Mystery Scene Community
General Discussion => Welcome and General Discussion => Topic started by: JRob on April 23, 2020, 10:08:07 pm
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I'm sad to report that author Sheila Connolly has passed away. She wrote the County Cork, Victorian Village, Orchard, Relatively Dead and Museum mystery series as well as many other works.
You can read more HERE! (https://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2020/04/sheila-connolly-rip.html)
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I was shocked to see this. She was two years older than me, so of course I think of her as being very young.
Janet Rudolph wrote about this: https://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2020/04/sheila-connolly-rip.html?fbclid=IwAR2Og9nxMkl7XPiwtE-a5xtL8YiV-IyZj6rzMILvxa-i3dKJ5IEDcnxM5CQ
And this was on the page of the Facebook group SAVE OUR COZIES:
Posted by Maddie Day
10 hrs
It is sadly true that Sheila Connolly has died. We were waiting for her daughter to give the go ahead to make the sad news more widespread, but someone edited her Wikipedia page, and now we can grieve publicly. Sheila has been ill with cancer for a while and did not want anyone to know. At least our friend died in her beloved cottage in her favorite place on earth. May her soul rest easy knowing she was loved by so many.
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I was shocked to see this. She was two years older than me, so of course I think of her as being very young.
Janet Rudolph wrote about this: https://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2020/04/sheila-connolly-rip.html?fbclid=IwAR2Og9nxMkl7XPiwtE-a5xtL8YiV-IyZj6rzMILvxa-i3dKJ5IEDcnxM5CQ
And this was on the page of the Facebook group SAVE OUR COZIES:
Posted by Maddie Day
10 hrs
It is sadly true that Sheila Connolly has died. We were waiting for her daughter to give the go ahead to make the sad news more widespread, but someone edited her Wikipedia page, and now we can grieve publicly. Sheila has been ill with cancer for a while and did not want anyone to know. At least our friend died in her beloved cottage in her favorite place on earth. May her soul rest easy knowing she was loved by so many.
Becke, the link in my original post is the same one you posted. And the quote from Maddie Day is poignant. Maddie is Edith Maxwell, an author I'm a big fan of. It was when I went to a signing for her that I got to meet Sheila for the one and only time. It was nice to be able to chat with someone about Ireland who'd actually been there.
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Jay - I realized we shared the same link after I posted it. Great minds think alike, I guess! ;-)
I think I met Sheila at Bouchercon, but I met so many authors there, I'm not sure. Either way, she will be a great loss to the writing community.
I didn't realize Maddie was Edith! I just noticed one of Edith's books in my to-be-read pile. I'll get to that one soon.
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Jay - I realized we shared the same link after I posted it. Great minds think alike, I guess! ;-)
I think I met Sheila at Bouchercon, but I met so many authors there, I'm not sure. Either way, she will be a great loss to the writing community.
I didn't realize Maddie was Edith! I just noticed one of Edith's books in my to-be-read pile. I'll get to that one soon.
I've been reading the reactions to Sheila's death on Facebook and yes, she is definitely going to be greatly missed. I hadn't gotten around to starting her Apple Orchard and Museum mystery series but I think I'm going to order the first book in each series.
I also read that she has two books done that haven't come out yet. I don't know which series these books are set in but it is nice that there will be at least two new books from her for fans to read and enjoy.
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That is the worst thing when an author dies. Unless there are finished manuscripts that haven't been published yet, it's heartbreaking to realize there will be No More Books by this author.
I was living in England when Agatha Christie died, and I just couldn't get my mind around it. Luckily she and her publisher had arranged for a few more books to keep us going. I sure wish there were more Mary Stewart books.
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I did some minor Net surfing and apparently the two books that haven't been released yet are in the Victorian Village series. The first book has already been out but there's a 2nd one supposedly due for release on May 26th and the third book is tentatively set for May 1st, 2021.
Last night/early this morning, I ended up ordering a copy of the first book in the Orchard Mysteries, One Bad Apple.
The last book in the County Cork series (because of her passing, not because she was done with the series), Fatal Roots, came out in January so whenever it gets released in paperback I'll pick that one up as well.
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I had planned to read a different book this weekend, but I decided to honor Sheila by reading the next book, the fourth, in her County Cork series A TURN FOR THE BAD.
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That's a wonderful idea, Jay!
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This was a shock to me as well, didn't knew about it till today. Such a loss.
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I've got two more of Sheila's apple books to read, but I'm giving Edith/Maddie's books the priority this month.
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I'm pretty sure that Adam Cole post is a spam account.
As for Sheila's Orchard series. The fourth book, A KILLER CROP, finally arrived a few days ago and I'm likely going to be reading it after I finish the book I'm currently reading.
