Review: Buried In A Bog By Sheila Connolly

Series: A County Cork Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
February 5, 2013
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425251896

National bestselling and Agatha Award-nominated author Sheila Connolly introduces a brand-new series set in a small village in County Cork, Ireland, where buried secrets are about to rise to the surface...
Honoring the wish of her late grandmother, Maura Donovan visits the small Irish village where her Gran was born—though she never expected to get bogged down in a murder mystery. Nor had she planned to take a job in one of the local pubs, but she finds herself excited to get to know the people who knew her Gran.
In the pub, she’s swamped with drink orders as everyone in town gathers to talk about the recent discovery of a nearly one-hundred-year-old body in a nearby bog. When Maura realizes she may know something about the dead man—and that the body’s connected to another, more recent, death—she fears she’s about to become mired in a homicide investigation. After she discovers the death is connected to another from almost a century earlier, Maura has a sinking feeling she may really be getting in over her head...

My Thoughts:

In this debut to her new series, Connolly has captured the essence of Ireland's countryside with her attention to detail and culture. And, her cast of heart-warming characters is sure to charm any reader! As Maura Donavan struggles with her own grief of losing her grandmother and fulfilling her final wish, she suddenly finds herself in the small Irish village of Leap suddenly surrounded by people who are genuinely concerned for her well-being. But who would want to harm Maura Donavan? Could her encounter with danger be related to the two recently discovered deaths since her arrival? Filled with unpredictable suspense and plenty of red-herrings throughout, Connolly had me reading well into the late evening hours. I simply fell in love with the elderly characters, Bridget and Billy, with their Irish tales and wisdom of the old days. I sincerely hope these two will play a role in future books in this series. Very well written and one that I would recommend to fans of cozy mysteries...Four stars!