Pub owner Maura Donovan hasn’t seen her mother for over twenty years, so when she suddenly shows up in Maura’s pub, Maura’s not sure what to expect. Her mother is trying to find a life for herself back home and has taken up a position working with the new owners of the Crann Mor hotel just outside Skibbereen. Until her new boss is found dead in the gardens, dumped down the hillside behind the hotel.
Now, trying to rekindle the relationship they’ve lost, Maura must investigate in order to clear her mother’s name. It’s not so easy though, as long-time residents of County Cork, including the families of her employee Mick, and the family of the deceased hotel owner, have bottled deep dark family secrets not meant to be uncorked. And someone will kill to keep them that way.
How far would you go to protect your family? Maura tests the age-old question in Many a Twist, the charming and atmospheric sixth County Cork mystery from New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly. (Summary via Goodreads)
Many a Twist is the sixth book in Sheila Connolly's County Cork Mystery series and the second book in this series that I have read. I just love these books !! They are set in a little town in Ireland and focus around Maura Donovan. Maura grew up in Boston but when her grandmother passed away, Maura found herself going to Ireland where she inherited a house and a pub. She decided to stay there and run the pub and see how things went. I, for one, am glad she did !!
Connolly has a unique talent in taking a person sitting on their couch in Albany, New York and transporting them to a little country town in Ireland. As I read the book, I cannot help but read it with an "Ireland" accent....and how fun is that !!! While you are reading the book, you will feel like you are right there in the pub with Maura and her crew.
Many a Twist brings Maura's long lost mother back into her life when the company her mom works for purchases a grand hotel in the area. But before Maura is reunited with her mom, the owner of the hotel is found dead on the grounds of the hotel. When her mother, Helen, is taken into the police station she refuses to talk to them until she talks to Maura. Maura hasn't seen or spoken to her mother in over 20 years when her mother left her with her grandmother.....before Maura can even process this, she feels she must find out how the owner of the hotel, John Bryne, died and if her mother had anything to do with it. Luckily Maura knows the gardai (police) having helped them solve cases in the past and with owning a pub she knows a lot of people.....which helps a lot !!
Many a Twist is a very good title for this latest installment of this series. Not only are there twists in the case with John Bryne's death and with Maura's mother showing up in Ireland but there are some interesting twists in Maura's personal and professional lives as well. Connolly definitely knows how to keep the reader turning the pages.....After reading Many a Twist I don't know if I want to have a cuppa tea or a pint.....
Review by Missi S.
A good review and what sounds like a wonderful book!
ReplyDeleteThank you for saying such nice things! Writing about West Cork for me has become a mix of fiction and reality, and sometimes it's hard to tell where the boundaries are. But it's a lot of fun!
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