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My local Barnes and Noble reopened yesterday. I took a trip over because I wanted to grab up some of Sheila's books that I didn't have yet. I remember them having a large selection of books from her various series.
Imagine my disappointment to see that during the time they were closed, the store re-arranged the layout. Worse yet, they've even further condensed the mystery section down and now there were just a few of Sheila's books. Three of them I already have but I did pick up MURDER AT THE MANSION, the first book in her Victorian Village series and A LATE FROST which is one of her latter Orchard mystery series.
But I had hoped to pick up a bunch more of the books. Now, I might be forced to look to eBay again for used copies so I can afford more at once.
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My local Barnes and Noble reopened yesterday. I took a trip over because I wanted to grab up some of Sheila's books that I didn't have yet. I remember them having a large selection of books from her various series.
Imagine my disappointment to see that during the time they were closed, the store re-arranged the layout. Worse yet, they've even further condensed the mystery section down and now there were just a few of Sheila's books. Three of them I already have but I did pick up MURDER AT THE MANSION, the first book in her Victorian Village series and A LATE FROST which is one of her latter Orchard mystery series.
But I had hoped to pick up a bunch more of the books. Now, I might be forced to look to eBay again for used copies so I can afford more at once.
How frustrating! Our local B&N store just reopened - my husband and daughter went there the other day. I didn't go with them since I've got a couple of big orders with ABE.com. I have found a couple of Sheila's books recently but I'm saving them to read until I read the books of Edith's that I ordered. I'll let you know what the titles are - I think they were all apple orchard books.
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I'm sad to report that author Sheila Connolly has passed away. She wrote the County Cork, Victorian Village, Orchard, Relatively Dead and Museum mystery series as well as many other works.
You can read more HERE! (https://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2020/04/sheila-connolly-rip.html)
I have two of her books in my waiting-to-be-read pile, and both of them are in her Orchard series - A LATE FROST and RED DELICIOUS DEATH. I want to read books in her other series, too. Do you have a favorite book or series?
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I have two of her books in my waiting-to-be-read pile, and both of them are in her Orchard series - A LATE FROST and RED DELICIOUS DEATH. I want to read books in her other series, too. Do you have a favorite book or series?
I'm a big fan of her County Cork series because of its Ireland setting. I actually just ordered the two books in that series that I'm missing.
As for the Orchard series, I'm on Book 4 (A KILLER CROP) and ordered Book 5 (BITTER HARVEST). I bought A LATE FROST last Saturday when I went to the book store since it was the only one of the series they had left in stock from the Orchard series.
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Did you see that there's a new release in her County Cork series?
Fatal Roots
Book 8
Some secrets are too big to stay buried...
A few months ago, Boston expat Maura Donovan was rekindled with her mother after more than twenty years of absence. Since then, Maura has been getting accustomed to Irish living, complete with an inherited house and a pub named Sullivan's. But now, her mother has returned—and she's brought Maura's half-sister in tow. To make matters more confusing, a handful of Cork University students are knocking on Maura's door asking about a mystical fairy fort that happens to be located on Maura's piece of land.
The lore indicates that messing with the fort can cause bad luck, and most everyone is telling Maura not to get too involved for fear of its powers, but Maura is curious about her own land, and she definitely doesn't buy into the superstition. Then one of the students disappears after a day of scoping out the fort on Maura's property.
Maura treads carefully, asking the folks around town who might have an idea, but no one wants anything to do with these forts. She has to take matters into her own hand—it's her land, after all. But when she uncovers a decades-old corpse buried in the center of the fort, nothing is for certain.
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From Sheila's website:
THE ORCHARD MYSTERIES
Meg Corey finds herself out of a job, dumped by her boyfriend, and without a home when the lease on her Boston apartment runs out. Her mother tells her it's a great time to fix up the old house in western Massachusetts that she hasn't seen in decades, so she can finally sell it. Since Meg has no better ideas, she moves into the old house, in the middle of winter. Then her plumbing fails—because somebody stuffed the body of her ex into her septic tank. Of course she's the obvious suspect, so she has to figure out who actually did it.
Not a promising start to a new life in rural Granford, but Meg not only decides to stay but learns to manage the apple orchard on the property. Of course, neighbor Seth Chapin may have something to do with that. But why does she keep finding bodies?
The Books (in reverse order):
Nipped in the Bud
Book 12
NOW AVAILABLE!
The New York Times bestselling author of A Late Frost returns with orchard owner Meg Chapin trying to stem the tide of crime...
Winter still has a firm stranglehold on the small town of Granford, and newly married orchard owner Meg Chapin is restless to begin her spring pruning and planting, while Seth busies himself with a new project of his own. But their relative peace is shattered when a gunshot breaks the winter silence and they discover the body of a dead woman on their land. What's just as troubling is that the state police have hushed up the murder and are warning Meg not to investigate.
