Cruel Winter
by Sheila Connolly
Series: County Cork #5
Series Rating:
Published by Crooked Lane Books on March 14th 2017
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
Format: Kindle
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Book Depository
Also in this series: Buried in a Bog, Scandal in Skibbereen, An Early Wake, A Turn for the Bad, Tied Up with A Bow, The Lost Traveller, Fatal Roots
Snow is a rarity in Maura Donovan's small village in County Cork, Ireland, so she wasn't sure what to expect when a major snowstorm rolled in around Sullivan's pub. But now she's stranded in a bar full of patrons--and a suspected killer in a long-ago murder.
Maura’s been in Ireland less than a year and hasn't heard about the decades-old unsolved crime that took place nearby, let alone the infamous suspect, Diane Caldwell. But the locals have, and they're not happy to be trapped with her. Diane, meanwhile, seeks to set the record straight, asserting her innocence after all this time. And since no one is going anywhere in the storm, Maura encourages Diane to share her side of the story, which she’d never had a chance to do in court.
Over the next few hours, the informal court in Sullivan’s reviews the facts and theories about the case--and comes to some surprising conclusions. But is it enough to convince the police to take a new look at an old case? A clever spin on the classic locked room mystery, Cruel Winter, the fifth in New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly's series, will delight fans of the Emerald Isle.
Snow, drinks and no power lead to solving a cold case.
Cruel Winter by Sheila Connolly is inspiring. I love the way that Maura looks at crimes and people. She seems to understand motive and opportunity a well as a Police officer
So, Maura and the gang find themselves stuck at Sullivan’s Pub in a snow storm with no power, little food, plenty of drinks and company. They have a couple of musicians who play for a while. OK, now what? Well, we have this lady that was accused and convicted via the media only so let’s hear the details. How was being stuck at Sullivan’s in a snowstorm? Well, the company was good, plenty to drink, Rose’s cooking, and entertainment but the sleeping arrangements were not so great. So, four out of five is good.
I actually thought it was cool the way they listened and tossed theories around until they came to possibly different ideas than the Gardaí did back then. No spoilers so I won’t tell you much more. However, I will fill you in on our “Sleepover” cast.
The People in the Know
- Maura Donovan – Irish pub owner, amateur sleuth, American, young and very clever. Maura has a way of getting people to open up to her and yet she seems to know if they are being honest or not.
- Billy Sheahan– the oldest, sharp mind and plenty of common sense, kind of the Patriarch. He keeps everyone honest. In the book, Maura refers to him as the “Wise Old Irish Codger.”
- Jimmy Sweeney – smart-alecky, father to Rose. He has a new suitor, Judith however, he can’t decide to like the situation or not. Jimmy can be rude at times.
- Rose Sweeney – young, beautiful, can cook, smart, not afraid to stand up or take charge. I am sure that Rose will find what makes her happy. However, I wouldn’t want her to have to move away.
- Mick Sullivan– there isn’t much known about him, except he takes good care of his Grandma. Mick is smart, definitely a backstory there. Hopefully, we will hear it soon.
- Gillian Callahan – young, Maura’s friend, artist, a pregnant-fallen woman (if that matters nowadays). She is sweet & involved with Harry Townsend and I really want these two to figure it out.
- Joe Minahane – a local man, came in to get out of the storm. He seems nice, reliable and he saved Bart and the four drunk young men.
- Bart Hayes – Gardaí from Limerick taking four young drunk men home from his niece’s wedding.
- Diane Caldwell – main suspect in an unsolved murder from 20 years ago. She is an odd duck. Diane is married, but it is more a marriage of convenience. Her life was turned upside down in Ireland but isn’t really that affected as she lives in England. However, no one deserves to be judged the way that she was.
- Seamus Burke – regular, local dairy farmer, smart, honest and seems to be friendly with everyone at the pub. However, he likes his Guinness.
Supporting Cast
- Liam & Donal Lafferty – young musicians from the Killer Laffertys, there to play the next night at the pub. They seem well mannered and responsible young men. However, they also like their stout. I think we are seeing a pattern. Well, they are in a pub after all.
- Danny Crowley – a local man, stuck in the storm. He seems to be smart and helpful.
- Four young drunk men that came in with Bart and Joe. These men didn’t have a lot to say but they made for very good distractions.
Community
I find that I like the community of County Cork and how they stay connected, they help each other out, while it seems they pay everything forward. County Cork reminds me of small towns in America, something you only understand if you have lived there.
“And Diane was an outsider. I guess I see that. After all, here I am – if it wasn’t for my grandmother, I’d be an outsider too, and I wouldn’t be here,”
“Family’s important, Maura. The one you come from- and the one you choose. That’s why we all stick close.” Billy fumbled for his cane next to his chair. “I’d best be on my way before I can’t move at all”
“Take it slow, Billy, and watch out for icy patches.”
5 Stars for Cruel Winter by Sheila Connolly
My rating for Cruel Winter by Sheila Connolly is five stars. I truly enjoy the mysteries that Maura helps solve and the group of people that she calls her “family”.
County Cork Mysteries
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Cruel Winter by Sheila Connolly.
Until the next time,
About Sheila Connolly
Connolly was born in Rochester, New York, and later lived in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, and Massachusetts. In 1972, she graduated with honors from Wellesley College, then earned a Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Harvard University. When art history jobs proved elusive, she obtained an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. She worked as an art historian, a municipal financial advisor for U.S. cities and states, a non-profit fundraiser for institutions and two statewide political campaigns, and a professional genealogist. She included elements of all of these in her mysteries.
The Glassblowing Mystery series, written under the pen name Sarah Atwell, debuted in March 2008 with “Through a Glass, Deadly.” In the series, the protagonist, glassblower Em Dowell, manages her own glass shop and studio in Tucson, Arizona, and tries to find time to solve the occasional murder.
“Through a Glass, Deadly” was nominated for a national mystery award, the Agatha Award for Best First Book.
Connolly’s Orchard Mystery series opened with “One Bad Apple,” published in August 2008. Meg Corey inherits a drafty colonial house in western Massachusetts without even realizing it comes with an apple orchard. But since she’s been downsized out of her banking job in Boston, and the real estate market is so bad that she can’t sell the house, she decides to stay on in the small New England town and try to manage the orchard–if she can save it from developers. Her plan is nearly derailed when she finds the body of her ex-boyfriend stuffed in her septic tank.
Connolly’s Museum Mysteries began in October 2010 with “Fundraising the Dead”. Nell Pratt, development director for the prestigious Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society, is worried that the institution’s reputation will be threatened by the death of one of its key employees–whose body Nell found in the stacks. The police declare the death an accident, but Nell isn’t so sure, particularly when she finds information pointing in a different direction. Most recently, the author published Let’s Play Dead, set at a children’s museum based on the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A worker on an exhibit about a local children’s author is hurt by an electric shock, and then another worker is killed by a shock. Nell was present at the first incident, and she becomes involved in the inquiry into the second man’s death. the latest is Fire Engine Dead, about a fire at a warehouse housing the collections of a fire fighting museum.
Connolly was a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.
She was living in southeastern Massachusetts shortly before her death. She died on April 20, 2020, in Ireland.
(Info above from Wikipedia)
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