Title | : | No Strangers Here (County Kerry Mystery, #1) |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | 1496737520 |
ISBN-10 | : | 9781496737526 |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Hardcover |
Number of Pages | : | 320 |
Publication | : | First published October 25, 2022 |
Dimpna Wilde hasn’t been home in years. As picturesque as Dingle may be for tourists in search of their roots and the perfect jumper, to her it means family drama and personal complications. In fairness, Dublin hasn’t worked out quite as she hoped either. Faced with a triple bombshell—her mother rumored to be in a relationship with Johnny, her father’s dementia is escalating, and her brother is avoiding her calls—Dimpna moves back to clear her family of suspicion.
No Strangers Here (County Kerry Mystery, #1) Reviews
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EXCERPT: The dead man wore a designer suit to the beach. He was found along Slea Head Drive, at the base of a small cliff, on Clogher Strand. There he was, early on a Sunday morning in June, reposed against a craggy boulder in his fancy navy suit, starched white shirt and vibrant green tie. Next to his body, two words had been formed using sixty-nine gleaming black stones: LAST DANCE. The stones popped against the pale sand. It wasn't a whisper, it was a shout. His legs were straight out in front of him, his hands rested palms up on his thighs, and his sky-blue eyes were open, forever staring out to sea. The only visible sign of distress was the white foam pooling at the corners of his gaped mouth. The lines fanning out across his face, and wisps of silver hair clinging to a mostly bald head betrayed his advanced age. A card with a black background peeked out of the dead man's suit pocket. Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien maneuvered around the cordon they'd placed around the body to get a closer look.
ABOUT 'NO STRANGERS HERE': On a rocky beach in the southwest of Ireland, the body of Jimmy O’Reilly, sixty-nine years old and dressed in a suit and his dancing shoes, is propped on a boulder, staring sightlessly out to sea. A cryptic message is spelled out next to the body with sixty-nine polished black stones and a discarded vial of deadly veterinarian medication lies nearby. Jimmy was a wealthy racehorse owner, known far and wide as The Dancing Man. In a town like Dingle, everyone knows a little something about everyone else. But dig a bit deeper, and there’s always much more to find. And when Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien is dispatched out of Killarney to lead the murder inquiry, he's determined to unearth every last buried secret.
Dimpna Wilde hasn’t been home in years. As picturesque as Dingle may be for tourists in search of their roots and the perfect jumper, to her it means family drama and personal complications. In fairness, Dublin hasn’t worked out quite as she hoped either. Faced with a triple bombshell—her mother rumored to be in a relationship with Jimmy, her father’s dementia is escalating, and her brother is avoiding her calls—Dimpna moves back to clear her family of suspicion.
Despite plenty of other suspects, the guards are crawling over the Wildes. But the horse business can be a brutal one, and as Dimpna becomes more involved with her old acquaintances and haunts, the depth of lingering grudges becomes clear. Theft, extortion, jealousy and greed. As Dimpna takes over the family practice, she's in a race with the detective inspector to uncover the dark, twisting truth, no matter how close to home it strikes . . .
MY THOUGHTS: No Strangers Here is a mystery thick with both atmosphere and compelling characters. O'Connor sets the scene in the very first chapter, leaving the reader in doubt where they are: a colorful and historic town right on the coast of southwest Ireland relying on tourism and fishing for its livelihood. The scenery is gorgeous and moody, the characters complex and all hiding something.
O'Brien has been brought in as an outsider to solve the murder of a wealthy and well-known local man. As an outsider it is expected that he have no history with anyone involved, no personal agenda. But is that going to be enough to combat the far-reaching powers of the wealthy O'Reilly family who have already made up their minds who is responsible for this murder and are calling for a speedy arrest. Dimpna, a petite veterinarian whose own life has imploded, now finds herself battling not only the O'Reilly's but the police in an effort to clear her parents from suspicion. Dimpna has battled the O'Reilly's before - there's no love lost there. What she discovers is a tangled web of secrets and lies, some going back as far as her childhood.
I have read some of Carlene O'Connors Village Mystery books previously, but here her writing has reached a whole new level. Somewhat darker than a traditional cosy-mystery, and with plot-twists I never saw coming, O'Connor kept me intrigued throughout. County Kerry Mysteries is a new series that I am excited about.
I listened to the audiobook of No Strangers Here, superbly narrated by Emily O'Mahony
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
#NoStrangersHere #NetGalley
I: @writergirlchi @recordedbooks
T: #CarleneOConnor @RBMediaCo
#cosymystery #contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #family drama #irishfiction #murdermystery #smalltownfiction
THE AUTHOR: Born into a long line of Irish storytellers, Carlene O'Connor's great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland filled with tales in 1897 and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places she’s wandered across the pond, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork, the setting of her Irish Village Mystery series.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to RB Media for providing an audio ARC of No Strangers Here, written by Carlene O'Connor and narrated by Emily Mahony, for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClQGz86LP... -
A strikin' figure for a dead man.....
