R.P. O’Donnell: No Comfort for the Dead
Castlefreke #1
Welcome to my first book crush of the new year. It’s set in the late 80s, as tiny Castlefreke in County Cork, Ireland, experiences a shrinkage as jobs and inhabitants flee for bigger towns and more opportunity. Swimming against that tide is central character Emma, the town librarian, who has returned home to live with her dad, Sam, after her dream career in the Garda didn’t work out. After one of Sam’s frequent nags about moving on, Emma takes off and ends up at the “Big House” in town. There she hears shots, witnesses a man fleeing, and finds the reclusive owner dead and another unknown man injured, then takes off to the town doctor to summon help.