Never one to sit by idly with a killer on the loose, Meg starts digging for clues and probing for answers as discreetly as she can. When the victim turns out to have been an undercover reporter doing a story on the blossoming trade in illegal drugs in the area, Meg's stunned to learn that this very modern crime has come to sleepy Granford. Unwilling to accept that the nasty business has put down roots so close to home—and led to a murder that occurred literally in her own backyard—Meg is determined to nip it in the bud before the town she knows and loves turns rotten...
A Late Frost
Book 11
The usually quiet town of Granford, Massachusetts, is even drowsier during the colder months. But this year it's in for a jolt when Monica Whitman moves into town. She's a dynamo who wants to make friends fast in her new home, and she throws herself into community activities. Meg Corey, now Chapin after her marriage to Seth Chapin, is intrigued by the new arrival, who has already sold the town board on a new, fun way to bring in visitors during the off-season: WinterFare, which will feature local foods (such as Meg's apples) and crafts, as well as entertainment.
Tragically, Monica falls ill and dies after the event in what looks like a case of food poisoning. When all the food served at WinterFare has been tested, including Meg's apples, it becomes clear that there's a more sinister explanation to the older woman's sudden demise.
Meg's investigation uncovers a bushel of potential suspects, one of whom is rotten to the core.
Seeds of Deception
Book 10
With the bushels of time they spent organizing their wedding, Meg and Seth didn't have a chance to plan a honeymoon. But now that winter has arrived, there's not much to do at the orchard. So with their shared love of history and all things apple, they pick Thomas Jefferson's orchards at Monticello as the perfect getaway.
While they enjoy the beautiful sights, there's a rotten addition to the agenda when Meg's parents discover their handyman dead in the backyard. With a bitter police chief eyeing Meg's father as a suspect, Meg and Seth have to cut their honeymoon short to find the root of the problem.
A Gala Event
Book 9
The fall harvest may be just about over, but orchard owner Meg Corey is busier than ever planning her wedding to Seth Chapin. Who knew picking apples would be less work than picking out rings and a dress? And even though the happy couple has invited most of Granford, Massachusetts, to the ceremony, they might have to make room for one more guest...
Ex-con Aaron Eastman has unexpectedly reappeared in his hometown, searching for answers to the tragic fire in his family's past that put him behind bars twenty-five years ago. Moved by his sincerity, Meg vows to do everything she can to help him solve the cold case. As she cobbles together the clues, it becomes increasingly clear that Aaron may have been considered the bad seed of the family, but someone else was one bad apple...
Picked to Die
Book 8
It's harvest time in Granford, Massachusetts, and orchard owner Meg Corey and her fiancé Seth are both racing to beat the New England winter. Meg is bringing in her apple crop with a team of workers, while Seth is working to restore an old building in the center of town. But when his project is set back due to the unexpected discovery of a skeleton under the building—and even worse, a relative of one of Meg's apple pickers is found stabbed to death behind the local feed store—the couple's carefully laid plans are quickly spoiled....
Meg can't help but wonder: are they just unlucky, or is there something rotten in Granford? If so, she knows she's got to seek out the bad apple before it ruins the whole bunch...
Golden Malicious
Book 7
A New York Times Bestseller
While orchard owner Meg Corey dreads the labor of manual irrigation to stave off a drought, her boyfriend, Seth, couldn't be more excited about doing historic renovation on one of Granford's oldest houses. Tagging along as he picks up supplies is supposed to give Meg a much-needed break, but the trip turns rotten when she almost trips over a dead body at an old saw mill's forest reserve.
But the body isn't the only frightening discovery she makes. A mysterious insect infestation seems to have migrated to the area—one that could bring serious harm to local woodlands. And it's up to Meg to find out what's behind this sudden swarm of trouble.
Sour Apples
Book 6
Apple orchard owner Meg Corey is finally feeling settled into her new life in Granford—she's made friends, and her relationship with Seth Chapin is heating up—when her old Boston coworker Lauren Converse comes barreling into town, running the Congressional campaign for a former hometown football hero. But Meg doesn't have time to worry about why Seth seems reluctant to back Lauren's campaign when her neighbor, local dairy farmer Joyce Truesdell, is found dead from an apparent kick to the head from one of her cows.
When an autopsy shows that the fatal blow actually came from a weapon, Meg is even more troubled. Popular opinion points to Joyce's husband as the culprit, but Meg can't help wondering if someone wanted the outspoken dairy farmer out of the way... but why? She'll have to find out who had a beef with the victim, before she's the next one to get creamed...
