Ireland

Bookouture Blog Tour for MURDER ON THE CLOCK by Lucy Connelly

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I was excited to receive a copy of the latest installment in the Mercy McCarthy Mysteries. Mercy and her twin sister run a bookshop in Ireland and are US transplants. I love these cozy mysteries and the characters in them!

Here’s the scoop on this one:

The town of Shamrock Cove is gearing up for a grand summer festival… but the fête turns fatal when a clockmaker is killed. Can amateur sleuth Mercy McCarthy crack the case?

When Mercy McCarthy takes her beloved mother’s watch to be fixed, she’s completely charmed by the little repair store and the father-and-son duo who run it. Little does she know that the clock is ticking… when she returns, she finds the father lying unconscious amid broken glass, and her mother’s watch is missing.

The police think Mr. Flynn was attacked in a burglary gone wrong but soon suspects closer to home start coming out of the clockwork. Mercy, her sister, and their canine sidekick, master body sniffer-outer Mr. Poe, set out to gather clues and help the local detective find the killer.

Could it be the family next door to the Flynns who’ve been feuding for decades? His fiercest rival, who’s long dreamed of shutting him down? Or was his son less devoted than he seemed? As the hours tick away, another murder and the discovery of a long-buried secret changes everything…

The summer festival is fast approaching. Can Mercy solve the mystery in the nick of time, or will someone stop her clock?

A completely charming and page-turning Irish cozy mystery. Fans of Agatha Christie, Carlene O’Connor and Faith Martin will absolutely love the Mercy McCarthy series!

About the Author:

Bestselling author Candace Havens has published more than 25 books. Her novels have received nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion, Write Touch Reader Awards and National Reader’s Choice Awards. She is a Barbara Wilson Award winner. She is the author of the biography Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities from George Clooney to Chris Pratt. Candace runs a free online writing workshop for more than 2000 writers and teaches comprehensive writing classes. She does film reviews with Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3 KSCS, and is a former President of the Television Critics Association.

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

Bookouture Blog Tour for Death at Inishmore Castle by Lucy Connelly

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I do love the Mercy McCarthy cozy mystery series and this one was quick and fun. You don’t have to read this series in order, but it does help to keep all the details in line while you are reading. It seems that wherever Mercy goes, murder follows. I love these characters and how they have pretty large backstories that took place before the series even began. This mystery kept me guessing, too!

Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!!

A grand castle, a glass of Irish whiskey, a good book by the fire… and a rather mysterious murder?

Historic Inishmore Castle is opening its doors for the first time, hosting a charming weekend of whiskey tasting and soda bread baking. Sisters Mercy and Lizzie McCarthy are badly in need of a break, but their relaxing trip takes a decidedly unrestful turn when Mercy finds fellow guest Father Brennen slumped over the desk in the library… Did he have one glass too many or did someone want him dead?

Even more curiously, Mercy swiftly learns that the priest was no priest at all. So why was he searching through dusty old journals? Can the legend of Inishmore’s lost treasure possibly be true?

Mercy’s suspicions of foul play are confirmed when another of their party is found drowned in the lake at the edge of the manor’s estate. It can’t be a coincidence! Someone in this idyllic Irish castle is up to no good and Mercy is determined to find out who’s behind it, accompanied by her reluctant fellow sleuth and beloved dog Mr. Poe.

With a host of frightened guests and worried staff, and a storm closing in, Mercy soon has more suspects than bedrooms in the castle. Could it be the unconvincing nun, the busybody birdwatcher, or are the owners hiding something sinister? When Mercy realises there are secret passages in the walls, she thinks she might have cracked the case… but will she track the killer down, or will Inishmore be her resting place forever more?

A completely delightful Irish cozy mystery, full of warmth and wit. Fans of Agatha Christie, Carlene O’Connor and Faith Martin will love Mercy McCarthy!