He looked like he had just come off the dance floor in his pressed suit and tie. But they'll be no dancing by the shore as the waves draw nearer. A message in exacting stones lay nearby. And the calling card of the tarot's Devil tucked into his breast pocket for good measure.
Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien finds himself called to Dingle for the murder. O'Brien was dispatched out of Killarney to handle the investigation in a small town where everyone was up in someone else's business. But no one could figure out why Jimmy O'Reilly lay dead near the shore that night. A wealthy racehorse business owner, Jimmy didn't seem to have any enemies. But then, who could say?
And in the mix of all this is the return of Dr. Dimpna Wilde to Dingle, her home town. Things didn't work out too well with her now former husband who was wrapped in a financial scheme gone wrong. The scandal sent Dimpna packing with only her worn out van to her name. As a veterinarian, she hopes to join her father of the same trade.
But all is not well with the elder Dr. Wilde. He's showing signs of dementia and it's affecting his practice. He has bursts of anger and forgetfulness. And to add to this, Maeve, his wife, has been seen far too often with Jimmy O'Reilly. Could Eamon Wilde be the reason that Jimmy is dead?
No Stranger Here is hardly a speck of Irish fluff. We've got a solid police procedural in the hands of Cormac O'Brien who realizes that this death is not just cut and dry. He's widening the scope in this one. Carlene O'Connor gifts us with the character of Dimpna who is down to earth and suspicious of these things happening in her own home town. She defends her father, but she's not certain of what he is now capable of in the grip of dementia.
I'd say to get in on the ground floor of Carlene O'Connor's County Kerry Mystery Series. Her writing is superb as she develops a panoramic view of the Irish countryside and its people. Add to this her ability to craft a really intriguing mystery detailed with characters who may or may not know more than what meets the eye. A recent publishing in November of 2022, No Stranger Here delivers what it promises.
I received a copy of this book through Kensington Books. My thanks to them and to Carlene O'Connor. -
I have to admit based on her other series I was expecting more a cozy from this, but I was quite happy to be disappointed. This was an excellent murder mystery/thriller with a dark edge. I love the way Carlene O’Connor brings Ireland to life and I definitely hope she continues this series. I loved the characters and like any small town they all play important roles. The main character is Dr. Dimpna Wilde who is a vet in Dublin. While her life is falling apart there is a murder in her home town which she has avoided for 27 years and her parents are suddenly suspects in a murder so of course she has to come home. I liked the police detective in charge of the investigation and I loved the animal characters, they really brought the story to life.
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No Strangers Here was the first book that I have read by Carlene O’Connor. It was suspenseful as well as riveting. The characters were all vividly portrayed, well developed and believable. It was well plotted and held my attention throughout. There were some twists and turns that kept me guessing as I tried to figure out the mystery in this compelling crime fiction novel set in Ireland. I listened to the audiobook that was very well performed by Emily O’Mahony.
Dimpna Wilde had moved away from her quaint Irish village of Dingle as soon as she could. Personal circumstances made her leave her family and everything and everyone she cared about behind. Dimpna pursued her higher education and became a veterinarian just like her beloved father. She had set up a veterinary practice in Dublin but just as circumstances had led Dimpna away from Dingle, a new set of circumstances led her back.
A very wealthy owner of race horses, Jimmy O’Reilly, had been found dead on a beach in southwest Ireland. Jimmy O’Reilly’s body was found sitting up and leaning against a big boulder. He was dressed in an expensive black suit with a green tie around his neck and wearing his black dancing shoes. Jimmy O’Reilly was a very good dancer and was even nicknamed “The Dancing Man”. Surrounding his body were sixty-nine black painted stones and a very suspicious syringe that contained an extremely toxic and deadly medicine that was accessible to veterinarians almost exclusively.
Dimpna’s father had served as the primary veterinarian for the O’Reilly race horses for as long as Dimpna could remember. Her father had always kept a vile of the toxic medicine that was discovered beside Jimmy O’Reilly’s body at his clinic. Dimpna’s father had warned her early on never to touch the purple vile. One drop of that toxic medicine in the purple vile could kill a person. Dimpna knew her father was overly cautious with that toxin and kept it locked in a case that only he and one other person had the key to. The only thing that concerned Dimpna was that her father had recently began to show signs of dementia. Could her father have had something to do with Jimmy O’Reilly’s death? There were also rumors being spread that Dimpna’s mother was having an affair with Jimmy O’Reilly. Was someone trying to make it look like her family was involved or had something to do with the death of Jimmy O’Reilly? Dimpna was determined to prove that someone was trying to set her family up. Even Dimpna’s brother was under suspicion. With the help of Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien, who had been sent from Killarney to work on this case, Dimpna and he refused to leave a rock unturned until they discovered the truth about who murdered Jimmy O’Reilly. During Dimpna’s search to reveal the truth about the murder, pieces of her past were slowly revealed. The circumstances that led her to flee from were Dingle were brought to light as her past was presented.
