Ruined Abbey

Starred review from March 23, 2015
This eighth book is a prequel for Emery’s Collins-Burke mystery series (the first, Sign of the Cross, won an Arthur Ellis Award in 2007). It is a historical and political story that begins in April 1989, when Father Brennan Burke, a priest in New York City, rushes to London to deal with a crisis in his Irish family in England. When his cousin Conn is arrested for the murder of a policeman and is suspected of being part of a plot by the Irish Republican Army to blow up Westminster Abbey, Brennan, his sister Molly, and his brother Terry try to find the truth to prove his innocence. Along the way, Emery offers views of the violent history between England and Ireland, and roots of the Troubles, as seen through the eyes of the republican Burke family and recounted in authentic dialogue laced with Gaelic. As the richly developed characters re-examine events from their own past, they discover IRA ties much closer than they knew. True to the Irish tradition of great storytelling, this is a mesmerizing tale full of twists that will keep readers riveted from the first page to the last.

Starred review from May 1, 2015
This engrossing prequel to the award-winning Collins-Burke mysteries (Blood on a Saint, 2013) takes Father Brennan Burke back to his native Ireland. It's 1989, and Burke's historian sister, Molly, has been arrested by the London police for assisting in the arrangement of a meeting to further the activities of a proscribed organization. Brennan and his brother hop on a plane from New York to rush to their sister's side. Molly doesn't deny that she and other protesters were going to interfere with a celebration of the detestable Oliver Cromwell, but she does deny that their protest had anything to do with the IRA. As soon as she is released, their cousin Conchobar Conn Burke is arrested for killing a police officer. The Burke siblings know that Conn is innocent and work their connections in England and Ireland to find the real killer. Molly's grown daughter and teenage son have their own mixed feelings about how far some members of the Burke family will go to secure true Irish independence. The eighth in the series, this winning mystery stands on its own. Readers who want a unique perspective on the Troubles will want to grab a pint and pull up a stool next to any of the Burke clan. And fans of Emery's earlier works will enjoy seeing Father Brennan in the bosom of his feisty Irish family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)