Author Bio:

Bestselling author Candace Havens has published more than 25 books. Her novels have received nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion, Write Touch Reader Awards and National Reader’s Choice Awards. She is a Barbara Wilson Award winner. She is the author of the biography Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities from George Clooney to Chris Pratt. Candace runs a free online writing workshop for more than 2000 writers and teaches comprehensive writing classes. She does film reviews with Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3 KSCS, and is a former President of the Television Critics Association.

https://www.lucyconnelly.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ LucyConnellyBooks/

https://www.instagram.com/ Candace_Havens

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Lucy Connelly here: https://bookouture.com/ subscribe/Lucy-Connelly

Buy Link: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0DLB91VV7social

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo

Bookouture Blog tour for Death by the Book by Lucy Connelly

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Oh I love this new cozy series about twin sisters (a mystery writer and a book seller) who move to Ireland after inheriting a home and a bookshop (wait a minute – that’s my dream come true!!) and end up being involved in solving crime. The plots are so clever and the characters are interesting and fun. I love how the sisters are multi-dimensional with backstories and unique traits. These novels would make a great British mystery series for Brit Box or Acorn TV!

You don’t need to read them in order, but I did. And more are coming – yay!

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

Here’s the scoop:

Irish scones, shamrock shortbread, a local literary festival… and a rather dead author? Join Mercy McCarthy on her next case!

Mercy and Lizzie McCarthy are settling in to the charming seaside village of Shamrock Cove on the west coast of Ireland. Lizzie throws herself into organizing a book festival and mystery writer Mercy even agrees to come out of her bookish hidey-hole to get involved. But then the event’s star author is found dead. James Brandt was killed by a falling bookshelf in his own cottage…

The local detective is not convinced by Mercy’s suspicion of murder but when someone else turns up dead, the police cannot ignore it. There’s just one problem: Mercy and Lizzie’s beloved dog Mr. Poe sniffs out the second body in the storeroom of their own bookstore. And now all the gossips seem determined to pin the murder on Mercy!

Convinced the police are focusing on a red herring in this real-life case, Mercy needs to act fast to clear her name. A meddling mayor, a cheerful chef and a bashful botanist make her suspect list, but it’s not until Mercy discovers a tatty old photograph in the local library archive that she is onto the killer’s trail.

With the police keen to shut her out of the murder investigation, can Mercy play this case by the book, or will she be the next to fall off the shelf…?

A totally gripping and twisty cozy crime novel, perfect for readers who love Agatha Christie, Carlene O’Connor or Faith Martin! This incredibly fast-paced and fun murder mystery will whisk you off to Ireland and won’t let you go until the final page!

Author Bio:

Bestselling author Candace Havens has published more than 25 books. Her novels have received nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion, Write Touch Reader Awards and National Reader’s Choice Awards. She is a Barbara Wilson Award winner. She is the author of the biography Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities from George Clooney to Chris Pratt. Candace runs a free online writing workshop for more than 2000 writers and teaches comprehensive writing classes. She does film reviews with Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3 KSCS, and is a former President of the Television Critics Association.

https://www.lucyconnelly.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LucyConnellyBooks/

https://www.instagram.com/Candace_Havens

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Lucy Connelly here: https://bookouture.com/subscribe/Lucy-Connelly

Buy Link: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0DCWDWF65social

Blog tour for THE IRISH CHILD by Daisy O’Shea

/ drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Book Description:

A salty breeze whips the tears from my eyes as I stare out at the emerald Irish Sea. Everything I’ve lost, the child my great grandmother Nellie lost, all feels so present here, in the land my family left years ago. How will I ever move on? Will I ever uncover the truth about the little girl who went missing all those years ago?

When Boston-born Erin arrives in wind-tossed Roone Bay, she’s heart-sore, tired and lonely. Her marriage is over: she’s come to build a new life for herself on Ireland’s rugged southern coast. And to unravel the story behind the mysterious note in her family’s ancient Bible that has haunted her since childhood. But hazel-eyed former lifeboat volunteer Finn, the only local historian around, quietly refuses her pleas to help.

So Erin settles in to the town, with its whitewashed cottages and ruddy-cheeked fishermen, and begins her quest alone. Who was her ancestor, Nellie, and why did she leave Ireland for America? What happened to her missing child, Annie, and did Nellie ever see her again?

Just as Erin despairs ever uncovering the truth, one rain-soaked night she is rescued by Finn, who finally agrees to help. And by firelight and candlelight each evening, just as it would have been in her great-grandmother’s time, Finn and Erin grow closer as they share their stories.

