An Early Wake
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| An Early Wake by Sheila Connolly |
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| Narrator Amy Rubinate |
Amy Rubinate gives a spirited presentation of An Early Wake. Her previous narrations of the County Cork Mysteries, Buried in a Bog and Scandal in Skibbereen were remarkable and Book 3 is equally well done. With warmth and enthusiasm Ms. Rubinate skillfully winds her way through a cast of characters unlike many in the previous two books of County Cork Mysteries, Buried in a Bog, and Scandal in Skibbereen. A well presented reading from a top-notch narrator, will certainly make you want to catch the next flight to County Cork, Ireland.
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| Sheila Connolly author |
A County Cork Mystery. Book 3
By Sheila Connolly
Maura Donovan, owner of Sullivan's' Pub in Leap, Co. Cork Ireland is still unsure of herself and what the future of the pub might be. She is if anything more unlikable in An Early Wake, more peevish, and testy than the previous two books. So it is strange that with a thoroughly unlikable protagonist the stories are compelling and the writing is satisfying and I continue to listen and enjoy them. Connolly also has excellent titles and the cover art is good.
New businesses are cropping up giving more competition to Sullivan's Pub, spreading the already thin supply of Euros around even further. Maura has cleaned up the pub but has not had enough money to do much towards upgrading anything even as simple as new curtains.
When Timothy Riley a music student from Dublin drops into the Pub and unwittingly changes the fate and finances of Sullivan's by asking Maura about the music jams that took place in the pub back in the nineties. Bewildered, Maura has heard nothing about the pub being an iconic musical hot spot. As usual she goes to Old Billy to find out about it,
Old Billy, the local color and storyteller informs her how the music jams brought in hundreds of people eager to listen. She ponders the idea of bringing together the now ageing musicians and hopefully increasing the pub's coffers again. Slowly at first musicians show up then as it gains momentum it suddenly explodes into a gathering of grand proportions.
When Maura goes to the pub to clean up from the festivities she's appalled to find a dead man in the backroom. Confused about how he even got in, Maura is sure she checked for stragglers before she left for the night.
Maura is no Nancy Drew or Kinsey Millhone and she doesn't have a true sleuthing strategy. Her mind drifts through different possibilities and then she finds something or overhears something and lets her mind wander again till she almost accidentally solves the murder.
Overall a good book with lots of excellent descriptions of the surroundings. Enough characters that are interesting in their own ways to overshadow the insecure and rudderless Maura. Shelia Connolly is very precise about her facts so although this is fiction and a Cozy Mystery, you can rely on the authenticity of what she writes.
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