County Kerry #3
This series, set in tiny Dingle, Ireland, is focused on Dimpna Wilde, a veterinarian. In the first two novels, Dimpna was front and center, but in this third outing she takes a bit of a back seat to a full on, ticking clock police investigation. Stepping up is Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien, who catches the most nightmarish of cases, one that’s haunted by a similar case from 20 years ago. The perpetrators of that case have recently been released from prison, and Cormac’s Sergeant, Barbara Neely, has never gotten over working that one. It drives her forward with pure fury.
The book dips back and forth between two timelines. In one, around 1994, the author portrays a cult where pregnant women live with a “Shepherd” and a “Staff” (Staff is the muscle) awaiting the birth of their children. With the birth of the fist child, everything goes sideways, and the women realize the set up may not be what they thought it was. When one of them is discovered with her throat slit, the two men in charge are ultimately sent to prison.
In the present, the two have recently been released. They live in supervised housing and are still under the watchful eye of the law. However, when another pregnant woman is found murdered in the same fashion, the eyes of the community turn to these two men and things get ugly. Uglier. The crime is so horrific it threatens to swallow Cormac just as it did Barbara; and when another pregnant woman goes missing along with a ten-year-old, the investigation becomes laser focused. Secrets of not only the two men but of several others in town begin to come to light.
One of the real strengths of these books is the community O’Connor has built around her main character, Dimpna. O’Connor also writes cozies, and in a cozy novel, community is king. Bringing a different slant to things with a grimmer storyline doesn’t erase the author’s skill with what fantasy writers call “world building.” I would call it world building here as well, it’s just that the world is our own familiar one.
Dimpna is grounded by her veterinary practice, her retired vet father who now has Alzheimer’s, her psychic mother, who lives in a trailer next to her Dad, and her son, Ben, who has recently returned to Dingle. She also has a brother who has just launched his own tattoo parlor. Dimpna, as it happens, is involved with Cormac and being a part of the investigation seems natural as she provides him with several essential clues in his search for the killer of the young woman.
This novel works on many levels. It’s a propulsive read, for one thing. This author tends toward the operatic in her violence level but somehow her books aren’t as disturbing as they might be – if this story was penned by Elizabeth George, for example, it might be almost unreadable. O’Connor has a glint of optimism throughout, even when writing about the most dire of circumstances, and the characters and community she has created back her up. While this book is indeed full of grim occurrences it’s also full of hope, in a weird way.
The ending is actually a pretty happy one and the complex crime at the center of the story is satisfactorily resolved. I’m pretty sure there are a couple readers in my book club who might have sussed out the culprit, but I was surprised. Not in a bad way, as the author had fairly set things up for her ultimate reveal. My main critique of this series are the completely unmemorable titles. This is a thoughtful, well written book and even if you can’t remember the title, you’ll remember the story and the characters. — Robin Agnew