Sheila Connolly’s County Cork mysteries always take me to Ireland, a country I love. And, I thought her book, An Early Wake, brought the music and area to life. That’s probably why I was so disappointed with the latest book in the series, Fatal Roots. Nothing really happens. No one, including most in the community, cares about the identity of the body in the book. And, it’s a repetitive story that deals with three subjects over and over – remodeling of the pub kitchen, apologies by Maura Donovan’s mother for deserting her when she was a baby, and the combination of fairies, ringforts, and local legends.

Maura’s been in Ireland for about a year. She went for a visit after her grandmother died, only to learn she had inherited Sullivan’s pub, a cottage, and land from Mick Sullivan, a man she never met. She’s in the midst of adding a kitchen to the pub when Maura’s mother and half sister turn up with assistance in the remodeling, and an offer of kitchen appliances. Then three grad students ask if they can investigate the ringforts on Maura’s property. She doesn’t even know the extent of her property, but she allows them to examine it. Then, one of the young men disappears.

Maura and her bartender, Mick, check her property after she reports the disappearance to the garda. They’re the ones who find a body, but the authorities say it’s been buried there for thirty to forty years. No one has been reported missing, and even the garda don’t seem worried about the body. But, Maura worries at it until she finally asks a couple of the local elders if they know the story, and how it’s connected to her land.

I was disappointed with Fatal Roots. As I said earlier, it was repetitive, and Connolly repeated the storyline and apologies over and over. By the time it came to reveal the story of the dead body, I didn’t care, and most of the people in the small community didn’t either. The body was buried too many years earlier, and most people involved were no longer alive or in the area. It was just the story of an earlier time, with people few knew.

I’m going to give Sheila Connolly another chance. Because I follow her on Facebook, I know this has been a busy year for her. I think this story, and her earlier Victorian Village book, Killer in the Carriage House, suffered from a lack of attention. We’ll see what happens in the future.

Sheila Connolly’s website is http://www.sheilaconnolly.com/

Fatal Roots by Sheila Connolly. Crooked Lane Books, 2020. ISBN 9781643852393 (hardcover), 288p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I received the book to review for a journal.