With the haunting, moody prose of Tana French and the compulsive storytelling of Dervla McTiernan or Ann Cleeves, bestselling author Carlene O’Connor lures readers to a remote village on Ireland’s southwest coast, where winding windswept roads open to spectacular views of rugged cliffs against immense, lonely beaches…and some fear a mysterious cult could be connected to the disappearance of a young pregnant woman.
After two pregnant women in Dingle who have never met each receive a chilling email warning them that they’re in grave danger, the two decide to meet each other to figure out what is going on. But when one of the mothers, Shauna, a deaf woman, arrives at their meeting place at the village Spring Festival, she fears a trap and hurries off to meet the couple who plan to adopt her baby.
Meanwhile, Dimpna Wilde has her hands full with lambing season and keeping track of her father, so she’s grateful for the help of a well-meaning ten-year-old boy, Dylan, at the veterinary clinic. But when the lad goes missing after going into a bog on a dare with two other boys to search for a “monster,” she is desperate to help find him.
After the adoptive couple are discovered tied up in their home, telling a terrifying story of a deaf pregnant woman being abducted by a man wearing a butterfly mask, Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien and Detective Sergeant Barbara Neely fear a repeat of a disturbing case from twenty years earlier, when a charismatic leader calling himself the Shepherd, lured poor pregnant girls into his enigmatic cult. Though allegations of baby smuggling were never proven, he’d been put away on other charges. But then they learn that the Shepherd has recently been released from prison.
Trapped in a cold, dark room with a frightened boy, Shauna fears for their lives as well as that of her unborn baby. If she has any chance of getting out and away from the Moth Man, as she calls her abductor, she’ll have to figure out the truth behind who she really is and how that connects to the ordeal she finds herself in now. But time is running out and her baby will be born soon . . .
Praise for Carlene O'Connor's County Kerry Mysteries:
“There’s a surprising conclusion in this sequel to No Strangers Here. Sarah Stewart Taylor’s fans will appreciate O’Connor’s dark, atmospheric Irish mystery.” – Library Journal STARRED REVIEW for Some of Us Are Looking “Ireland's County Kerry provides the backdrop for O’Connor’s compelling series kickoff…Exciting, convoluted, and rich with compelling characters, this is the best of O’Connor’s Irish mysteries to date.”—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW for No Strangers Here "A knockout steeped in setting and character…There is beautiful writing here and the characters are rich and complicated, as is the well-told story –a mystery that is well set up and beautifully resolved.”—Mystery Scene on No Strangers Here
“This solid series launch from O’Connor takes a more somber approach to crime solving than her Irish Village mysteries…O’Connor adds plot twists that many won’t anticipate. Judicious use of Irishisms (“I swear to ye”) adds color. Readers will eagerly await what happens next in County Kerry.” —Publishers Weekly on No Strangers Here
“Known for her cozies, O’Connor moves into darker territory here. For fans of Louise Penny.” —Library Journal on No Strangers Here “Rural Ireland is made sparklingly real on the pages of Carlene O’Connor’s absorbing series debut, which stars Dr. Dimpna Wilde a Vet who will stop at nothing to find out the truth, while also stepping into her father’s practice to take care of local animals. The body that’s found on the beach is just the start of this puzzle that will draw in readers of O’Connor’s Home to Ireland and Irish Village Mysteries as well as fans of Tana French and All Creatures Great and Small.” —Henrietta Verma, First Clue Review on No Strangers Here
“Carlene O’Connor crafts a thrilling and atmospheric mystery.” –BookRioton No Strangers Here
“An excellent police procedural whose complex characters act out a twisty tale of hate.” –Kirkus Reviews on Some of Us Are Looking
With the haunting, moody prose of Tana French and the compulsive storytelling of Dervla McTiernan or Ann Cleeves, bestselling author Carlene O’Connor lures readers to a remote village on Ireland’s southwest coast, where winding windswept roads open to spectacular views of rugged cliffs against immense, lonely beaches…and some fear a mysterious cult could be connected to the disappearance of a young pregnant woman.
After two pregnant women in Dingle who have never met each receive a chilling email warning them that they’re in grave danger, the two decide to meet each other to figure out what is going on. But when one of the mothers, Shauna, a deaf woman, arrives at their meeting place at the village Spring Festival, she fears a trap and hurries off to meet the couple who plan to adopt her baby.
Meanwhile, Dimpna Wilde has her hands full with lambing season and keeping track of her father, so she’s grateful for the help of a well-meaning ten-year-old boy, Dylan, at the veterinary clinic. But when the lad goes missing after going into a bog on a dare with two other boys to search for a “monster,” she is desperate to help find him.
After the adoptive couple are discovered tied up in their home, telling a terrifying story of a deaf pregnant woman being abducted by a man wearing a butterfly mask, Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien and Detective Sergeant Barbara Neely fear a repeat of a disturbing case from twenty years earlier, when a charismatic leader calling himself the Shepherd, lured poor pregnant girls into his enigmatic cult. Though allegations of baby smuggling were never proven, he’d been put away on other charges. But then they learn that the Shepherd has recently been released from prison.
Trapped in a cold, dark room with a frightened boy, Shauna fears for their lives as well as that of her unborn baby. If she has any chance of getting out and away from the Moth Man, as she calls her abductor, she’ll have to figure out the truth behind who she really is and how that connects to the ordeal she finds herself in now. But time is running out and her baby will be born soon . . .
Praise
Praise for Carlene O'Connor's County Kerry Mysteries:
“There’s a surprising conclusion in this sequel to No Strangers Here. Sarah Stewart Taylor’s fans will appreciate O’Connor’s dark, atmospheric Irish mystery.” – Library Journal STARRED REVIEW for Some of Us Are Looking “Ireland's County Kerry provides the backdrop for O’Connor’s compelling series kickoff…Exciting, convoluted, and rich with compelling characters, this is the best of O’Connor’s Irish mysteries to date.”—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW for No Strangers Here "A knockout steeped in setting and character…There is beautiful writing here and the characters are rich and complicated, as is the well-told story –a mystery that is well set up and beautifully resolved.”—Mystery Scene on No Strangers Here
“This solid series launch from O’Connor takes a more somber approach to crime solving than her Irish Village mysteries…O’Connor adds plot twists that many won’t anticipate. Judicious use of Irishisms (“I swear to ye”) adds color. Readers will eagerly await what happens next in County Kerry.” —Publishers Weekly on No Strangers Here
“Known for her cozies, O’Connor moves into darker territory here. For fans of Louise Penny.” —Library Journal on No Strangers Here “Rural Ireland is made sparklingly real on the pages of Carlene O’Connor’s absorbing series debut, which stars Dr. Dimpna Wilde a Vet who will stop at nothing to find out the truth, while also stepping into her father’s practice to take care of local animals. The body that’s found on the beach is just the start of this puzzle that will draw in readers of O’Connor’s Home to Ireland and Irish Village Mysteries as well as fans of Tana French and All Creatures Great and Small.” —Henrietta Verma, First Clue Review on No Strangers Here
“Carlene O’Connor crafts a thrilling and atmospheric mystery.” –BookRioton No Strangers Here
“An excellent police procedural whose complex characters act out a twisty tale of hate.” –Kirkus Reviews on Some of Us Are Looking
