The Secret of the Irish Castle

July 1, 2018

In this third volume in the "Deverill Chronicles" (after The Girl in the Castle and The Daughters of Ireland), the author brings this family saga full circle, back to three little girls watching the glittering social whirl of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy just before its demise. Cousins Kitty and Celia Deverill, with friend Bridie Doyle, have watched one another's fortunes rise and fall, and seen their positions reverse. Now their betrayals come back to haunt them. After all they have been through together and apart, the women are finally able to forgive themselves and one another, as all the secrets are laid bare. And their children are also finally able to lay the castle's ghosts to rest. VERDICT Readers who love long, intricate family epics will appreciate this rewarding historical trilogy but should read the first two volumes for background. Otherwise the story line of intertwined relationships, secrets, and lives will make no sense. The early 20th-century Irish setting will appeal to readers of Irish historical fiction as well as fans of stories set during World War I and the period between the two world wars.--Marlene Harris, Reading Reality, LLC, Duluth, GA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
Montefiore (The Daughters of Ireland, 2017) brings her Deverill Chronicles to a satisfying conclusion, wrapping up the dramatic and passionate story lines stretching across four decades and two generations. On the eve of WWII, Bridie O'Doyle (now the Countess di Marcantonio) is the new mistress of Deverill Castle, but her husband seems to have a hidden agenda of his own, and few can forget or forgive her humble beginnings as the daughter of the castle cook. Searching for her long-lost mother in Ireland, American Martha Wallace loses her heart when she crosses paths with the charming JP Deverill. Raising Bridie's illegitimate son, JP, as her own, Kitty Deverill can't completely shake off the demons of the past, despite her loving husband and children. When Kitty's first and truest love, Jack O'Leary, finally returns from America with his wife and children in tow, the scene is set for romances to be resolved, secrets to be exposed, and long-festering feuds?along with the ghosts of Deverills past who haunt the old castle?to be laid to rest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)