Bitter Harvest
Book 5
Now that Meg Corey's first apple crop has been harvested and sold, she's enjoying some free time. Especially since she's snowed in without power or heat. Luckily, her maybe-boyfriend Seth Chapin is keeping her company, and has agreed to help her clean out her house.
In a dusty corner Meg finds an early 19th-century silk sampler embroidered with apple trees, but she doesn't recognize the names on it as any of the earlier owners of her house. Then she starts being plagued by a series of small but annoying mishaps. Meg doesn't want to appear paranoid, but when she finds herself locked in the unheated barn overnight, and Seth's van window is shot out in her driveway, she can't ignore the problem any longer. And if she doesn't figure out how the sampler she found is connected to the motive of her modern-day tormentor, her first harvest could be her last....
A Killer Crop
Book 4
When Meg Corey's mother arrives unannounced in Granford, Massachusetts, Meg's sure it's not just to pay a surprise visit to the apple of her eye. The timing is terrible—it's harvest season and Meg is understaffed in the orchard. Plus Elizabeth Corey is clearly hiding the real purpose of her trip from her daughter.
After an English professor from Amherst—and an old friend of her mother—is found dead on the floor of a cider house, Elizabeth is interrogated by the police, and then grilled by her daughter. She is indeed keeping a secret—but could Meg's own mother really have committed murder? One thing is clear: someone decided to teach the prof a lesson. And the key to unlocking the mystery may lie with a poet who could not stop for Death...
Red Delicious Death
Book 3
Granford newcomer Meg Corey has more than enough to do, between restoring the colonial house she's inherited and trying to manage her orchard. Then a trio of young chefs fresh out of cooking school arrive in town to open a restaurant using local foods, and Meg volunteers to help them out.
But then one of the chefs is found dead in a farmer's pig wallow. When Meg begins looking into the death, her investigation digs up some old town secrets—and Meg soon realizes that they have a locally grown killer on their hands.
Rotten to the Core
Book 2
Spring has come to Meg Corey's apple orchard—and it's quickly becoming a killer season. Just as she's getting the hang of managing the two-hundred-year-old orchard she's inherited, the dead body of a local organic farming activist is found in her springhouse. And the only thing that's sprung is a murder accusation—against her...
The young man's body was found with traces of pesticide poisoning. Strange for someone opposed to all things chemical. And why did someone plant his body on Meg's land—when Meg hadn't even met him? Now Meg needs to pick her actions wisely and get rid of the seed of suspicion that's been planted before the orchard—and her future—is spoiled for good.
One Bad Apple
Book 1
When Boston investment banker Meg Corey moves to Granford, Massachusetts, things don't go exactly smoothly. She has left behind a Boston job that was swallowed up in a bank merger, and ex boyfriend Chandler Hale, in exchange for a crumbling colonial house and an orchard. She figures she'll spend a little time fixing up the house to sell while she looks for a new job and licks her wounds. Things take a turn for the worse when Chandler shows up in town to manage a proposed commercial development project, but Meg can handle that. But then Chandler is found dead by next-door neighbor, plumber Seth Chapin, in her septic tank, and Meg is the sheriff's favorite suspect. With Seth's help she identifies the killer, but by then she has discovered that she doesn't want to leave Granford and her orchard.
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THE COUNTY CORK MYSTERIES
Maura Donovan's grandmother asked only one thing: that Maura travel to Ireland to tell the friends she'd left behind that she was gone. Since there's nothing and no one to keep Maura in South Boston, she heads for the tiny village in West Cork that her grandmother had left decades before. There Maura finds far more than she bargained for: relatives she never knew she had, a home, a job, and friends to help her figure out how to forge a new life for herself in a corner of Ireland.
The Books (in reverse order):
Fatal Roots
Book 8
Some secrets are too big to stay buried...
A few months ago, Boston expat Maura Donovan was rekindled with her mother after more than twenty years of absence. Since then, Maura has been getting accustomed to Irish living, complete with an inherited house and a pub named Sullivan's. But now, her mother has returned—and she's brought Maura's half-sister in tow. To make matters more confusing, a handful of Cork University students are knocking on Maura's door asking about a mystical fairy fort that happens to be located on Maura's piece of land.
The lore indicates that messing with the fort can cause bad luck, and most everyone is telling Maura not to get too involved for fear of its powers, but Maura is curious about her own land, and she definitely doesn't buy into the superstition. Then one of the students disappears after a day of scoping out the fort on Maura's property.
Maura treads carefully, asking the folks around town who might have an idea, but no one wants anything to do with these forts. She has to take matters into her own hand—it's her land, after all. But when she uncovers a decades-old corpse buried in the center of the fort, nothing is for certain.
The Lost Traveller
Book 7
Danger comes to Cork in the seventh County Cork mystery from New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly, and it's up to Maura Donovan to find a way to protect all she's worked for.