But just as Erin wonders if Roone Bay could be her forever home, she makes a devastating discovery. Will she be able to face the truth, which changes everything she thought she knew about herself, her past, and her family’s Irish legacy? Or will she run, just as Nellie did all those years ago, and lose the best chance at happiness she’s ever had…?

This gorgeous, heart-breaking, totally immersive story of an Irish family’s legacy is perfect for fans of Susanne O’Leary, Kathleen McGurl and Tricia O’Malley.

So if you know me, you know I am half Irish and I love love love Ireland! It is such a beautiful country with lovely people. Many years ago, after a difficult break up, I went to Ireland and found some healing there, so I could relate to Erin. And as Erin’s great-grandmother came over from Ireland, so did my great-grandparents, but mine came after the Famine. I loved this story and I loved the “toggle” between Nellie’s story (which is a sad one – but not too sad!) and Erin’s. It reminded me a bit of one of my favorite Irish authors, Maeve Binchy.

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

Author Bio:

I LOVE this author bio. Sue Lewando/Daisy O’Shea is so interesting and we have much in common, including a love of the Oxford comma!

Sue Lewando was a teacher for several years before migrating to the office environment, where she was PA to the Treasurer of Clarks Shoes, a multi-national company, then, briefly, PA to Susan George, the actress best known for Straw Dogs. Sue had many genre books published (M&B and Virgin), under pseudonyms, and self-publishes her crime thrillers. She was on the committee of the Romantic Novelists’ Association in England, for whom she assessed typescripts. She has been a fiction tutor for the London School of Journalism for twenty years. She has two grown-up children, a happy second marriage, and a bundle of cats and dogs. She moved to West Cork with her husband to undertake a farmhouse refurbishment project, foster their joint passion for playing Irish traditional music, and to invest time in their individual academic projects. She recently completed a Masters in Creative Writing at UCC, taking the opportunity to explore diverse writing genres. She works with the Jeremy Murphy Literary Consultancy in the capacity of typescript analyst, ghostwriter, editor, and online publishing advisor. She loves good commercial fiction, and is a devotee of the Oxford comma.

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Daisy O’Shea here: https://bookouture.com/subscribe/daisy-oshea/

Buy Link: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0D2J77FKWsocial

For My Ears: Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Oh my goodness — now that I’m commuting again (though shorter than in the past due to less cars on the road due to COVID shutdowns) I’m listening to audiobooks every day. I listened to this one in August/September and it was a doozy. Naratted by several apt actors (Caoilfhionn Dunne, David McFetridge, and Lesley McGuire), it tells the story of a family and the secrets they hide.

Here’s the overview via Amazon/Audible:

From the international best-selling author of Unraveling Oliver, an “unputdownable psychological thriller with an ending that lingers long after turning the final page” (The Irish Times) about a Dublin family whose dark secrets and twisted relationships are suddenly revealed.  

My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it. 

On the surface, Lydia Fitzsimons has the perfect life – wife of a respected, successful judge, mother to a beloved son, mistress of a beautiful house in Dublin. That beautiful house, however, holds a secret. And when Lydia’s son, Laurence, discovers its secret, wheels are set in motion that lead to an increasingly claustrophobic and devastatingly dark climax. 

For fans of Ruth Ware and Gillian Flynn, this novel is a “seductively sinister story. The twists come together in a superbly scary denouncement, which delivers a final sting in the tail. Brilliantly macabre” (Sunday Mirror).

So this is the kind of story that starts off with a bang. You fall into the dark hole of it and you never are able to climb your way out.

I have to be honest and say that while this was superbly plotted and well-written I HATED the ending. Hated it. Almost cried from frustration and upset. Still can’t stop thinking about it. So – it’s good. Really good. It just didn’t make me happy (and I like happy).

Let me know what you thought! I got mine with an Audible credit.

Treading the Uneven Road – a short story collection by L.M. Brown

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I received an electronic copy of this wonderful collection of stories from the author a few months ago. They take place in Ireland and are all inter-related.

