The Lost Traveller
by Sheila Connolly
Series: County Cork #7
Series Rating:
Published by Crooked Lane on January 8, 2019
Setting: Leap, Ireland
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 336
Format: Kindle
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Buried in a Bog, Cruel Winter , Scandal in Skibbereen, An Early Wake, A Turn for the Bad, Tied Up with A Bow, Fatal Roots
Boston expat Maura Donovan came to Ireland to honor her grandmother's last wish, but she never expected to stay in provincial County Cork--much less to inherit a house and a pub, Sullivan's, in the small village of Leap. After a year-long struggle to stay in the black, Sullivan's is finally thriving, and Maura has even brought back traditional Irish music to the pub. With a crop of new friends and a budding relationship with handsome Mick Nolan, Maura's life seems rosier than ever--but even in Ireland, you can't always trust your luck. It begins with Maura's discovery of a body in the ravine behind the pub. And then, the Irish garda� reveal that the victim's face has been battered beyond recognition. Who is the faceless victim? Who wanted him dead? And why was his body dumped in the backyard of Sullivan's Pub? Even after the dead man is finally given a name, nobody admits to knowing him. In the tight-knit world of Leap, no one is talking--and now it's up to Maura to uncover the dark secrets that lurk beneath the seemingly quiet town. Laced with warm Irish charm, a delightful small-town setting, and a colorful cast of characters, New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly's seventh County Cork mystery, The Lost Traveller, conspires to delight.
The Lost Traveler by Sheila Connolly is an insightful look into the workforce and immigration of the rural counties of Ireland.
Who would dump a body at Sullivan’s?
This installment touches on the lack of young people sticking around the rural area to live and work. Maura also digs into illegal aliens that arrive in Ireland. However, not as many obviously as the United States, but human trafficking is everywhere.
I found it interesting to see the differences in attitude in Ireland (at least in the author’s voice) to that in a border state in the US. All of this set aside, Maura is looking for employees to work in the pub.
The Mystery
Maura finds a body on Sullivan’s land. Of course, Maura feels obligated to figure out how the man ended up there. Who the man is, and she wants to keep herself and her staff safe.
Updates
Gillian, Harry & Henry
The little family is doing well. Gillian is looking for a babysitter for a few hours at a time so she can paint.
Bridget Nolan
Bridget is also doing well. She’s got some Travellers staying on her property for a few weeks, which fascinates Maura, who has never heard of a Traveller.
Billy
Billy is feeling his age in his bones, but he is still smart as a whip.
Seamus and his Posse
They tried to assist with the body but couldn’t find much of anything.
Rose Sweeney
Rose is doing the best. She is thriving without having to take care of her dad. Rose is taking cooking, kitchen management, and advertising classes at a cafe in Skibbereen and working full-time at Sullivan’s.
Rose is one of my favorite characters. She has endless enthusiasm, grit, energy, and patience.
Maura & Mick
These two are still hitting it off. They are taking it slow. Does Maura do anything any other way? Mick is good for her. They are both stubborn and private. It will be fun to see them advance their relationship.
Five Stars
I enjoyed this installment. It isn’t my favorite, but I followed the clues and figured out whodunit, for the most part. The motive stumped me, but I don’t know why, as it followed the theme. Anyway, my rating for The Lost Traveler by Sheila Connolly is five stars.
County Cork Mysteries
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Lost Traveler 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)
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- Jenz 2023 Beachcombers Mystery RC
- Jenz 2023 Cloak and Dagger
- Jenz 2023 Craving the Cozies
- Jenz 2023 Cruisin' thru the Cozies
- Jenz 2023 Finishing the Series
- Jenz 2023 Goodreads RC
- Jenz 2023 Medical Examiner RC
- Jenz 2023 Six Shooter
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