Pub owner Maura Donovan is settling into a charmed life in Ireland—until a mutilated body on her property ends her lucky streak.
Boston expat Maura Donovan came to Ireland to honor her grandmother's last wish, but she never expected to stay in provincial County Cork—much less to inherit a house and a pub, Sullivan's, in the small village of Leap. After a year-long struggle to stay in the black, Sullivan's is finally thriving, and Maura has even brought back traditional Irish music to the pub. With a crop of new friends and a budding relationship with handsome Mick Nolan, Maura's life seems rosier than ever—but even in Ireland, you can't always trust your luck.
It begins with Maura's discovery of a body in the ravine behind the pub. And then, the Irish gardai reveal that the victim's face has been battered beyond recognition. Who is the faceless victim? Who wanted him dead? And why was his body dumped in the backyard of Sullivan's Pub? Even after the dead man is finally given a name, nobody admits to knowing him. In the tight-knit world of Leap, no one is talking—and now it's up to Maura to uncover the dark secrets that lurk beneath the seemingly quiet town.
Laced with warm Irish charm, a delightful small-town setting, and a colorful cast of characters, New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly's seventh County Cork mystery, The Lost Traveller, conspires to delight.
Tied Up with a Bow
Christmas novella ebook
Pub owner Maura Donovan is still learning the local customs of the Irish village she now calls home, and with the holidays approaching she's unsure how much, or how little, to decorate. She's also puzzled by the small construction project going on across the street, which is shrouded in secrecy and has the whole of County Cork guessing what it might be. But most troubling of all is the secretive young boy who shows up at the pub's door, hinting that he and his mother had to leave Dublin—in a hurry.
Sensing danger, Maura becomes more alarmed when an unknown man shows up and begins lurking around the pub. With so many questions on her mind and so few answers, Maura knows she'll have to turn to her new village friends to help her sort out all the mysterious goings-on—and maybe deliver an unexpected gift to someone in need.
Many A Twist
Book 6
Pub owner Maura Donovan hasn't seen her mother for over twenty years, so when she suddenly shows up in Maura's pub, Maura's not sure what to expect. Her mother is trying to find a life for herself back home and has taken up a position working with the new owners of the Crann Mor hotel just outside Skibbereen. Until her new boss is found dead in the gardens, dumped down the hillside behind the hotel.
Now, trying to rekindle the relationship they've lost, Maura must investigate in order to clear her mother's name. It's not so easy though, as long-time residents of County Cork, including the families of her employee Mick, and the family of the deceased hotel owner, have bottled deep dark family secrets not meant to be uncorked. And someone will kill to keep them that way.
Cruel Winter
Book 5
Snow is a rarity in Maura Donovan's small village in County Cork, Ireland, so she wasn't sure what to expect when a major snowstorm rolled in around Sullivan's pub. But now she's stranded in a bar full of patrons—and a suspected killer in a long-ago murder.
Maura's been in Ireland less than a year and hasn't heard about the decades-old unsolved crime that took place nearby, let alone the infamous suspect, Diane Caldwell. But the locals have, and they're not happy to be trapped with her. Diane, meanwhile, seeks to set the record straight, asserting her innocence after all this time. And since no one is going anywhere in the storm, Maura encourages Diane to share her side of the story, which she'd never had a chance to do in court.
Over the next few hours, the informal court in Sullivan's reviews the facts and theories about the case—and comes to some surprising conclusions. But is it enough to convince the police to take a new look at an old case? A clever spin on the classic locked room mystery, Cruel Winter, the fifth in New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly's series, will delight fans of the Emerald Isle.
A Turn for the Bad
Book 4
After calling Ireland home for six months, Boston expat Maura Donovan still has a lot to learn about Irish ways—and Sullivan's Pub is her classroom. Maura didn't only inherit a business, she inherited a tight-knit community. And when a tragedy strikes, it's the talk of the pub. A local farmer, out for a stroll on the beach with his young son, has mysteriously disappeared. Did he drown? Kill himself? The child can say only that he saw a boat.
Everyone from the local gardai to the Coast Guard is scouring the Cork coast, but when a body is finally brought ashore, it's the wrong man. An accidental drowning or something more sinister? Trusting the words of the boy and listening to the suspicions of her employee Mick that the missing farmer might have run afoul of smugglers, Maura decides to investigate the deserted coves and isolated inlets for herself. But this time she may be getting in over her head...
An Early Wake
Book 3
A New York Times Bestseller
Summer is ending in County Cork, Ireland, and with it the tourist season. Expat Maura Donovan is determined to keep Sullivan's Pub in the black as the days grow shorter—but how? When she hears that the place was once a hot spot for Irish musicians who'd come play in the back room, she wonders if bringing back live music might be Sullivan's salvation.