Description:
The stories in this collection are set 1980’s and 90’s Ireland. A by-pass around a small village has rid the residents of their once busy traffic. They feel forgotten by the world. The need to reach out and be heard is explored in every story, from the young woman who starts to have phone conversations with her husband’s gay lover, to the dyslexic man who confronts his cruel teacher years later and the woman whose dreams are shattered because of a married lover. Treading the Uneven Road introduces us to a society that is unraveling and we cannot help feel for Brown’s characters who need to make a choice on how to carry on.

Me again!! I love Ireland and I love short stories where there is a connecting thread throughout them all. These aren’t all happiness and light, but they do leave you thinking about the characters and wondering about their lives. Brown has the ability to develop character and evoke setting, so that these stories are vividly impressed upon you as you read.

Thank you so much for my review copy! You can find it on Amazon and other online retailers!

HFVBTour for BEYOND DERRYNANE by Kevin O’Connell

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

04_beyond-derrynane_blog-tour-banner_final

I’m so happy to be taking part in the Historical Fiction Blog Tour for DERRYNANE, a story of Ireland in the 1700’s and the start of a saga. It is a beautifully written and engaging story, and the start of a larger chronicle. Here’s the scoop:

02_beyond-derrynane

Beyond Derrynane by Kevin O’ Connell

Publication Date: July 7, 2016
Gortcullinane Press
eBook & Paperback; 348 Pages

Series: The Derrynane Saga, Volume 1
Genre: Historical Fiction

Add to GR Button

Wed in an arranged marriage to a man nearly fifty years her senior, sixteen-year-old Eileen O’Connell goes from being one of five unmarried sisters to become the mistress of Ballyhar, the great estate of John O’Connor, one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Ireland.

When O’Connor dies suddenly seven months into their marriage, Eileen must decide whether she will fulfill her brother’s strategic goals for her family by marrying her late husband’s son.

Headstrong and outspoken, Eileen frustrates her brother’s wishes, as, through the auspices of her uncle, General Moritz O’Connell of the Imperial Austrian Army, she, along with her ebullient elder sister, Abigail, spend the ensuing richly-dramatic and eventful years at the court of the Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna.The sisters learn to navigate the complex and frequently contradictory ways of the court–making a place for themselves in a world far different from remote Derrynane. Together with the general, they experience a complex life at the pinnacle of the Hapsburg Empire.

Beyond Derrynane – and the three books to follow in The Derrynane Saga – will present a sweeping chronicle, set against the larger drama of Europe in the early stages of significant change, dramatising the roles, which have never before been treated in fiction, played by a small number of expatriate Irish Catholics of the fallen “Gaelic Aristocracy” (of which the O’Connells were counted as being amongst its few basically still-intact families) at the courts of Catholic Europe, as well as relating their complex, at times dangerous, lives at home in Protestant Ascendancy-ruled Ireland.

In addition to Eileen’s, the books trace the largely-fictional lives of several other O’Connells of Derrynane, it is the tantalisingly few facts that are historically documented about them which provide the basic threads around which the tale itself is woven, into which strategic additions of numerous historical and fictional personalities and events intertwine seamlessly.

*************************************************

Me again — I loved the character of Eileen in this book. She was quite strong and independent. As someone who’s great grandparents came from Ireland, I thought I was fairly familiar with Irish history, but I really did not know about the expat Irish who went to court in Europe (full disclosure: I came from a fairly long line of farmers not aristocracy!). This book was so interesting and also well-written.

Thank you for making me part of the tour and for my review copy!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

About the Author

03_kevin-o%27connell

Kevin O’Connell is a native of New York City and a descendant of a young officer of what had—from 1690 to 1792—been the Irish Brigade of the French army, believed to have arrived in French Canada following the execution of Queen Marie Antoinette in October of 1793. At least one grandson subsequently returned to Ireland and Mr. O’Connell’s own grandparents came to New York in the early twentieth century. He holds both Irish and American citizenship.

He is a graduate of Providence College and Georgetown University Law Centre.

For more than four decades, O’Connell has practiced international business transactional law, primarily involving direct-investment matters, throughout Asia (principally China), Europe, and the Middle East.

Mr. O’Connell has been a serious student of selected (especially the Eighteenth Century) periods of the history of Ireland for virtually all of his life; one significant aspect of this has been a continuing scholarly as well as personal interest in the extended O’Connell family at Derrynane, many even distant and long-ago members of which, especially the characters about whom he writes, he has “known” intimately since childhood.

