'As the new owner of Sullivan's Pub in County Cork, Ireland, Maura Donovan gets an earful of all the village gossip. But uncovering the truth about some local rumors may close her down for good...
Bostonian Maura is beginning to feel settled in her new Irish home, just in time for summer tourist season to bring fresh business to her pub. But the first traveler to arrive is thirsty for more than just a pint of Guinness. Althea Melville is hot on the trail of a long-lost Van Dyke painting.
Maura agrees to help Althea meet with the residents at the local manor house, the most likely location of the missing art. But when the manor's gardener is found murdered, Maura wonders what Althea's real motives are. Now, to solve the secret of the lost portrait and catch a killer, Maura will have to practice her Irish gift of gab and hunt down some local history--before someone else is out of the picture...'
My thoughts:
There's something to be said about books that allow the reader to escape to a different place. The author of this book does a fantastic job of creating and making Ireland seem like a quaint place to go. I loved the atmosphere and the way the Irish people were portrayed in this book. I can't compare it to real life as I've never had the opportunity to visit Ireland, but it seems like a heavenly place to visit. Maura has left the fast paced life of an American and has traded that old life for a slower and much more quieter life in a small Irish town. She suddenly finds herself in a different country, owning a bar and discovering the local history when murders keep popping up around her.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was glad to return with this one. I love the way the author writes and her characters and mysteries are to die for (no pun intended). I think that this is one of those series that I will have to read the books as soon as they come out. This is the first series that I have been introduced to this author, even though she has many others, and I was not disappointed. This mystery focuses more on a lost piece of celebrated art and less on a murder, but the hunt for the picture was just as exciting. This was exactly how I like my cozies to be. I could have used a little more murder mystery versus the lost painting, but still it was a fantastic read.
I like Maura's character and I am interested to see how the author adapts her to her new surroundings and relationships with the people of a different culture. Connolly does a fantastic job of capturing the essence of the setting and I can't help but want to learn more about Ireland. It sounds absolutely stunning and while I can't get there yet, I can escape to greener pastures when reading this series. I highly encourage my cozy lovers to pick this series up and discover the likes of someplace new.
Overall Rating: 4
Title: Scandal in Skibbereen
Author: Sheila Connolly
Series: County Cork Mystery #2
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Pages: 304
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was selected from the library by myself and I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.