are just walking along one of the quiet lanes. I had begun to despair of Maura Donovan ever actually becoming self-aware. It seems she just floated along on the surface of her life in Boston and has done the same in the year she’s been Leap, County Cork, Ireland. She’s never asked questions about the past or the future and just sort of floated along in the here-and-now. So, I’m very happy to see that in this book she has finally started to question what happened in her family’s past that set up the current circumstances. I’m also happy that she has finally taken a further step in her relationship with Mick.
As always, there is a lot going on in this story and it keeps you jumping from page to page to find out what happens next. They are renovating and opening the kitchen at Sullivan’s Pub, Maura’s mother and step-sister arrive unexpectedly, graduate students have arrived wanting to examine the Fairy Forts that dot the countryside, and, of course, there is a dead body. Maura, Mick, garda Sean Murphy, Old Billy, and Bridget each contribute their knowledge and expertise to solve the mystery of the body that has lain in the center of the Fairy Fort for several decades.
One of the ways Maura has demonstrated her ‘floating on the surface’ mode is that she has been in Ireland for over a year and she has yet to realize the extent of what she inherited from old Mick Sullivan. When she arrived, she just signed whatever papers the lawyers told her to sign and didn’t inquire any further. She embraced the pub and the cottage – but in this book, she learns she has inherited several plots of land. At least one of those plots holds a Fairy Fort. BTW – be aware that you will hear – ad nauseum – that there was a body found on land she didn’t even know she owned.
Maura is awakened early one morning by a banging on her front door. It turns out to be an archaeology graduate student, Ciara McCarthy, from the university in Cork City. She and two friends, Darragh and Ronan, plan to map the circles, take pictures using a drone, and use ground-penetrating radar to see what might lie beneath the surface. It doesn’t take long before Darragh disappears and the search begins. Unfortunately – or fortunately – the search for Darragh leads to the discovery of a body buried directly in the center of the Fairy Fort.
Identifying the body leads to some revelations about Maura’s family’s past and Darragh’s as well. Will the discoveries lead to revenge or will it finally lay the past to rest? You’ll just have to read the book to see.
It was a delight to meet and spend time with Maura’s half-sister, Susan. She is a wonderful young lady and I look forward to spending time with her in future books. Helen, Maura’s mother, is another story. She’s trying to make amends to Maura and I applaud that – but – at the same time, she keeps excusing herself by saying she was young and desperate. That just doesn’t sound contrite to me.
As we left our visit to County Cork, the kitchen at Sullivan’s Pub was just opening its kitchen. Now, we can look forward to whatever delightful dishes Rose makes in the next book.
I definitely recommend this book and the series. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
January 28, 2020
Maura is enjoying Irish living and looking towards the future when it comes to the pub. When a knock comes to her door one morning Maura is soon I introduced I to the local folklore of fairy forts. She has never heard of such things but the young student who wants to investigate her land looking for some forts has her asking the locals all about them. While at the pub later that day she gets an unexpected surprie, her mother who she just recently met is back in town and her half sister is with her. Maura is happy to get to know this young girl who is family but she isn't sure her sister feels the same way. Meanwhile one of the students she has agreed to let search her land has up and disappeared. Maura knows she must investigate and when she finds a body buried in the center of a fort she wonders who it could be. You see while looking for the missing student she comes across the grave and worried that it is him but soon finds out the grave is much older. Follow along as Maura deals with her relationship with her mother, her sisters feelings towards her, the missing student, and the body she found. Will she be able to deal with everything or will it all get the best of her?
January 23, 2020
Fatal Roots is the eighth book in the County Cork Mystery Series.
Maura has been in Ireland for a little over a year and has spent almost all her time learning how to run a pub and looking for ways to improve business. They have gone back to the old days and have started to offer music a few days a week. Rose who has been serving drinks and bartending has finally convinced Maura that they should start offering food. The next thing is to decide what equipment will be needed for the kitchen.
One morning, earlier than Maura would like, there is a knock on her door. At the door is Ciara, a university student studying Archaeology, who asks for permission to search for fairy forts or fairy rings on Maura’s property. Ciara informs Maura that she will have to others arriving to help her, one with a drone and the other with a piece of equipment with radar that will show is anything is buried. Then a couple of days later one of Ciara’s crew goes missing.
While searching for the missing researcher Maura takes Mick to show him the fairy ring. While investigating inside the ring the discover a body that had been buried many years before. Now they need to find the missing student, but also who the dead body is.
In a sub-story, Maura’s mother, Helen, has returned and has brought Maura’s half-sister, Susan, with her. Maura is surprised that she and Susan are able to get along so well. Susan even likes to hang out at the pub and proves to be a valuable assistant to Rose in the planning of the Sullivan’s Pub new kitchen.