The father of five children and grandfather of ten, he and his wife, Laurette, live with their golden retriever, Katie, near Annapolis, Maryland.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, January 16
Kick Off at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, January 17
Review at Broken Teepee

Wednesday, January 18
Review at Luxury Reading
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, January 19
Review at Books, Dreams, Life

Friday, January 20
Review at The Book Junkie Reads

Sunday, January 22
Review at Carole’s Ramblings

Monday, January 23
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Tuesday, January 24
Review at Kinx’s Book Nook

Wednesday, January 25
Review at A Bookaholic Swede
Excerpt at A Literary Vacation

Friday, January 27
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Interview at Dianne Ascroft’s Blog

Monday, January 30
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Tuesday, January 31
Review at Book Nerd

Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour for THE IRISH INHERITANCE by M.J. Lee

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

02_The Irish Inheritance

A few weeks ago I posted a HFVBT book blast about THE IRISH INHERITANCE by M.J. Lee. I also received a mobi copy of the ARC and read it as well.

I really enjoyed this fast-paced and interesting mystery, which ties into my own family history!

Here’s the overview:

The Irish Inheritance: A Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery
by M.J. Lee

Publication Date: June 15, 2016
eBook; 285 Pages
ASIN: B01FR5PP9S

Series: The Jayne Sinclair Series, Book One
Genre: Historical/Mystery

Add to GR Button

June 8, 1921. Ireland.

A British Officer is shot dead on a remote hillside south of Dublin.

November 22, 2015. United Kingdom.

Former police detective, Jayne Sinclair, now working as a genealogical investigator, receives a phone call from an adopted American billionaire asking her to discover the identity of his real father.

How are the two events linked?

Jayne Sinclair has only three clues to help her: a photocopied birth certificate, a stolen book and an old photograph. And it soon becomes apparent somebody else is on the trail of the mystery. A killer who will stop at nothing to prevent Jayne discovering the secret hidden in the past.

The Irish Inheritance takes us through the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence, combining a search for the truth of the past with all the tension of a modern-day thriller.

It is the first in a series of novels featuring Jayne Sinclair, genealogical detective.

Pre-Order Kindle eBook

*********************************************************

So — this is the start of a series with Jayne Sinclair as the protagonist. I liked her a lot — tough, former DI, marriage in trouble, multi-layered. What I loved best, though, was the timeline of the story from past to present, which explains who the father of Jayne’s client is, and why he was sent to America for adoption, etc. The Irish War of Independence and the Easter Rising were portrayed in depth, with some perspectives that were new to me, too.

I’d love to see this book as a movie! It kept me reading to the past page.

If I had one issue, it was that  – being a reviewer – my copy did not have final edits, so I struggled a bit when that pulled me out of the story. Alas, that is the challenge for us ARC readers! 🙂

Look for this novel at a bookstore near you – or online – or ask your library!

Thank you for my review e-copy and for making me part of the tour!

About the Author

03_MJ Lee

Martin has spent most of his adult life writing in one form or another. As a University researcher in history, he wrote pages of notes on reams of obscure topics. As a social worker with Vietnamese refugees, he wrote memoranda. And, as the creative director of an advertising agency, he has written print and press ads, tv commercials, short films and innumerable backs of cornflake packets and hotel websites.

He has spent 25 years of his life working outside the North of England. In London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, winning awards from Cannes, One Show, D&AD, New York and London Festivals, and the United Nations.

When he’s not writing, he splits his time between the UK and Asia, taking pleasure in playing with his daughter, researching his family history, practicing downhill ironing, single-handedly solving the problem of the French wine lake and wishing he were George Clooney.

You can find more information on M.J. Lee and his novels on Goodreads, Amazon,Facebook, and Twitter.

HFVBT Book Blast for THE IRISH INHERITANCE by MJ Lee

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

04_The Irish Inheritance_Book Blast Banner_FINAL.png

Today I’m blasting it up for MJ Lee’s new book – the start of a series I believe – THE IRISH INHERITANCE. I also read this book last week and will be sharing my thought on it soon!

