Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

No Strangers Here by Carlene O’Connor

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a Series1 Comment

No Strangers Here (County Kerry Mystery, #1)

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: County Kerry Mystery #1
Publication Date: 10/25/22
Period: Contemporary – County Kerry, Ireland
Number of Pages: 320

Dr. Dimpna Wilde, a Veterinarian, has just lived through a horrendous year with the criminal charges against her husband and then his suicide. Now, it seems the horror is only going to continue because a murder has been committed in her small hometown of Dingle and her parents and brother are under serious suspicion. With nothing to hold her in Dublin, she sets out for Dingle to help put things right – if she can.

This is a complex, convoluted tale filled with twists and turns and more red herrings than you can shake a stick at. Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien has been sent from the Killarney station to handle this very high-profile murder in Dingle. The victim, Johnny O’Reilly, age sixty-nine, is a very rich and powerful racehorse owner who was found sitting propped up against a rock on the beach. He was wearing a designer suit and had a taro card showing the devil in his breast pocket – and nearby, on the ground, were sixty-nine shiny black stones spelling out Last Dance.

Cormac learns there is a long-running, complex enmity between the Wildes and the O’Reillys, and the evidence definitely points to the Wildes as the guilty party. However, something seems a bit ‘off’, just too perfect, for Cormac and though there is plenty of pressure from above, he doesn’t want to arrest someone he isn’t truly convinced is guilty. The more he learns of the two families, he wonders if perhaps he isn’t wrong – maybe one or more of the Wildes are guilty. Still, the daughter, Dempna, seems very straightforward, insightful, and honest. She’s sure it wasn’t her parents. If not them, who?

As Cormac tugs on thread after thread, some pull free and add nothing, while others lead him to new knowledge and more threads. How many threads will he be able to pull before he finds the guilty party – or the higher-ups take him off the case and declare their preferred guilty party?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it. You’ll enjoy the characters of Dempna and Cormac and a few others, but you’ll be scratching your head and wondering how others are still allowed to live and breathe. It will be interesting to see, in future books, how Dempna and Cormac each manage to deal with an aging, infirm parent and perhaps form a romantic relationship. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, Some of Us Are Looking, releasing October 24, 2023. Also, as a sadly inept American, I must confess that I am sure I butchered the pronunciation of what I am sure are beautiful names – such as Saiorse. I most humbly apologize to anyone with that beautiful name and hope you’ll forgive me – even though the pronunciations were said only in my head.

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Petteril’s Corpse by Mary Lancaster

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Petteril's Corpse (Lord Petteril Mysteries Book 2)

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Lord Petteril Mysteries #2
Publication Date: 9/26/23
Period: Regency – 1812
Number of Pages: 183

In the first book of the series, we met (and loved) the eccentric Piers Withan who was ripped from his much-loved post as a don at Oxford and elevated to Viscount Petteril after the sudden loss of five of his closest male family members. To say he was unhappy about it all would be putting it mildly, but he was on better footing after solving a mystery that showed him and others that he could be a formidable foe if pushed. Also, in that first book we met Ape, a street urchin from the slums who saved Petteril and then basically became his shadow. We also discovered that Ape was actually a female who had been dressing and acting as a male (for protection) for so long that she had forgotten how to be female. I’m going into all of this because, if you haven’t read the first book (you really should), you’ll need some background for parts of this one to be clear. It is my suggestion that you read at least the first two books in the series for a proper understanding of the background, and the future books will probably be fine as standalone reads. BTW – Petteril has an affliction that keeps him from being able to recognize faces – especially those he doesn’t come into contact with on a regular basis.

Lord Petteril has convinced Ape to transition from her guise as a male and adopt her true identity as a female named April. To facilitate that change, Ape will travel with Petteril to his country estate, Haybury Court, as his assistant – and along the way, Ape will become April. Ape puts the transition off as long as possible, but when they are close to arriving at the state, she relents and makes the change.

The real adventure begins when they smell smoke in the woods as they are approaching Haybury, and decide to see what is burning. What do they find? A very naked body whose clothing is a pile of cinders in a nearby burn pile. Petteril immediately notifies the local magistrate who seems totally inept at handling the investigation because he wants to rule it anything other than murder. Did I mention the corpse had a knife sticking out of his chest?

It was so much fun watching Petteril outwit all of those folks who still equated him with the child they had known so many years ago. To them, he was still the strange, awkward, unusual child who, perhaps, wasn’t all there – so they ignored him, spoke down to him, insulted him – until they discovered he was so much more than they had believed. Oops!

Once they had finally identified the corpse, there were suspects aplenty – even a local highwayman known as Brandy Bill. April and Petteril sift through the evidence, investigate the suspects, and finally identify who, what and why. Believe me – you’ll be surprised. You may suspect some things, but – you won’t know.

This was a fun read with delightful characters, murder, mayhem, kindness, metamorphosis, suspense, and finally a satisfactory end. I recommend this book and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. Now, the wait begins for the third book in the series – Petteril’s Ladybird.

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