I love reading fiction that is based in Ireland and it is
a plus when it is a mystery
novel! AN EARLY WAKE written by author Sheila Connolly is
one of those novels
that I could not resist reading. The main character has
inherited this little pub in
Ireland that was famous back in the day for the music that
was played there. This
pub is a model from an actual pub that the author, Sheila
Connolly had visited
years ago with it also known for the music. So that makes
this novel a little more
special when you find out the author's inspiration behind
it.
In this novel, Maura Donovan is trying to bring
back the life of a pub that
she is now in charge of. Then when an unexpected visitor,
Tim walks in and had
heard a little about Sullivan's Pub and its history he
decided to come in and ask
questions and then the word gets out and the old musicians
come back. Did
Maura find a way to bring this once famous pub in Ireland
back to life, or does a
murder keep it from thriving? Maura has to help solve
what happened to the
musician found dead in the pub's back room or everything
could crumble before
she has a chance to bring the place back alive!
Even though I felt at first it started a little
slow for me, I still enjoyed the
storyline once I really got a little further into the
book. This is a third in the
County Cork Mystery series and Maura is a character
that you can really like.
Unlike some female characters, she is taking her choices
slow and making no
rash decisions. This makes her a strong female character.
AN EARLY WAKE is a
great read that I couldn't put down once the story hooked
me. I am looking
forward to Sheila Connolly's next one to see where she
takes her characters in
this small Irish town.
Pub owner Maura Donovan may have Irish kin, but she
doesn’t seem to have the luck of the Irish. Who could have
foreseen that bringing live music back to Sullivan’s Pub
would lead to a dead musician?
Summer is
ending
in County Cork, Ireland, and with it the tourist season.
Expat Maura Donovan is determined to keep Sullivan’s Pub
in
the black as the days grow shorter—but how? When she hears
that the place was once a hot spot for Irish musicians
who’d
come play in the back room, she wonders if bringing back
live music might be Sullivan’s salvation.
As word
gets out, legendary musicians begin to appear at the pub,
and the first impromptu jam session brings in scores of
music lovers. But things hit a sour note when Maura finds
a
dead musician in the back room the next morning. With a
slew
of potential suspects, it’s going to take more than a pint
and a good think to force a murderer to face the music.