The Irish Inheritance: A Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery
by M.J. Lee

Publication Date: June 15, 2016
eBook; 285 Pages
ASIN: B01FR5PP9S

Series: The Jayne Sinclair Series, Book One
Genre: Historical/Mystery

Add to GR Button

02_The Irish Inheritance.jpg

June 8, 1921. Ireland.

A British Officer is shot dead on a remote hillside south of Dublin.

November 22, 2015. United Kingdom.

Former police detective, Jayne Sinclair, now working as a genealogical investigator, receives a phone call from an adopted American billionaire asking her to discover the identity of his real father.

How are the two events linked?

Jayne Sinclair has only three clues to help her: a photocopied birth certificate, a stolen book and an old photograph. And it soon becomes apparent somebody else is on the trail of the mystery. A killer who will stop at nothing to prevent Jayne discovering the secret hidden in the past.

The Irish Inheritance takes us through the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence, combining a search for the truth of the past with all the tension of a modern-day thriller.

It is the first in a series of novels featuring Jayne Sinclair, genealogical detective.

Pre-Order Kindle eBook

About the Author

03_MJ Lee

Martin has spent most of his adult life writing in one form or another. As a University researcher in history, he wrote pages of notes on reams of obscure topics. As a social worker with Vietnamese refugees, he wrote memoranda. And, as the creative director of an advertising agency, he has written print and press ads, tv commercials, short films and innumerable backs of cornflake packets and hotel websites.

He has spent 25 years of his life working outside the North of England. In London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, winning awards from Cannes, One Show, D&AD, New York and London Festivals, and the United Nations.

When he’s not writing, he splits his time between the UK and Asia, taking pleasure in playing with his daughter, researching his family history, practicing downhill ironing, single-handedly solving the problem of the French wine lake and wishing he were George Clooney.

You can find more information on M.J. Lee and his novels on Goodreads, Amazon,Facebook, and Twitter.

 

Audiobook Review: THE EDGE OF LOST by Kristina McMorris

/ drbethnolan / 1 Comment

51xq96dh05L._SX346_BO1,204,203,200_

If you follow me regularly, you might remember that back in December I was part of a Historical Fiction Book Blast for THE EDGE OF LOST by Kristina McMorris. The book sounded so good I put it on my TBR list!

Here’s the overview:

On a cold night in October 1937, searchlights cut through the darkness around Alcatraz. A prison guard’s only daughter—one of the youngest civilians who lives on the island—has gone missing. Tending the warden’s greenhouse, convicted bank robber Tommy Capello waits anxiously. Only he knows the truth about the little girl’s whereabouts, and that both of their lives depend on the search’s outcome.

Almost two decades earlier and thousands of miles away, a young boy named Shanley Keagan ekes out a living as an aspiring vaudevillian in Dublin pubs. Talented and shrewd, Shan dreams of shedding his dingy existence and finding his real father in America. The chance finally comes to cross the Atlantic, but when tragedy strikes, Shan must summon all his ingenuity to forge a new life in a volatile and foreign world.

Skillfully weaving these two stories, Kristina McMorris delivers a compelling novel that moves from Ireland to New York to San Francisco Bay. As her finely crafted characters discover the true nature of loyalty, sacrifice, and betrayal, they are forced to confront the lies we tell—and believe—in order to survive.

******************************

There’s a lot going on in this novel — from Ireland to coming to America to NYC to Alcatraz. Shan/Tommy goes from being a poor child immigrant with no family, to being part of an Italian clan, to trying to make a solid adult existence for himself, to ending up in Alcatraz. I enjoyed reading his journey along the way. Ms. McMorris’s writing kept me engaged and I felt connected to Shan, especially when things were not going his way! While I would have loved even more scenes/details about his life in Alcatraz (Alcatraz was my 5th grade field trip!), the book is already over 300 pages, so I am guessing that she needed to keep it trim.

With themes of forgiveness, self-fulfillment, and the undying bonds of family, THE EDGE OF LOST is a great read and one that lovers of historical fiction will enjoy.

The Audiobook is just under 11 hours and is read by Charlie Thurston. He did an amazing job because this book has Irish accents, New York accents, “gangster accents” (if you know what I mean), Italian accents, and voices that are male, female, and child. It must have been a task to do it and do it well!

I purchased mine from Audible.