The Girl from Ballymor by Kathleen McGurl

McGurl does love playing with the past and the present, especially in relation to genealogy. She hones her craft, which is evident with each new book.

The author takes us from the present with Maria in Ireland to the past with Kitty and Michael in the same village.

Maria suffers from doubt and insecurities, a theme which plays a pivotal role in the story. The relationship with her mother is strained and complicated, which has repercussions in her own life. She thinks the lack of maternal instinct is genetic rather than learned behaviour.

She has decided to combine a few days off with her family research. Following the trail of her famous ancestor she ends up in a remote Irish village trying to discover what happened to the mother he left behind.

McGurl has incorporated an important part of Irish history in her story. The potato famine or Great Famine (an Gorta Mór) of Ireland decimated the population. Over a million men, women and children died of starvation and over a million more emigrated to escape the situation in Ireland. It is fair to say that it not only changed the population, it also changed the political climate and set a path of opposition between the English and Irish that still exists today. The Irish started to oppose English Rule in earnest and rise up against the injustices thrust upon them by their English masters.

Maria finds comfort in the present by trying to uncover the secrets of the past and solve a mystery at the same time. It is an emotional read, especially because the scenarios are down to earth and realistic, both the ones in the present and in the past.

McCurl knows how to create the kind of characters readers can relate to. She writes stories that make you ponder and feel for the people you are reading about.

Buy The Girl from Ballymor at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Follow @KathMcGurl  @HQStories @HQDigitalUK

Visit kathleenmcgurl.com

Read The Daughters of Red Hill Hall by Kathleen McGurl
Read The Emerald Comb by Kathleen McGurl.
Read The Pearl Locket by Kathleen McGurl.
Read about Kathleen McGurl here.

The Critic by Peter May

As always Peter May has created a fascinating plot with an abundance of knowledge. This story is centred around wine production and the wine industry.

Enzo is drawn into the middle of a cold case that has just become smoking hot. The body of a wine critic, who disappeared a few years ago in France has suddenly turned up in the middle of a vineyard.

Enzo is known for being like a dog with a bone when it comes to cold cases. The so-called unsolvable ones, the ones with hardly any clues. Well, this case has just taken a turn for the better, if you can call finding a body or two better.

I have to say the information about the production and history of wine making was quite interesting, especially the comparison of the processes then and now.

The modern-day process has become scientific and sterile. The taste of wine can be broken down into the smallest detail and reproduced this way, whereas the old guard still places the emphasis on the territory it is grown in.

The worlds of old and new collide in this murder mystery with the wine taking centre stage. Enzo follows the complicated trail of clues, bodies, family history and romantic entanglements to the surprising conclusion of this murderous page turner.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

The Lewis Man by Peter May

Every time I come away from a Peter May book I always find that I have taken some information from it that I didn't know before. He always manages to create a subtle mixture of fiction and historical fact.

May likes to wade in the complicated layers of genealogy and family dynamics. In The Lewis Man he creates a fascinating crime with a hefty layer of emotions and family secrets.

It isn't that uncommon for grandparents or parents to keep certain parts of their lives completely secret from their children or grandchildren. It might be because the pain and memories are hard to bear or perhaps the secrets are kept to keep the next generations safe.

In this case Fin Macleod's baby mama finds out that her father isn't who she thought he was. The body of a young man has been discovered in a peat bog. Perfectly preserved, and a DNA match to Tormod MacDonald.

May has the reader wander between the past and the present. Following young Tormod before he became Tormod, and the old Tormod to try to discover who killed the bog boy. It isn't quite as easy as it sounds, because Tormod is suffering from dementia, so retrieving information from his muddled brain becomes quite difficult.

I liked the way May integrated the dementia story into the mystery. He shows the difficulty, the pain, the emotional upheaval and the complete desperation of all the people involved. There is no candy coating of some of the more harsh reactions to the disease, which is an honest and realistic approach to the issue.

Once again May also highlights dark mistakes made in certain eras that tend to be swept under the carpet. The displacement, relocation, dumping and mistreatment of orphan children, who were scattered in large numbers over the Scottish Isles.
As always it was a very good read.
I received a copy of this book via Edelweiss, courtesy of the publisher.

Read more about the first book in this series The Blackhouse.

Entry Island by Peter May

What I enjoy most about Peter May's writing is the way he manages to move the reader right into the landscape he is describing. He also knows exactly how to portray the mindset of an islander.

There is a flair of melodrama to the genealogy side of the story. Perhaps a tad too much.

The love story is sweet and gives the author liberty to bring an important part of history into the book.

The evacuation of Scottish tenants by their landlords, from quite a few of the Isles. Many of them ended up on ships sailing for Canada, and having to go via Entry Island before entering the country.

Entry Island was used to quarantine the sick and contagious immigrants arriving via ship. Many thousands didn't survive and were buried in mass graves on the island.

May also references the potato famine, pointing out the important fact that not only the Irish, also the Scottish fell foul of this particular period in history. It is little wonder there was a mass exodus from both Ireland and Scotland to other continents.

I thought the mixture of police procedure, genealogy, romance and fate didn't gel as well as it could have in the story. The ill-fated love connecting in the future via descendants was a little overdone, as were some of the aspects of the first Sime's tales.

The despair, darkness and marital woes of the 21st century Sime makes up for the imbalance between the two story-lines. Despite these hiccups, May is certainly an author worth reading.

I received a copy of this book via Edelweiss.

The Emerald Comb by Kathleen McGurl

The Emerald Comb is a story of betrayal, murder and the hidden mysteries of genealogy.

Katie, like many others since the internet has made it easier for laymen, is set on discovering more about her ancestors.

Genealogy has led her right to the front door of where her own family mystery started many years ago. The type of mystery and crime that remains a secret, because nobody knows a crime has been committed at all.

The reader is introduced to Bartholomew St. Clair, his timid fiancée Georgia and the woman who has ignited his passion, the manipulative Agnes.

The threesome become involved in a fatal collision of emotions and deceit. At one point a decision is made, which will change the face of their family in the future

Simultaneously we see Katie's own family change. In a strange way there are similarities in the patchwork construction to the family in the past, although those in the present are completely unaware of them.

It might have been better to have Agnes tell her own part of the story, as opposed to Mr St. Clair speaking for all the characters. Giving each character their own chapters for instance.

What I really liked was the realistic ending. In real life there would be no way of finding out just who is or was under the tree. In genealogy one often comes up against brick walls and unanswered questions, due to the lack of data, pictures and general physical evidence. Not knowing is therefore the more realistic ending, which the author has opted for instead of the usual happy end. A much better way to end it I think.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Buy The Emerald Comb by Kathleen McGurl at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Follow @KathMcGurl  @HQStories @HQDigitalUK

Visit kathleenmcgurl.com

Read The Girl from Ballymor by Kathleen McGurl

Read The Pearl Locket or The Daughters of Red Hill Hall by Kathleen McGurl.
Read about Kathleen McGurl here.