Another wonderful addition to this interesting and informative series. Connolly’s writing is so vivid that I feel that I am actually there.
I’ll definitely be watching for the next book.
Maura has been in Ireland for a little over a year and has spent almost all her time learning how to run a pub and looking for ways to improve business. They have gone back to the old days and have started to offer music a few days a week. Rose who has been serving drinks and bartending has finally convinced Maura that they should start offering food. The next thing is to decide what equipment will be needed for the kitchen.
One morning, earlier than Maura would like, there is a knock on her door. At the door is Ciara, a university student studying Archaeology, who asks for permission to search for fairy forts or fairy rings on Maura’s property. Ciara informs Maura that she will have to others arriving to help her, one with a drone and the other with a piece of equipment with radar that will show is anything is buried. Then a couple of days later one of Ciara’s crew goes missing.
While searching for the missing researcher Maura takes Mick to show him the fairy ring. While investigating inside the ring the discover a body that had been buried many years before. Now they need to find the missing student, but also who the dead body is.
In a sub-story, Maura’s mother, Helen, has returned and has brought Maura’s half-sister, Susan, with her. Maura is surprised that she and Susan are able to get along so well. Susan even likes to hang out at the pub and proves to be a valuable assistant to Rose in the planning of the Sullivan’s Pub new kitchen.
Another wonderful addition to this interesting and informative series. Connolly’s writing is so vivid that I feel that I am actually there.
I’ll definitely be watching for the next book.
July 24, 2020
I'm a little sad because I think this is the last one in the series. The author passed away this year but I'm not even sure she would've written more after this. I did feel like this book was a little slower than some of the others. It still had a comfy feeling with the cast of characters so I was able to get through it easy.
July 2, 2022
Would have read a lot better with 1/2 the pages of repetition taken out. (Um, did you know you owned that much land?)
Biggest draw? Set in Scotland!
Biggest draw? Set in Scotland!
January 12, 2020
Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but I'm not sure where. I've been reading (and enjoying) this series since the beginning and although I liked this book, I felt like it was confused as to what it was supposed to be. There wasn't much of a mystery, so I'm going to say this is fiction with a hint of mystery and it seemed mostly to tie together a bunch of loose threads from the series so far and to connect Maura's mom and her new family to the series? I don't know.
The mystery (in a loose sense of the word) involved three college students who came to Leap to study Fairy Forts, small circular constructions that dot the landscape in the Cork part of Ireland. When one of them disappears, Maura and Mick go out to take a look around and find a body buried in one of the fairy forts, one that has been buried too long to be the missing college student. There's not a lot of investigating but the truth is soon uncovered.
The only part of the story that I didn't like was there was too much filler. Every new facet was repeated and rehashed over and over - punctuated by Maura explaining, over and over, to everyone in her vicinity that she didn't have a computer, didn't know how to use one and did she mention that her mother abandoned her and just came back into her life? If not, let's let everyone know yet again. So I think this would've been better as a short story minus all the filler.
Overall, I enjoy visiting Leap and the gang down at Sullivan's Pub but would've benefited from a stronger mystery and less filler.
The mystery (in a loose sense of the word) involved three college students who came to Leap to study Fairy Forts, small circular constructions that dot the landscape in the Cork part of Ireland. When one of them disappears, Maura and Mick go out to take a look around and find a body buried in one of the fairy forts, one that has been buried too long to be the missing college student. There's not a lot of investigating but the truth is soon uncovered.
The only part of the story that I didn't like was there was too much filler. Every new facet was repeated and rehashed over and over - punctuated by Maura explaining, over and over, to everyone in her vicinity that she didn't have a computer, didn't know how to use one and did she mention that her mother abandoned her and just came back into her life? If not, let's let everyone know yet again. So I think this would've been better as a short story minus all the filler.
Overall, I enjoy visiting Leap and the gang down at Sullivan's Pub but would've benefited from a stronger mystery and less filler.
January 18, 2020
This is the 8th book in this series and it may be my last. The main character, Maura Donovan, an American who inherited a pub and cottage in her family’s native Ireland, gets more unlikeable with each book. Her response to most questions is don’t ask me, I haven’t been here that long. She has no idea that she owns land, knows almost nothing about Ireland and reminds the reader on nearly every other page that she knows nothing about kitchens or cooking. The only interesting aspect of the story is learning information about her family that had been hidden for many years. She also meets her half sister, Susan, and the two carve out a good relationship. Her developing romance with Mick Nolan is finally resolved and this was the only thing that made finishing this book worth the time. For a series that began so well it has been going downhill for some time.