As word gets out, legendary musicians begin to appear at the pub, and the first impromptu jam session brings in scores of music lovers. But things hit a sour note when Maura finds a dead musician in the back room the next morning. With a slew of potential suspects, it's going to take more than a pint and a good think to force a murderer to face the music.
Scandal in Skibbereen
Book 2
A New York Times Bestseller
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 Dyck 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...
Buried in a Bog
Book 1
A New York Times Bestseller
Honoring the wish of her late grandmother, Maura Donovan visits the small Irish village where Gran was born—never expecting to get bogged down in a murder mystery. Nor had she planned to take a job in one of the local pubs, but she finds herself excited to get to know the people who knew her Gran.
In the pub, she's swamped with drink orders as everyone in town gathers to talk about the recent discovery of an almost 100-year-old body in a nearby bog. When Maura realizes she may know something about the dead man—and that the body's connected to another, more recent, death—she fears she's about to become mired in a homicide investigation. Maura has a sinking feeling she may really be getting in over her head...
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The Victorian Village Mysteries
Murder at the Mansion
Now Available!
Murder at the Mansion
Book 1
The first in a brand-new series! (Note: So sad that Sheila didn't live long enough to write more books in this series!)
Katherine Hamilton's goal in high school was to escape from her dead-end hometown of Asheboro, Maryland. Fifteen years later she's got a degree in hospitality management and a great job at a high-end boutique hotel in Baltimore. Until, that is, the hotel is acquired by a chain, and she's laid off. When Kate's high school best friend calls with a mysterious invitation to come talk with the town leaders of Asheboro, she agrees to make the trip, curious about where this new opportunity might lead.
Once Kate arrives, the town council members reveal that their town is on the verge of going bankrupt, and they've decided that Kate's skills and knowledge make her the perfect person to cure all their ills. The town has used its last available funds to buy the huge Victorian mansion just outside of town, hoping to use it to attract some of the tourists who travel to visit the nearby Civil War battle sites. Kate has less-than-fond memories of the mansion, for personal reasons, but to make matters worse, the only person who has presented a possible alternate plan is Cordelia Walker—Kate's high school nemesis.
But a few days later, while touring the mansion, Kate stumbles over a body—and it's none other than Cordelia. Kate finds herself juggling the murder investigation and her growing fascination with the old house, which itself is full of long-hidden mysteries.
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THE MUSEUM MYSTERIES
Nell Pratt is a fundraiser at a prestigious historic museum in the heart of Philadelphia. It may not be the most exciting of jobs, but Nell loves history and enjoys being around the wonderful collections. But when a body is discovered in the building after a party, she realizes that she has access to a wealth of information that can help to solve the crime, because fundraisers know everything about everybody. When she teams up with FBI Special Agent James Morrison, together they take on a surprising range of crimes inside the city's cultural community.
The Books (in reverse order):
Dead End Street
Book 7
Society president Nell Pratt believes life is finally going her way. Everything's running smoothly at work, and her love life is thriving. Then some unexpected news rocks her foundation. Two members of a local neighborhood rescue program, Tyrone Blakeney and Cherisse Chapman, inform Nell that her society owns an abandoned row house in a rundown area of Philadelphia and they insist on taking her to see the property before its date with the wrecking ball.
But soon after they arrive at the house, Cherisse is fatally shot and Tyrone is badly injured. The police believe it's just random violence in a bad neighborhood, but Nell thinks there's more to it and is determined to find answers before someone else becomes history . . .
Privy to the Dead
Book 6
Nell Pratt, president of the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society, has something to smile about thanks to a generous donation from a major Philadelphia developer who's willing to help update their museum. But renovations have barely begun when a man is struck by a car in front of the building and killed.
The victim is a construction worker who found a curious metal object while excavating an old privy in the museum's basement. Nell thinks the death is somehow connected to the Society, and her suspicions are confirmed when an antiques expert reveals a link between the objects from the cellar and a fellow staff member's family.
Now Nell must unearth a mystery with ties to the past and the present. Because when someone is willing to kill over scrap metal, there's no telling what they'll do next...
Razing the Dead
Book 5
Between the challenges of her position as president of the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society in Philadelphia and of taking her relationship with FBI Agent James Morrison to the next level, Nell Pratt has got her hands full. Nevertheless, when a powerful developer approaches the Society to make sure the old dairy farm he wants to level is not hiding any archeological or historical surprises that could derail the project, Nell decides to make time to personally accompany him to the proposed site.
But when they get to the property, they stumble upon a startling discovery—a body floating face-down in a pond. The dead man turns out to be an amateur history enthusiast, who may have uncovered secrets about the farm that got him killed. Now it's up to Nell and Morrison to get to the bottom of things before there are more deadly developments...
