Much Madness is Divinest Sense

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In the powerful tradition of Ann Cleeves and Louise Penny, USA Today bestselling author Carlene O'Connor’s new series set in Ireland brings together complex characters and a fascinating setting, focusing on a female vet who returns home to the village where she grew up and must reckon with her past while untangling mysteries in the present.

On a rocky beach in the southwest of Ireland, the body of Jimmy O’Reilly, sixty-nine years old and dressed in a suit and his dancing shoes, is propped on a boulder, staring sightlessly out to sea. A cryptic message is spelled out next to the body with sixty-nine polished black stones and a discarded vial of deadly veterinarian medication lies nearby. Jimmy was a wealthy racehorse owner, known far and wide as The Dancing Man. In a town like Dingle, everyone knows a little something about everyone else. But dig a bit deeper, and there’s always much more to find. And when Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien is dispatched out of Killarney to lead the murder inquiry, he's determined to unearth every last buried secret.

Dimpna Wilde hasn’t been home in years. As picturesque as Dingle may be for tourists in search of their roots and the perfect jumper, to her it means family drama and personal complications. In fairness, Dublin hasn’t worked out quite as she hoped either. Faced with a triple bombshell—her mother rumored to be in a relationship with Jimmy, her father’s dementia is escalating, and her brother is avoiding her calls—Dimpna moves back to clear her family of suspicion.

Despite plenty of other suspects, the guards are crawling over the Wildes. But the horse business can be a brutal one, and as Dimpna becomes more involved with her old acquaintances and haunts, the depth of lingering grudges becomes clear. Theft, extortion, jealousy and greed. As Dimpna takes over the family practice, she's in a race with the detective inspector to uncover the dark, twisting truth, no matter how close to home it strikes . . .

I discovered Carlene O’Connor’s cozy mysteries set in County Cork (but based on a town in Limerick) last year, and I really enjoyed them. Some of the stories were better than others, but O’Connor shines in developing characters and evoking a setting. My sister and I traveled to the UK and Ireland in June last year, and we had the best time everywhere we went, but a place that I think will stick with me forever was County Kerry. I didn’t make it to Dingle, but I definitely would like to in the future. My sister and I stayed in Tralee, near Dingle, and rode the Ring of Kerry in a bus. It’s absolutely breathtaking in its beauty. I suppose I’ve been reading books set in Ireland ever since just to travel back in my mind.

No Strangers Here is not a cozy mystery. It’s similar to the Shetland series, and indeed, it seems her publisher sees the connection as well in stating that this book is in the tradition of Ann Cleeves. O’Connor proves she can write in a straightforward mystery/thriller genre. I thought the ending was too pat. Without divulging spoilers, let’s just say the murderer should be a bit less obvious from the get-go. However, I enjoyed the character development, plotting, and setting enough that I will read the other books in the series.