No Strangers Here by Carlene O’Connor was a well written crime fiction novel. I look forward to reading more books in this new series. The characters of Dimpna and Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien were my favorites but all the characters were well developed. No Strangers Here was about family, love, loss, pain, illness, cruelty, danger and death. Throughout the book lots of well kept and old secrets were revealed. I loved how Dimpna took care of the animals under her watch. Being a veterinarian was no easy feat. Dimpna, as well as her father before he showed signs of dementia, were both committed, skilled, selfless and kind. They were just the kind of veterinarians one would have wanted to take care of their animals. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of No Strangers Here by Carlene O’Connor and highly recommend it.
Thank you to Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of No Strangers Here by Carlene O’Connor through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. -
No Stranger Here is the first in the County Kerry Mystery. All of the characters are very important in telling the story.. The main character is Dr. Dimpna Wilde who lives in Dublin. She is a veterinarian who has not been home in 27 years., She has a son, Ben. Her husband, Niall Flor was in an investment scheme that went bad and he committed suicide. She is now a widow.
The story opens with a 13 year old girl, Saoirse Griffith who was angry because she was not able to celebrate her birthday.. She goes down to the harbor and boards the boat, Dreamscape. She hides.
A man named Johnny O'Reilly was found dead on the beach at the base of a cliff. Next to his body was the words LAST DANCE using 69 black shiny stones. There is a tarot card in his pocket. A vital and syringe with a label saying RELEASE. It is an euthanasia medication used y veterinarians. Johnny is a 69 year old wealthy racehorse owner. He was known for dancing and woman. He is married to Roisin O'Reilly. A fisherman, Finbar Malone found the body..
Ruby is a racehorse who was a first million pound purse winner. She gave birth to Last Dance who died in a road accident before he ever raced 25 years ago.
Inspector Cormac O'Brian is the new to the office. D.S. Neely are on the scene. They notice small footprints going up from the beach as well as a piece of black fabric caught on the rock. He summarizes that he thinks that came ashore by a life raft carrying a body bag. The killer dragged the bag up this rocky finger. The bag ripped. He think s while the killer was dealing with the tarp a young stowaway swam to shore. D.S. Neely gets a phone call that Release was reported stolen 2 weeks ago by a veterinarian clinic which belonged to Eamon Wilde whose wife, Maeve had been dancing with Johnny the night before. D.S. Neely thinks it is suicide. She suggests that she tell the family. As she does so the O'Reilly family arrives at the beach. Cormac finds the widow cold and calculating. Demands to see the body but denied.
The Garda come to Dimpna's office with an eviction notice. She has 72 hours to get out. she is able to sell her practice and have all her staff stay. She gets a phone call from Paul Byrne telling her that Johnny O'Reilly is dead., murdered. He gives her the details of the scene, etc. He tells her that her parents are both suspects.
He also tells her that there are rumors that her father has dementia. Also there is talk that Johnny and her mother were having an affair.. She packs up her bus and her animals and goes back home.
The guard tells Cormac that Eamon and Maeve are an unconventional family. She lives in a caravan on the property in the summer and he in an apartment above the clinic. They have grown children, Donnecha win the summer works as a caretaker for one of the O'Reilly's yachts at the harbor and a daughter who is a vet. Comac goes to the harbor to speak to Donnecha He finds him on the yacht cleaning the boat. All evidence if any has been cleaned away.. He asks who operated the boat last night. Donnecha tells him that O'Reilly reserved it for a friend and told him to leave by noon. He was texted by Tommy Healy. He also told Cormac that there were kid size prints on the boat. The utility closet had the cleaning things pushed back. He also takes him to the bow to show him where there were faint lines about 2 feet long. Also that the rowboat was not tied up as he remembered. Cormac tells him that the boat is a crime scene as Johnny O'Reilly has been killed.
Cormac goes to speak to the Wilde's about the bottles and tarot card, etc. He also finds Roison and Sean O'Reilly there demanding that he arrest Eamon and Maeve for her husband's murder.