January 28, 2020
Maura met up with her long lost mother who visited in Ireland several months ago. This time she is back with Maura’s half sister who doesn’t want to be there. Maura is redoing the kitchen on her pub so she can start serving meals. A college group comes and wants to look for fairy forts on her land. She agrees even though she has never heard of them. This is the part of the story that seems odd.Maura has lived in Ireland for over a year and she still doesn’t know how much land or where it is located. One of the college students goes missing and while looking for him, Maura finds a body from the past.
August 25, 2021
Always a treat!!
August 27, 2020
While I have read Sheila Connelly before, this is my first book I’ve read in the County Cork series. I believe that this is the last book in the series, so I think that I will want to go back and read the others as well. But I picked up this book after enjoying several other of Connelly’s work in some of the other series, so I wanted to try this one out. I’m glad that I did.
I enjoyed FATAL ROOTS and enjoyed the different style of writing. I loved the setting, which I think made this series a bit more different and therefore more unique. I think it’s probably the biggest selling point of this series. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read about an Irish setting, right?
Maura, the heroine, is still someone that I think is still going through her growing phases. As this is my first book of the series I’ve read, I can’t really tell you if she has developed much from the beginning. However, I do still think that there’s still room for her to develop. She says she doesn’t know a lot of things in the book, but I don’t know if that’s an excuse or just a way to keep the mystery going.
I will say, there’s a lot of repetition in this book, which definitely bogs down the story. I think the author could have addressed that more better. In the end, it was still enjoyable and I will continue reading her books.
August 14, 2019
Learning to run an Irish pub, navigating relationships when you aren't great at "peopling," a long lost mother and a step sister you've never met, college students working on a graduate project and a long lost dead body that may or may not involve fairies! Sounds like a fantastical story line, but it just adds depth to a wonderfully woven plot with characters that you would love to sit and share a pint with! You really do need to read the entire series to get the full enjoyment, entertainment and progression of the characters lives, but fair warning...this book will have you wistfully planning a trip to Ireland to look for Leap and Mick Sullivan's pub! If you haven't read any of this series yet, you seriously need to put it on your TBR list!!!
August 22, 2019
Maura is still trying to get along with her mother and step sister, while college students are asking her about the fairies living on her land.
This story seemed to drag for me and I had a hard time paying attention to the story.
Sometimes a book just doesn't appeal to me as a reader, and I think it's time for me to put this series to rest and move on.
I'm a fan of this authors other works, unfortunately, this series just doesn't do it for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving me to read this book.
This story seemed to drag for me and I had a hard time paying attention to the story.
Sometimes a book just doesn't appeal to me as a reader, and I think it's time for me to put this series to rest and move on.
I'm a fan of this authors other works, unfortunately, this series just doesn't do it for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving me to read this book.
January 21, 2020
Maura just can't sit still when things around her are out of whack. When a strange young girl comes to her cottage asking permission to look for Fairy Forts on her property (PROPERTY????) Maura doesn't know what to say.. Well things just get out of hand as far as Maura sees it and then her world turns on its side and she's once again off and running just to stay in place.
That's all I'm gonna say about this and you'll just have to beg, borrow or steal a copy of the book for your own self to read it to the end.
That's all I'm gonna say about this and you'll just have to beg, borrow or steal a copy of the book for your own self to read it to the end.
January 8, 2020
Maura is still an incredibly insecure soul. She talks about how much she doesn't know and how worried she is about everything but she never DOES ANYTHING to fix it. She just gets other people to fix it. Pick up a book already! Take a course! Learn something for godsake! After 8 books I'm tired of hearing her plead ignorance.....
March 3, 2021
I enjoyed this series in the past. However, this book moves too slow. It is incredibly redundant as it depicts the same information in multiple ways across multiple pages, and the main character seems to become more self-deprecating as the series moves forward. Not a very cozy quick read anymore.
December 17, 2019
4.5 stars
This is the eighth book in the County Cork mystery series by Sheila Connolly.
Maura is an American living in Ireland. She has inherited a bunch of land plus a bar from a man who was good friends with her grandmother. A bunch of students want to study fairy forts and look for them in Maura's land. What they find instead is a dead body.
In the meantime Maura's mother, who left her at birth has shown up in town with a teenager in tow. They spend a lot of the book getting to know each other, both her mother and her new sister.
This was hard to follow at times due to the convoluted nature of the mystery. And when you add in all the details about grandma's past, her mom's past and how it's all connected to Maura, the mystery seems to make in comparison.
Overall, great book. There is so much detail that you have to pay attention every second to keep everything straight. If you love a good cozy mystery, definitely give this one a try!
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this title.
