THE SECRET OF THE IRISH CASTLE picks up right where the prior book, THE DAUGHTERS OF IRELAND, ended. Bridie Doyle, now the Countess di Marcantonio, has bought the Deverill's ancestral home and Kitty Deverill Trench is incensed. Worse yet, Kitty's first love, Jack O'Leary, has finally returned to Ireland but he has a wife and children. Meanwhile, Martha Wallace has gone in search of her birth mother and encounters JP, where it's love at first sight for these two young adults. Will the secrets of the past destroy them all or has the time come for the curse on the Deverills to end?

THE SECRET OF THE IRISH CASTLE is the third book in the  Deverill Chronicles and must be read in the context of the series as a whole in order to be enjoyed. The complexity of the relationships as well as the multitude of betrayals by the characters have been developed over the course of the prior two books and a new reader will miss the nuances of the storyline.

I love the ghostly presences of the Deverill heirs we visit within THE SECRET OF THE IRISH CASTLE. We've had a few glimpses of Adeline Deverill (and more than one mention of her cannabis tea) but Santa Montefiore starts to fill us in more on the curse plaguing the Deverills. As always, the stories aren't necessarily pretty and some of the betrayals that have happened are horrific, but I love the paranormal touch to the storyline.

And speaking of betrayals... I've despised Grace Rowan- Hampton for most of the series and THE SECRET OF THE IRISH CASTLE solidified that dislike. Santa Montefiore did a great job at humanizing most of the characters, but Grace is nothing but manipulative and selfish. I won't reveal spoilers but fans of the Deverill Chronicles will particularly relish how some scenarios are resolved, particularly in regards to Grace.

THE SECRET OF THE IRISH CASTLE is a brilliant conclusion to the Deverill Chronicles! Santa Montefiore is a master at writing sweeping historical sagas and it clearly shows in the Deverill Chronicles. I'm a little sad to see the series end, but I'm thrilled with how Santa Montefiore concluded it!