It is the beginning of a new week! Weekends are a great time to relax and enjoy your favorite activities. I hope all of you have a great day!
Cruel Winter by Sheila Connolly
is the sixth book in A County Cork Mystery series. Maura Donovan owns Sullivan’s Pub in Leap,
Ireland. Maura inherited the pub from
Old Mick Sullivan nine months ago, after the death of her grandmother. This is Maura’s first winter is Ireland and
she is unprepared (she had originally only planned to spend a week in
Ireland). Maura heads to Sullivan’s to
check in with Mick Nolan, her bartender.
A big snow storm is expected to come through that night and Maura is
unsure what to do to prepare for it (she is from Boston where they have big
snowstorms frequently). It turns out
that other people do not want to stay home alone during the storm and decide to
visit the pub. One of pub’s patrons
turns out to be Diane Wolfe Caldwell.
Diane was questioned in the murder of her neighbor, Sharon Morgan twenty
years ago. In the court of public
opinion, Diane was found guilty. The
murder is still unsolved. Maura decides
that this is the perfect opportunity to hear Diane’s story and get some answers
(Maura wants to prove that Diane did not commit the crime).
Cruel Winter is nicely written
and can be read alone (the author provides the necessary background information
on Maura and how she ended up in Ireland).
I did, though, find the pace of the novel to be extremely slow. The story takes place over the course of one
day (a very long, drawn out day). I give
Cruel Winter 3 out of 5 stars. The
mystery is one that plays out over the course of the novel. Most readers will be able to figure out the
whodunit before the reveal. I did find
some elements of the story to be unrealistic.
Maura knew winter was coming, but she has no winter clothes (wouldn’t
you purchase some clothes if you did not bring them with you). Maura has been responsible for the pub for
nine months, but she has no clue how it is run.
I found it odd that after living in Boston, Maura has no idea on how to
prepare for a storm (making sure you have fuel, food, batteries, blankets,
water). There is some information that
is repeated throughout the novel (how Maura only planned to stay in Ireland one
week and facts about the murder). For
some reason, Maura felt it necessary to keep recapping the facts presented about
the murder. I found Cruel Winter to be
atypical for Sheila Connolly. I have
read her other cozy mysteries and enjoyed them.
In future books of A County Cork Mystery series I would like to see
Maura start to grow up and take responsibility.
In Cruel Winter, we do get to catch up with Jimmy, Rose, Mick, Gillian,
Harry, Sean, Eveline, and Old Billy. The other novels in A County Cork Mystery series are Buried in a Bog, Scandal in Skibbereen, An Early Wake, and A Turn for the Bad.
Thank you for visiting today and reading my latest review. I am currently reading Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister. I will see you when I return tomorrow. Until then, take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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