Dimpna arrives to find the clinic in complete disarray. Animals are all around and the yard is a ;mess. Sheila, a vet tech who works for her father is outside clinic. Says that Eamon had threw a book and hit her with it. Dimpra goes into the clinic and finds her father confused. He talks him out of the clinic and is taken by ambulance to the hospital. That evening while cleaning up the yard she sees someone across the street. She throws the bag of poop and struck him. He leaves. Before going into the clinic she finds a necklace with the name of Aisling on it. Aisling is Sean's daughter., Dimpna decides she will stay in the apartment over the clinic. She is going through her father's desk when she finds a folder saying :Last Dance. She opens it and finds articles about his death and a picture of the scene. Dimpna was accused of killing the horse.
Saoirse Griffin has been missing. Dimpna help find her. She is found but scared. Keeps saying "I'll never tell." On her back pack was the wording You Tell, You Die.
Dimpna goes to the hospital and finds her father sitting up in bed. Her mother is with him. The doctor has diagnosed him as early dementia. Her mother is taking him home to their home in the town.
Dimpna has asked Niamh to come to the office. She was the former house manager. She kept a journal of the goings on in the clinic. She goes over the calendar and tells her that on the day she had a dentist appointment her father told her to cancel his patients. He seemed to be waiting for someone. When she got back she ran into Johnny as he came out of the clinic. Found her father crying. Her father had been one of the vets who worked for Johnny for years.
While talking to Niamh Mr. and Mrs. Collins with a cat dying comes in and asks for help. Dimpna is not sure she can but she does. Niamh tells Dimpna that she should keep the clinic open. She thinks she should try. Mr. Collins rents the auto shop across the road from the O'Reillly's. He offers it to her for extra space if she will clean it up, etc. as thanks for saving their cat.
A man comes into the clinic and tells Dimpna that his donkey is stuck in barbwire. Could she come and help. She goes and finds that the donkey in distress, She asks if they have a herding dog. He doesn't but his neighbor does. They get the dog and eventually gets the donkey into the bard and free of the wire. Dimpna takes the dog back and realizes it is Finbar. He says the dog isn't his, just showed up. He is digging hole in the ground The dog goes and starts digging. Brings back a mobile phone. Finbar told the police he did not own a phone. He doesn't want the dog so Dimpna takes the dog with her..
Niamh helps her get the clinic up and running. They hire another vet just out of school, Patrick Kelly. They also hired a work crew to haul the junk away from the building across the street.. When she comes back to the clinic she sees LIAR painted on her bus. A postcard in the wiper says HE KNOWS. She calls Cormac and Neely come out to check everything..
As they are closing Helen O'Reilly and Aisling come into the clinic with their puppy who needs his shot. Dimpna gives Aisling the necklace she found but realizes they did not recognize it. Apologized saying thought you lost it. She takes the puppy and Aisling into a room. When in the room Aisling asks her about lying. Tells her that dogs are good listeners. Aisling tell her about what she is concerned about. Helen tells Dimpna that Sean would like to talk to her. He is a different man than he was in his youth.
Dimpna gets a call from Paul telling her that Sheila and Donnecha are going to be there. Could she come. She goes and is surprised when they tell her that Ben had come to Dingle and was there for 8 months. That he was on the boat the night before Johnny was found dead. They give her the two letters that her husband had left. One for her and one for Ben. In Ben's letter he tells Ben who his father is, etc., Dimpna is shocked to hear about Ben and the fact that her secret she had been keeping that Sean had raped her was no longer a secret. She leaves upset. She calls Ben by video and speaks to him. Ben is angry at her for not telling him the truth. She does not believe that Ben killed Johnny.
Dimpna gets a call from Tommy Healy that one of their mares is having problems delivering a foal. She and Patrick go and when arriving Tommy is surprised to see the other vet. She wonders if Tommy had other motives. It is a difficult delivery but the colt is born. Tommy is trying to tell her that he is not who she thinks he is and that she is in danger. He mouths Ben. Aisleiy arrives in time to see the colt born. Her father finds her there and takes her back to the house. He tells Dimpna that he would like to talk to her and could she come to the house after they clean up. Both vets take showers at the barn. When she gets out of the shower she finds Tommy dead on the floor. Next to him is the purple vital, The monster. She gets dressed and then calls for help. She finds Roisen and Cormac at the entrance to the barn. Dimpna tells them that Tommy is dead poisoned.
There is so much that I was not able to relay in the story. The reader is taken on an exciting adventure of whodunit and the reasons why Johnny was killed. The story has a happy ending for the Wilde family.
I loved this book. I look forward to the second book to see where the story goes.
Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Publishing Corp. for this ARC. -
I'm rather drawn to books that are set in Ireland having grown up with an Irish grandmother and hearing about her beloved country my entire life, so was excited to visit County Kerry with this one. I found it to be a well thought out and very well written story with some unusual twists. DI Cormac O’Brien, who’s new to Dingle, must depend on the locals for insight when the body of racehorse owner Johnny O’Reilly is found on a beach along with 69 black stones spelling out the words "Last Dance"...O'Reilly was 69 years old also. "Last Dance" was one of O’Reilly’s horses that was killed in a road accident more than 25 years earlier. It's clear that O’Reilly was murdered somewhere else, and his body brought to the beach in a boat. That much trouble in itself said to me that this was not a random killing...this was personal. The only disturbance to the beach scene was a child's footprint, but this of course, was not done by a child. We soon learn that the O’Reilly's and the family of Eamon Wilde, their veterinarian, have a long history and some of it could have led to murder. Eamon shows signs of dementia...his wife, Maeve, used to go dancing with O'Reilly and now reads tarot cards. Their son, Donnecha, serves as caretaker of O’Reilly’s yachts, is known to be a bit on the wild side. It’s their daughter, Dr. Dimpna Wilde, that Inspector O'Brien finds the most interesting. She is a talented veterinarian, small, beautiful, and a widow. Her husband killed himself after swindling hundreds of people out of their life savings. Now she is unable to pay her bills and has had her assets seized...so she has only recently returned to Dingle to help in her father’s practice and try to extricate her family from a murder charge. Dimpna’s past is about to be torn wide open, revealing various crimes, including her rape by Johnny’s son Sean O’Reilly, and the revelation that what she remembers is not always the truth. My husband became interested at my rambling investigating skills and became involved in trying to solve this one...he spent 30 years of his life solving real crimes, but even he had no real success with picking out the murderer in this one...but to his credit he did uncover the motive for the crime. He said the revealed culprit didn't fit the proposed motive and probably would have been overlooked if this was reality... but hey, this is fiction, so all's well that ends well. Overall...a really good mystery that we had a lot of fun with.
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I spent most of the book trying to figure out if hiding the identity of the main character's baby daddy and the circumstances in which her kid was conceived was the right call. I'm still not sure, but I definitely found that moral quandary more puzzling than the mystery part of the book.
The murder was easy to figure out. Once they introduce all the characters, it's exactly who you think it would be. -
This Irish girl’s heart was happy to get her hands on this one! I’d heard great things about this author and her cozy mystery series set in Ireland and couldn’t wait to discover it for myself. This is book one of her new darker crime mystery series set in County Kerry.
What’s not to love? County Kerry, horses, veterinarians, murder to solve, the fighting Irish, and a great book stuffed full of Irish expressions. I’ve been to Dingle and seen Fungie, enjoyed the music scene and savored their famous seafood chowder, so the charming and vibrant village setting was one I fell right into. Being born in the North of Ireland, I know about the foreboding atmosphere of the land and, for those who haven’t been there, O’Connor brings the setting to life for readers.
O’Connor has a full cast of characters, but I sympathized with Dr. Dimpna Wilde. She’s the widowed veterinarian whose return home to Dingle is two-fold: clearing her family’s name and helping her ailing father with his practice. I felt for her leaving heartbreak and financial troubles in Dublin only to come to Dingle to fix something beyond her control, and, in the process, face her past being put under a magnifying glass. She’s got lots of baggage to unpack; some of it physical but most of it mental and emotional. O’Connor maintains credibility with her new amateur sleuth; she has a personal and compelling reason to get involved in the mystery and exemplifies the strong Irish pull of family obligation. Her return to Dingle gives the author a foot in the door to introducing the villagers and their backstories.
Focused on coming to terms with life, death, family dynamics and secrets, this book is a great mystery and police procedural with plenty of red herrings and suspense. It would make a great mini-series for TV. I’m already looking forward to book 2, Some Of Us Are Looking.
I was gifted this advance copy by Kensington Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review. -
3.75 stars
Not realizing that this book was the start of a series I picked it up to fulfill a challenge. Once into the book I really began to like it. It is written by an author who's heritage is Irish and she also writes a number of Irish Cozy series.
This book starts out in an Irish coastal town with a murder. There are many clues surrounding the body left on the shore, leaning against a cliff. But this body will be far from all of those found in this book and the clues on the shore but few overall.
Dimpna Wilde, Veterinarian, comes home to see to her father - also the small towns vet - since he seems to be getting Alzheimers and none of the rest of the family is taking care of him. Once home, after twenty seven years, that is when the mystery begins. There are some twists and turns in this book that you may not see coming and the culmination of clues may lead you to the wrong culprit.