Monument to the Dead
Book 4
When Nell reads the obituary of a former board member, Adeline Harrison, she makes a mental note to send flowers and doesn't think twice about it—until FBI agent James Morrison shares his suspicions about the nature of Adeline's death. It turns out that a number of other members of the local cultural community have died in the last few months, under similar circumstances.
Soon Nell uncovers what seems to be a plot to rid Philadelphia of harmless, elderly philanthropists—but why? If she can figure out the killer's motive, she has a chance of stopping the misanthropic murderer before another do-gooder is done in...
Fire Engine Dead
Book 3
A series of warehouse fires has police scrambling for an arsonist, especially when valuable pieces in storage from the Fireman's Museum go up in flames and a guard is killed in the blaze. A picture in the paper of the museum's centerpiece—an 1825 horse-drawn hand pump—catches Nell Pratt's attention. Though charred and twisted, the vehicle is clearly not the original. Yet no one at the museum is talking.
As things heat up for Nell, FBI agent and prospective boyfriend James Morrison taps her insider knowledge of museum administrators to find the truth behind the smokescreen...
Let's Play Dead
Book 2
When Nell Pratt is invited to the beloved Philadelphia children's museum, Let's Play, for a sneak preview of a newly installed exhibit based on the Harriet the Hedgehog book series, she's in for quite a shock. In the middle of her visit, one of the installers gets a severe jolt from working on an electrically animated forest creature.
He recovers, but when a second man gets zapped—this time fatally—it sparks a homicide investigation, with Nell right in the middle of things. Is someone out to sabotage the exhibition, or to discredit the museum president, Arabella Heffernan? Even with the help of Nell's potential beau, FBI agent James Morrison, it's ultimately up to Nell to channel her energy into finding the killer—before she gets burned herself.
Fundraising the Dead
Book 1
At The Society for the Preservation of Pennsylvania Antiquities, fundraiser Eleanor "Nell" Pratt solicits donations—and sometimes solves crimes. When a collection of George Washington's letters is lost on the same day that an archivist is found dead, it seems strange that the Society president isn't pushing for an investigation. Nell goes digging herself, and soon uncovers a long, rich history of crime.
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THE RELATIVELY DEAD SERIES
Revealing the Dead
Book 6
Still undecided about a return to her teaching career, Abby Kimball has thrown herself into restoring the grand Victorian she shares with her boyfriend, Ned. She’s happy to put thoughts of her strange ability to see the dead on the back burner for a while, but she realizes that won’t be so easy when she’s faced with two new compelling encounters.
First, a plumber she’s hired has a shocking experience with an old tool they find buried in the house’s walls, and then the interior life of an autistic boy streams through her mind as if he were speaking. Intrigued by the possibility that those who share her ability are more numerous and considerably more varied than she ever imagined, Abby’s forced to reconsider everything she thought she knew about her extraordinary gift.
Inspired to learn more about autism and also the family history of her new plumber, Abby begins to dig deep on both topics and will discover a shocking connection that makes it clear that deeds from the past are reverberating still in the present . . .
Search for the Dead
Book 5
Still looking for answers to explain her uncanny ability to see her dead ancestors, Abby shifts her focus to spiritualists, seers, and psychics of all kind. Meeting them with an open mind—and a healthy dose of skepticism—she wants to know if any of them genuinely share her strange experiences or if they're simply conning gullible people. When she ventures into a series of "readings" given by area psychics, she makes a startling connection that defies even her wildest expectations.
Unsure what to make of the encounter, Abby turns to her boyfriend, Ned, and the two enlist the help of a scientist friend with equipment that can map the mind. Hoping to pinpoint where the source of their ability lies, they agree to be subjects in a one-of-a-kind experiment. But when Abby is strapped into the machine, the readings—and their implications—are more shocking than either of them could have anticipated.
Faced with the new, improbable connection and the possibility that the experiment has changed her life irrevocably, Abby will be forced to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about her ability—and herself—and answer the daunting question of what she wants next.
Watch for the Dead
Book 4
Looking to take a break from busy home renovations, Abby and boyfriend Ned Newhall jump at the chance to vacation on Cape Cod. Not only do they plan to get away from the dust and grime, but since Abby has no known ancestors in the area, the trip promises to be free of the unsettling ghostly appearances that have darkened her recent days.
Dreams of a relaxing vacation are soon dashed, however, when a storm blows in and brings with it a scene from the past more disturbing than any Abby has ever experienced. The long-dead woman who appears to Abby is someone she's met before, but this time her presence defies any explanation at all.
Determined to unravel the mystery of the woman's recurring appearances, Abby follows a trail of family history and upheaval that spans generations and may yield the biggest revelation of all, not just about Abby's ancestors but about her living relatives as well.
