Buried In a Bog (County Cork series Book 1)

Sheila Connolly is an excellent writer of cozy mysteries and her latest new series book, "Buried in a Bog", Book 1 in the County Cork Mystery series, I found to be a book that was hard to put down and filled with characters I liked and that I am anxious to see again.Main character, Maura Donovan, had spent her life in Boston with her Irish grandmother since she was abandoned by her mother and her father had died. After her gran passes on Maura honors her gran's last wish that she visit the small town in County Cork, Ireland, where her family originated and to visit Bridget Nolan, her grandmother's old friend with whom she corresponded.When Maura arrives she realizes that the people in the little village know all about her and they are curious to meet her. She visits Mrs. Nolan and finds her to be a lovely, hospitable lady who always serves tea and biscuits. Mrs. Nolan's grandson, Mick, has stayed in the local area to look after his grandmother, too. Maura has no way to get around during her one-week stay in Ireland, so Mrs. Nolan offers the use of her old car to Maura.On her way home where she rents a room from a very nice family, she passes an area where a lot of emergency vehicles and police are parked. A body had been found and brought up out of the bog, and no one seems to know anything about the person. Maura becomes embroiled in this mystery and the crime that follows the finding of the body in the bog. Apparently the body had been there for a number of years.The found body will eventually connect with more killings and Maura will find herself tending bar at Sullivan's, a popular pub that she went into and saw that the young lady working was overwhelmed with customers. Maura offered to help out for the evening since she had tended bar in Boston and had a lot of experience. She had intended to stay a week, but takes a job at Sullivan's on a very temporary basis to help out with the work at the pub.I really like the character of Maura Donovan. She's strong, not afraid to speak up and take care of herself. As the story progresses the reader learns more and more about her connections to the area in Ireland where she is staying, and the setting is excellent, with wonderful descriptions of the countryside, the quietness that Maura never had in the city and the hospitality of the people. I found this to be an excellent first book in a new series. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.Highly recommended for cozy mystery readers and general mystery readers.

Sheila Connelly is a well-known author of cozy mysteries. Several readers I know have sung her praises and, in particular, commented on how wonderful her Orchard Mysteries are. When I discovered she was starting a new series set in Ireland, it seemed to be the perfect opportunity to give her a try since I gravitate toward anything set in Ireland and love cozy mysteries as well ---- a perfect combination in my book.Set in County Cork, Ireland, our protagonist is Maura Donovan. Maura is a woman in her mid-twenties who was raised in Boston by her grandmother after her father died and her mother abandoned her. Gran was born and raised in County Cork and, while she didn't talk about her history very much, upon her death her desire was for Maura to return to Ireland and visit her home ground. Once Maura arrives for the visit, a body is found in the local bog and other odd circumstances begin to occur. Maura appears to be the center of all the commotion but she has a hard time understanding why since she has only recently arrived in the area and knew no one upon her arrival.This is a mystery that is heavily dependent on the sense of place and Ms. Connelly does an excellent job on this front. I felt like I really got to know the area and enjoyed the introduction to small village life in current-day Ireland. Enjoyed that component immensely. Where the book ran off the tracks for me was the main character of Maura. To be honest, I didn't warm to her at all and found her to be a "bit off" for me. Sometimes she comes across as very caring and compassionate, particularly when dealing with the elderly characters that populate the novel. In most of her other dealings with the village inhabitants, she is largely abrasive and often downright rude. She is confrontational and often offensive, assuming everyone is not what they appear. I am assuming this is an effort by the author to make the character on the tough side since she was supposed to come from the rough, south side of Boston and had a rough early life, but it just didn't work for me. She also came across as whiny since a fair amount of print was devoted to her lamenting the fact her grandmother hadn't shared much about her life in Ireland. A mention or two of the fact would be fine, but it was repeated over and over. I also didn't get a real sense of her character either due to the fact her background isn't very well fleshed out. Again, the author repeats the same limited information over and over without expanding upon it. It seemed like a lost opportunity for the reader to connect with the main character.I was so enthused about reading this that I preordered it as soon as I knew it was coming out. I began reading it the day it came out. Sadly, I was disappointed. The sense of place gets a 5-star rating from me and I loved it. The character development and storyline movement wasn't very good and I finally decided to settle on 3-stars. Hopefully, this is just suffering from first-novel-in-the-series-syndrome and the next will be better.

I picked up this book as it takes place in an area where my ancestors came from, so I thought it would be fun to read, especially as it is a story of a displaced American in Ireland. I really liked this first book, as you virtually Maura's firsthand experiences in Leap as she gets caught up with finding about her grandmother's past as well as getting involved in a mystery as a body is found practically at her feet.Maura is very socially awkward - she has no social skills whatsoever and I almost wonder if she is on the autism spectrum with her personal interactions. As others have mentioned, it can get pretty annoying (especially in the later books) but for this first book I actually didn't mind it as much. And despite her awkward interactions, she does connect with people as she pursues the question of the body in the bog and how it relates to problems in present day. There are some good characterizations of the local characters, and it gives you a good picture of what life is like in a small townland in Ireland. It was an enjoyable read and I actually bought the next two books because of it.

Firstly, I have to say that this isn't the sort of book that I normally read, but I was curious as I vaguely know the area that it's set in. A quick glance at the cover lead me to think that this was 'Midsomer' in West Cork - it was a bit, but I finished it which for me means that I must have enjoyed it. The obvious tension between American and Irish terms was quite amusing (acknowledged by the author) and the characters were reasonably fleshed out although all a bit clichéd for me.

Always like a good mystery & the County Cork ones really fit the bill

I bought this book without knowing anything of the writer and very much enjoyed the story. A gentle easy read set in Co Cork.

Brilliant!

Not the best book I have read but it's an OK light read.