This is an easy read with people you will come to like. Things do not always turn out as expected, but the story is pleasurable along the way. -
I really, really enjoyed this 1st novel in a new crime series called County Kerry Mysteries for several reasons. First, it's a really interesting and compelling mystery, it's set in S.W. Ireland, and I listened to it on audio with the lovely narrator, Emily O'Mahony, who helped create, maintain, and add to the mood of this who-dunnit thriller.
Here's the facts: local racehorse owner, 68 year old, Johnny O’Reilly is found murdered on the beach in Dingle. Enter the well-respected Detective-Inspector Cormac O'Brien to head up the case and apparently he won't stop until the murder is solved.... no matter who is keeping secrets.
Also featured is single-mom and female veterinarian, Dimpna Wilde, who is originally from Dingle, but who lives and works in Dublin. Dimpna left home/Dingle for good reason many years ago, which the listeners will discover bit by bit, like an onion unpeeling it's layers. There is a long ago mystery that will explain many of the missing facts. Dimpna is called home because her veterinarian father has been accused of this murder and this story is riveting! I'm already looking forward to book #2 in this series.
I am grateful to have received this ARC from the publisher, NetGalley, and the talented author, Carlene O'Connor. -
In No Strangers Here a man is found murdered in Dingle, County Kerry, southwest Ireland which causes a stir in the small town. Dr Dimpna Wilde, a veterinarian who has been in Dublin hasn't been home in a long while but returns as someone from her family is under suspicion for the murder. The police are keeping everything close to their chests. A dark mystery I loved from the start, the character of Dimpna is complex; she is a widow with a son, Ben, 27yo, and her husband committed suicide because of financial irregularities. There's lots going on and matters to think through. An engrossing read.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion. -
My introduction to the author Carlene O'Connor was through 'Christmas Cocoa Murder' which was part of a collection of three cozy mystery novellas.
No Strangers Here is her foray into the mystery/suspense genre and it is an excellent start to a new series that I look forward to reading. A well plotted book with interesting characters and a backstory that plays well into the murder case.
The narration by Emily O' Mahony is brilliant as she manages to bring the whole book--setting, characters, atmosphere--to life with her soothing voice and accent. I could picture the entire book playing out in my mind with her narration and I enjoyed listening to her a lot.
My thanks to NetGalley, the audiobook publisher RB Media/Recorded Books and the author for the audio Arc of the book. Since Goodreads doesn't have the audiobook edition option, I am leaving my review under the hardcover edition. -
Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. A man is found murdered in Dingle which causes a stir in the small town. Dumpna returns to the small town because someone from her family is under suspicion for the murder. With little to go on, she finds no answers. The police are keeping everything close to the vest. This was another great read by Carlene O'Connor and I cant wait to read the next one in this series.
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No Strangers Here is a wonderful start to a new series.
The book was beautifully written and the characters were so well defined and all add to the story.
There is murder, secrets and twists and turns that keep you guessing.
When Johnny O'Reilly is found dead on the beach it is obviously a very personal murder.
We are introduced to DI Cormac O'Brien who certainly has his hands full since everyone knows everyone he has much to figure out.
Dr Dimpa Wilde has returned to Dingle ( loved the setting) after 27 years and finds her own family at are the top of the list of suspects.
No Strangers Here was a satisfying read that kept the pages turning and I will be first in line for Book 2 of the series. Can't wait.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for a compelling read and a new series to look forward to following. -
This was a wonderfully crafted novel with fascinating characters, gorgeous scenery, and a perplexing mystery. I loved getting to know Dr. Dimpna Wilde and her family, as well as the other residents of the small town. She’s such a strong character. There was so much wrapped up in the past that comes forward and gives the story more complexity. I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to see how the series continues.
I received a copy from #NetGalley, #KensingtonBooks, and #RBMedia for an honest review. -
This was my first time reading a Carlene O'Connor book, and I loved being swept away into an Irish mystery that is wrapped up in family secrets and conflict. I'm a huge dog lover, and so reading about a veterinarian placed in the middle of this cozy police procedural was really a lot of fun. If you love All Creatures Great and Small, you'll love this one!
Many thanks to Kensington Books for my arc!
Actual rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫 -
ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.
I’ll start by saying I really enjoyed the narrator of this book but at times the Irish accent was a little difficult to understand. The story moved a little slow for me at first but the characters were interesting and detailed and it picked up towards the middle. I was surprised by the outcome and like when I can’t predict the ending! I’ll definitely be checking out the next book in this series when it’s released! -
Carlene O’Connor is known for her cozy mysteries set in Ireland and this book, No Strangers Here, is a departure for her. It works really, really well. O’Connor places the action in the scenic Dingle Peninsula, very popular with tourists. A wealthy local man, Johnny O’Reilly, has been murdered and the scene is “set” with oddities that show this was no suicide. At the same time, Dimpna Wilde, a veterinarian, widowed tragically, returns home to Dingle from Dublin, prompted by financial issues and the news that her father, also a veterinarian, is suffering from dementia. This is momentous, as she hasn’t stepped foot in Dingle for 27 years. The reader gradually finds out why.
