Buried in a Bog

February 15, 2013
Connolly, author of the Apple Orchard mysteries, begins a new series set in County Clare, Ireland. Maura heads to Ireland to fulfill her grandmother's last wish. She finds a job in a local pub and meets a dear friend of her grandmother's. She also meets several relatives and locates a possible new home. Then she finds a letter in the pub that seems to be connected to a local body discovered in a bog, and when she turns it in to police, Maura finds herself threatened. A car chase, another murder, and a break-in tell Maura that someone wants her to return to Boston, but she is drawn into the community and the stories about her family. The setting and local personalities are cleverly woven into two mysteries, one a cold case and the other a modern murder. Ireland is known more for darker crime fare, so a traditional cozy set in the Emerald Isle and starring an amateur sleuth seems quite fresh. A very promising start to a new series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)