The Care of Goats and Ghosts (Maggie McGill Mysteries Book 8)

Love her books!

This made my want to learn more about my Irish ancestors.KAY

I had the honor to review yet another of Sharon Burch Toner's very worthy mysteries in the Maggie McGill series. And as in her previous books of which there are 7, the reader is treated to a satisfying tale well told. The author has an elegance of writing that I enjoy. Her stories are clean, interesting and fast-paced. There is enough excitement and danger to keep readers engaged.In their latest adventure the mother-daughter team of Maggie and Allie McGill travel to Ireland in search of their roots to see if a family legend about an Irish ancestor with a castle are true. But they find so much more. Along the way they make new friends, meet up with old ones, encounter foes, and visit a mysterious island that is at the heart of the story. "There's this castle, Ballybeoc in the west of Ireland, and just across a wee bit of sea is an island, they call it Inish Beoc, where there once was a grand monastery, where ancient monks had collected a great treasure."Pervading this book as in all the others is the warm, close relationship between Maggie and Allie. "Allie gave her mother a loving smile. Even in the tough times…..Allie never doubted Maggie's love or her own for her mother. It was as if on a subliminal level, they had negotiated an unspoken contract to eliminate any power struggle and be together with equal power."The charming soft Irish lilt was ever present as one would expect of a book set in Ireland as the locals talk about the "wee folk" and such. Phrases like " sure and there's no great hurry" or "sure and I should have known it" or any sentence prefaced with "sure" adds to the authentic voice. And what better Irish names than Mathair, Eamon, Liam, Darragh, Neala. Not to be dismissed are those tiny Irish goats who save the day when danger threatens.This is an ambitious work as it chronicles events that took place in the 800 's, a love story in the 1800's, another one during the First World War, tying them convincingly to the present, with a satisfying conclusion to the story.This is a story that deals not only with mysteries but also with family dynamics, sadness, joy, plus poignant love stories. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was the very first of this genre that I had read and I certainly had some reservations about the style. However, Sharon Burch Toner's handling of the characters and the situations kept me alert and I looked forward to each twist and turn. I give it a solid four starts.