This is the eighth book in the County Cork mystery series by Sheila Connolly.
Maura is an American living in Ireland. She has inherited a bunch of land plus a bar from a man who was good friends with her grandmother. A bunch of students want to study fairy forts and look for them in Maura's land. What they find instead is a dead body.
In the meantime Maura's mother, who left her at birth has shown up in town with a teenager in tow. They spend a lot of the book getting to know each other, both her mother and her new sister.
This was hard to follow at times due to the convoluted nature of the mystery. And when you add in all the details about grandma's past, her mom's past and how it's all connected to Maura, the mystery seems to make in comparison.
Overall, great book. There is so much detail that you have to pay attention every second to keep everything straight. If you love a good cozy mystery, definitely give this one a try!
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this title.
July 31, 2023
4 stelle molto scarse alla serie, mentre a questo libro do un 3 stelle e mezza.
All'inizio la serie mi piaceva, ma gli ultimi due libri sono stati difficili da digerire con tutto il rimuginare che fa la protagonista. Qui continua a lamentarsi di non sapere di aver ereditato anche dei terreni, ma non è una cosa impossibile da scoprire, basta volerlo fare. Poi non capisco il suo ostinarsi a non volere un computer: ho capito che prima non aveva soldi, ma ora non può dire di non saperlo usare perché non ha neanche 30 anni e al giorno d'oggi non c'è verso che non ne abbia usato uno (come poi dice di aver fatto in biblioteca). La parte finale necessita di editing perché il nome del nonno della protagonista continua a variare (ora è James, ora è Tom) e una macchina lasciata al cottage si materializza ore dopo a km di distanza davanti al pub. E Sean, il poliziotto che compare spesso in ogni libro, a un certo punto viene ribattezzato in Seth. Peccato, perché, come ho detto, la serie mi piaceva, ma ora sono contenta che sia finita.
All'inizio la serie mi piaceva, ma gli ultimi due libri sono stati difficili da digerire con tutto il rimuginare che fa la protagonista. Qui continua a lamentarsi di non sapere di aver ereditato anche dei terreni, ma non è una cosa impossibile da scoprire, basta volerlo fare. Poi non capisco il suo ostinarsi a non volere un computer: ho capito che prima non aveva soldi, ma ora non può dire di non saperlo usare perché non ha neanche 30 anni e al giorno d'oggi non c'è verso che non ne abbia usato uno (come poi dice di aver fatto in biblioteca). La parte finale necessita di editing perché il nome del nonno della protagonista continua a variare (ora è James, ora è Tom) e una macchina lasciata al cottage si materializza ore dopo a km di distanza davanti al pub. E Sean, il poliziotto che compare spesso in ogni libro, a un certo punto viene ribattezzato in Seth. Peccato, perché, come ho detto, la serie mi piaceva, ma ora sono contenta che sia finita.
January 5, 2020
The cover initially drew my attention to this book and upon reading the synopsis, felt that it was a book for me. There are times when a book can be read as a standalone and sometimes not. As it's the 8th book in the series, perhaps it would have been better if i had read the previous books first. That is not to say that i didn't enjoy this book, as it was good and it wouldn't stop me from reading more by this author.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This my honest review, which i have voluntarily given.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This my honest review, which i have voluntarily given.
January 4, 2025
I rounded this up to a 3 but barely. I think this book was one of the most irritating I’ve ever completed. Maura was so unaware of everything, how is anyone so dumb. I’m not sure living in Boston was an excuse for knowing nothing about Ireland, how much property she owned or how much land she owned. Most people would be interested in the country they were going to or where they now lived. The internet is right there. Plus she repeated herself ad nauseum. Even the murder was thirty years old and nothing.
October 11, 2021
This is the 8th book in the series and the end and I am sooooo glad. I think I was burned out around the 5th book, but by then I had invested too much time in the series and wanted to see how it ended.
I never cared for the main character, Maura, but the others were alright and I like to read about Ireland. All of the author's books that I have read are constantly repeating information over and over again...like a filler. I will probably never read anything of hers again.
I never cared for the main character, Maura, but the others were alright and I like to read about Ireland. All of the author's books that I have read are constantly repeating information over and over again...like a filler. I will probably never read anything of hers again.
June 23, 2020
The first book in the series that I've read, and definitely worth going back to read the entire series. Wonderful story, I'm sad that there won't be more. Lovely trip to Ireland. A+
October 3, 2020
Meh. I expected more. I was disappointed.
December 21, 2020
A nice, but slow, conclusion to this series. All the loose ends were explained and tied up nicely.
March 7, 2021
another lovely cozy mystery. who ever printed it though left many errors in that other readers have gone to the trouble to correct.
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