The book’s plot is dark, twisty and complex. The characters are extremely well drawn, from Dimpna and her family to several of the locals, as well as the detective called in from Killarney, Cormac O’Brien. You can feel the love that Dimpna has for all the animals she cares for. The description of an emergency call to attend the birth of a foal, was both enlightening and harrowing. I heartily recommend this book to mystery fans.
It looks like more stories may be coming in the future, presumably featuring Cormac O’Brien and, I hope, Dr. Dimpna Wilde. I will be certain to read the next one when that happens!
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I’m rather late to it. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, Emily O'Mahony, did a wonderful job with the various voices and accents. -
Brilliant mystery crafted to keep you guessing and entertained for hours! I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery as just when I thought I was on the correct thread of untangling the right suspect, something else popped up to make me realize that I was on the wrong path! Excellent character development had you both loving and hating particular characters then realizing that maybe you weren't actually getting the full story on their personalities just yet. I love a great mystery that keeps me engaged and thinking! This is definitely that and being set in Ireland makes it just the perfect step away from reality for me that I need when I want to sink into a good book. Twisted characters intertwine to make this plot absolutely believable and while the plot twists and turns, you totally understand how you get to the conclusion. I absolutely love this author's storytelling and can't wait to read more from her soon!
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Ho letto e apprezzato quasi tutti i cozy mysteries scritti da questa autrice, così come mi è piaciuto questo libro, che è più vicino a un mystery vero e proprio. Direi che i protagonisti sono due: il detective e la veterinaria che ritorna nel suo paese natale dopo 27 anni. Nel libro ci sono comunque alcuni capitoli che raccontano la storia dal punto di vista di altri personaggi. La storia è interessante e abbastanza intrigata, sebbene appare ben presto ovvio che tutto sia collegato a quanto accaduto nei giorni immediatamente precedenti alla "fuga" della protagonista. Devo dire che ho ipotizzato diversi colpevoli nel corso della storia, ma avevo scartato ben presto quello che è risultato giusto, accidenti. Sono curiosa di vedere come evolveranno nei libri successivi (almeno spero che ce ne siano più di uno) alcuni personaggi.
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In the small town of Dingle, Ireland there has been a murder. The body of wealthy Johnny O’Reilly, horse owner was found dead on a beach, dressed in his suit as he was last seen at the party he had attended. Surrounding his body are a set of curious clues and footsteps leading away from him, but none coming towards him.
Needless to say, when someone from a prominent family in a small town is murdered, well, the gossip mill goes into overdrive. But for one former resident of the town, Dimpna Wilde who is a veterinarian like her father who still lives in Dingle, she and her son Ben have not been back there in years for many reasons. One being her marriage fell apart when her husband was accused of cheating clients and then killed himself leaving Dimpna to feel it her obligation to carry his burden, as well as her own.
So, as her animal clinic in Dublin goes into foreclosure for non-payment and her son traveling to parts unknown, when two police detectives come to her to tell her of O’Reilly’s unfortunate fate, she fears for her parents in Dingle who has a rocky relationship with him all of course, due to her. She picks up and heads back to a town which harbors nothing but horrible memories.
You see years ago, something terrible happened to Dimpna and she accidentally caused the death of one of O’Reilly’s prized horses. She has never been able to forgive herself and also feels guilty knowing her parents have had to live with her mistake while still living in the town.
What she finds as she returns is chaos. Her father unbeknownst to her is in the midst of dementia, but still working and at times unable to process what is going on. A drug which was found in the murder victim’s system seems to have come from his veterinary practice. Her parents seem to be two of many suspects in the town. So, while Dimpna reluctantly tries to put her father’s practice back in order, trying to avoid the people of her past who still haunt her to this day, she is also there to find out who really killed O’Reilly if not just for her parent’s sake.
As the detectives begin to look into the murder, and Dimpna finds interesting clues which then opens the door to her troubled past, she can’t help but think perhaps her father is to blame. But is he being set up? If so, by who? With so many suspects and with her father’s decline, she must wade lightly through the waters to find the true story. But her curiosity could be the death of her.
No Strangers Here is quite the thriller, with a wonderfully thought-out mystery and incredible plots which will keep the reader engaged in the story up until and including the ending.
Thank you #KensingtonBooks #BetweenTheChapters #CarleneO’Connor #NoStrangersHere for the advanced arc. -
Thank you RB Media, Recorded Books and Netgalley for an audio copy of the book.
