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TL
The Liars Daughter
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
‼️ Trigger warning abuse ‼️

203 of 230
Book
The Liars Daughter
By claire Allan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Every family has it’s secrets…

Joe McKee – pillar of the Derry community – is dead. As arrangements are made for the traditional Irish wake, friends and family are left reeling at how cancer could have taken this much-loved man so soon.

But grief is the last thing that Joe’s daughter Ciara and step-daughter Heidi feel. For they knew the real Joe – the man who was supposed to protect them and did anything but.

As the mourners gather, the police do too, with doubt being cast over whether Joe’s death was due to natural causes. Because the lies that Joe told won’t be taken to the grave after all – and the truth gives his daughters the best possible motive for killing him…

A gripping suspense novel about deadly secrets and lies. The perfect read for fans of Clare Mackintosh.

I don’t know where to begin I couldn’t put it down. It deals with a very hard sensitive issue and in my opinion was so well done. It hit so many triggers and buttons but not once did I find it too much to handle or insensitive. It gives in a way 3 different accounts of abuse and survival of women who have gone through and still are suffering. So heartbreaking to read and gives a little hope!
  
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ClareR (5854 KP) rated Small Mercies in Books

May 22, 2023  
Small Mercies
Small Mercies
Dennis Lehane | 2023 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’ve never read Dennis Lehane before - and what a place to start! This novel is phenomenal, and I ended it thoroughly heartbroken.

1970s Boston, America, and the school districts want to merge the separate schools for black and white children. Except your average white Southie doesn’t want that to happen, and they’ll do anything to ensure that.

There are violent demonstrations, tensions boil over, and amongst all this a young black man is murdered. At the same time, Mary Pat Fennessy’s daughter goes missing. At first, these two events seem unconnected, but as Mary Pat searches for her daughter it starts to look otherwise. And somehow, the Irish mob are involved.

Mary Pat is the ultimate tiger mother. Her daughter Jules, is her only surviving child, and she’ll stop at nothing to find her - dead or alive.

This is brutal, and proves that ultimately revenge profits no one. The heat simmered off the page, as did the threatened and real violence. The writing is gorgeous despite the violence, and is a masterclass in how a writer can make the most ugly things so astonishing.

I’m expecting to see a film adaptation of this at some point - it reads like a screenplay.

This may well be my first novel by Lehane, but I doubt very much that it will be my last. Thanks for introducing me to another new-to-me author, Pigeonhole!
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2322 KP) rated Irish Soda Bread Murder in Books

Dec 26, 2024 (Updated Dec 26, 2024)  
Irish Soda Bread Murder
Irish Soda Bread Murder
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
These Loaves of Bread Aren’t Deadly to Your Waistline. They’re Just Deadly
Three cozy mystery authors reunite to again present St. Patrick themed novellas with their characters. Up first, Carlene O’Connor revisits her Home to Ireland characters as Tara gets involved when her aunt’s rival dies from Irish soda bread. Next, Peggy Ehrhart presents a story with her Knits and Nibbles characters when a judge in a contest baking dies after sampling the first loaf of bread. Finally, Liz Ireland takes Mrs. Claus and three of the elves from Santaland to Oregon when April goes to investigate a leak in her inn only to get involved in some shady things going on with her caretaker.

All three stories are entertaining. I read this anthology for the Mrs. Claus story, but I felt right at home with the characters from the first two as well, so if you haven’t met any of them yet, you can easily use this to sample the authors. Given that these are novellas, I felt the authors all did a good job of bringing the characters to life, although I did feel the pacing could have been stronger. Still, I enjoyed all the stories and the twists we did get. I even laughed at that final story multiple times. If you pick up this book now or wait until March to read it, you’ll find yourself enjoying it.
  
Wolfwalkers (2020)
Wolfwalkers (2020)
2020 | Animation, Family
10
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Wolfwalkers is the latest animated offering from Irish based studio, Cartoon Saloon. I’m actually ashamed to say that before watching Wolfwalkers, I was pretty unfamiliar with their previous Irish folklore offerings - The Secret of Kells (2009) and Song of the Sea (2014) - but having seen this latest animated feature, it’s a mistake that I will be looking to correct as quickly as possible.

Wolfwalkers is set in Kilkenny, Ireland (which is also the home of Cartoon Saloon!) during the 17th century. Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) has moved from Yorkshire with her father, Bill (Sean Bean) to the walled town, where Bill has been tasked by the rather menacing Lord Protector (Simon McBurney) to clear the surrounding forest of wolves. Once the forest is clear, the woodsmen can fell the trees and the farmers can start working the land.

There are signs everywhere, throughout the town and pinned to trees in the forest, showing a snarling wolf with a red cross drawn over it. A wolf attack on some woodsmen early on shows us just how dangerous the wolves are, and also introduces us to the Wolfwalkers that walk among them. With blazing eyes and fiery red hair, the Wolfwalkers are able to communicate with and control the wolves, calling them off their attacks on the humans. They also appear to possess magical healing abilities, using them to heal a wolf scratch on the chest of one of the men.

Robyn has dreams of following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a hunter as she practices her crossbow skills. So rather than work all day in the scullery, she decides to slip past the guards at the outer gate (no children are allowed beyond the town walls) and secretly follow her father out into the forest, watching him as he sets traps for the wolves. When she comes face to face with a wolf, it’s much smaller and a lot cuter than the ones we’ve seen before, and Robyn learns that it is, in fact, a young Wolfwalker named Mebh.

Robyn forms a bond with Mebh and discovers that when the Wolfwalkers sleep, they assume the body of a wolf, leaving their human body to sleep until they return in order to wake it up. Mebh is worried because her mother has been asleep for some time and her wolf form has not yet returned. Robyn learns that the Wolfwalkers are simply trying to defend the animals from the modern world that is encroaching on their forest and Robyn vows to help find her mother. A difficult task when the Lord Protector has given her father 2 days to clear the forest of wolves, and he isn’t listening to his daughter as she pleads with him to stop.

I found Wolfwalkers to be simply wonderful, with a captivating story full of twist and turns for both kids and adults to enjoy. It’s beautiful to look at too, utilising a watercolour style with rough pencil sketches visible in most of the characters and scenery only adding to its visual appeal. I was completely taken by surprise and just couldn’t fault it.