I just needed to read / listen cous I saw the cover and read it was happening in Ireland.
I have not read for a while an investigation book and this was really greeping. I could not stop listening. Ireland, a small town, secrets, family maters and crime. What do you need more? -
New series by an author I enjoy. Looking forward to the next installment.
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Set in Ireland, a local man is found dead on the beach - wearing a suit and his dancing shoes. A syringe is found beside the body and a cryptic message is written out in small stones nearby. Suicide or murder?
This is a sneak peak at a new darker series by Carlene O'Connor. The 50 pages are the first 6 chapters of "No Strangers Here". It is hard to get a true feel for what may be coming when the full book is released in fall 2022 but I was intrigued with what I read. Like series by Louise Penny and Deborah Crombie, this story is being told from multiple points of view - three of which are found in this short intro. I've been a fan of Ms O'Connor for several years. Her cozy mysteries have always been well crafted stories with wonderful characters, vivid descriptions of the Irish landscape and liberally sprinkled with Irish slang. This new series may be a bit too dark for some but I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes! Have pre-ordered this for Kindle! -
I was hopeful for this one because I really enjoy Irish stories, especially Irish mysteries, but the plot was so twisted as to be outlandish.
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Jimmy O’Reilly is a wealthy racehorse owner who is found dead on a rocky beach in Dingle. He is dressed in a suit and his dancing shoes and propped up on a boulder with a cryptic message spelled out in black stones on the beach. Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien is dispatched out of Killarney to lead the murder inquiry, and knows there are a lot of secrets and he's determined to unearth every last buried secret. Dimpna Wilde moved to Dublin to work as a vet, but things are not going well. She moves back to Dingle to clear her family of suspicion in O'Reilly's death. Her father has increasing dementia, her mother is rumored to have been having an affair with Jimmy O'Reilly and her brother won't speak to her, so there is a lot going on. As Dimpna begins to get renew her acquaintances. she finds out that there is a lot going on in the horse business, such as jealousy, greed, theft and extortion. Who really killed Jimmy O'Reilly.
I have read several of Carlene O'Connor's cozy mysteries, but this is not a cozy, it is darker, twistier and quite atmospheric. The small town is full of secrets, but the O'Reilly family is sure they know who the murderer is. They put pressure on Cormac O'Brien to arrest Dimpna's father and she has to deal with the O'Reilly's where there is no love lost. I liked both Cormac's character and Dimpna's and look forward to seeing more of them in subsequent books. There were some twists, various questionable characters and lots of clues and red herrings. I enjoyed following this mystery and seeing how it was solved. It was a solid police procedural, with Cormac trying to figure out if some of the townspeople know more than they are willing to share. I am looking forward to what is next in the County Kerry Mystery. I listened to this audiobook narrated by Emily O'Mahony. I did take some time getting used to her accent and voice, but once I did, I enjoyed her narration. I recommend you pick up No Strangers Here and get in at the beginning of this new series by Carlene O'Connor. -
This is my first book by Carlene O'Connor and I am sure it won't stay like that.
No Strangers here features Dr Dimpa Wilde who returns to her hometown of Dingle after a long long time. I really fell in love with her since she is one kind of a strong woman.
The story starts off with Johnny O'Reilly being found dead on the beach. He is kind of a VIP in Dingle and there are a few things that suggest, that this was a brutal murder.
As a result of this DI Cormac O'Brien starts investigating. No easy task considering who the victim was and his influene in this town.
What follows in my humble opinion is a very tense story with lots of atmosphere that pulled me in and didn't let me go until the very end!
I was happy to listen to the audio version of this first book in a series to come narrated by Emily O'Mahony who did a perfect performance!
Thanks #NetGalley #RB Media, Recorded Books for this advanced listening copy -
This was a very good procedural and mystery with characters that came to life and a detective I could get behind. It is set in Ireland and you can feel the place and the people in every scene. Beautifully done.
Dimpna Wilde is a vet who has come home after 27 years of staying away. She’s come home because there’s been a murder of a prominent man in the community and her parents are prime suspects. In order to figure out the motive for the murder and clear her parents names she decides to investigate alongside detective Cormac O Brien who is new to the area.
The vet element brings spots of joy but it’s really Dimpna and Cormac who carry this story. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the next one. -
The setting of this book was great, and the plot had real potential. It does seem, however, that there were missed opportunities. When I read a mystery, I expect that the majority of the plot will focus on solving the mystery. In this book, the mystery takes a backseat to the life of the town veterinarian. She is involved with the mystery, but all the details about her detracted from the mystery plot line. There were things to like about the story, so I don’t regret reading it, but I don’t think I’ll continue with the series.