NEW!
The Relatively Dead Boxed Set
Books 1-3
The first three books in the haunting Relatively Dead Series all in one set!
Defending the Dead
Book 3
Abby Kimball has slowly accepted her recently discovered ability to see the dead, but none of the harmless sightings she's experienced could have prepared her for the startling apparition of a centuries-old courtroom scene—where she locks eyes with a wicked and gleeful accuser. Thrown back more than three hundred years, Abby realizes she's been plunged into a mystery that has fascinated people throughout American history: the Salem witch trials.
With her boyfriend Ned at her side, Abby digs into the history of the events, researching the people and possible causes of that terrible time and her own connection to them--all the while going more deeply into her connection to Ned, both extraordinary and romantic.
As Abby witnesses more fragments from the events in Salem and struggles with the question of how such a nightmare could have come about, she's suddenly confronted with a pressing personal question: Were one or more of her ancestors among the accused?
Seeing the Dead
Book 2
Ever since her first spectral sighting, Abby Kimball has been trying to unravel the mystery of her newly discovered ability. So when she sees the apparition of a Revolutionary War soldier in the middle of the town green—just days before the annual Patriots' Day celebration, no less—she's determined to figure out her connection to the man.
The ghostly soldier is not the only mystery in Abby's life. She's also trying to sort out her connection to Ned Newhall, the man who shares her ability and is playing a more serious romantic role in her life every day. But with plans for the celebration ramping up and her job becoming more chaotic by the day, Abby's finding it hard to catch her breath, much less come to grips with all the new turns her life has taken.
And when another eerie episode is followed by the appearance of a very curious young girl who seems wise beyond her years, Abby discovers she and Ned may have only scratched the surface of their special ability, and that Ned may hold the biggest surprise yet.
Relatively Dead
Book 1
A New York Times ebook bestseller
Abby Kimball has just moved to New England with her boyfriend and is trying to settle in, but the experience is proving to be quite unsettling, to say the least. While on a tour of local historic homes, Abby witnesses a family scene that leaves her gasping for breath—because the family has been dead for nearly a century. Another haunting episode follows, and another, until it seems to Abby that everything she touches is drawing her in, calling to her from the past.
Abby would doubt her sanity if it weren’t for Ned Newhall, the kind and knowledgeable guide on that disturbing house tour. Rather than telling her she’s hallucinating, Ned takes an interest in Abby’s strange encounters and encourages her to figure out what’s going on, starting with investigating the story of the family she saw . . . and exploring her own past.
But as Abby begins to piece together a history that’s as moving as it is shocking and unravels a long-ago mystery that nearly tore her family apart, she also begins to suspect that Ned’s got secrets of his own, and that his interest may be driven as much by a taste for romance as a love for history.
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SINGLE TITLE:
Reunion With Death
Laura Shumway couldn't say why she'd agreed to go on the class reunion trip to Italy. Maybe it was to take stock of her life, or maybe it was just to catch up with old friends, take in the sights, and relax in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Either way, she knew she'd discover a lot on the trip, about both herself and her former classmates. What she didn't expect to discover was the dead body of esteemed professor Anthony Gilbert.
Gilbert had had a long and illustrious career at the college. Now retired to Italy, he appeared as a surprise guest speaker at the women's vacation villa, still disarmingly handsome, still charming, but not nearly so eminent in the eyes of Laura's classmates. As a young professor all those years ago, Gilbert used his position and looks to seduce and then cast aside many of his young and impressionable students, and at least some of the women on this trip had been hurt by his false promises of love. The kind of hurt that runs deep and may have given any number of them a motive for murder.
Before the polizia or carabiniere get involved, Laura and a few trusted classmates set out among the vineyards and hills of the Italian Riviera to solve the murder on their own. With the help of some influential locals and good old-fashioned detective work, they're soon led to the conclusion that one of their classmates might be a killer—and what started as a trip to see how far they'd all come may turn into a stark lesson about just how far one of them would go.
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SINGLE TITLE:
Once She Knew
A Barnes & Noble Best of 2012 book
Claire Hastings, professor at a prestigious women's college, has retreated to an isolated cabin in Maine in midwinter to work on the book that will guarantee her tenure, but she's having trouble finishing it. Then disgraced journalist Jonathan Daulton stumbles into her cabin late one night, soaking wet and bleeding from what seems to be a gunshot wound. She recognizes him from a romantic encounter at a conference years earlier, one she's been trying desperately to forget. Much to her relief, and embarrassment, he doesn't appear to remember her.
When Claire learns that Jonathan is suspected of killing an FBI agent, she urges him to turn himself in immediately, but Jonathan has other ideas, all of which involve her. As he points out, if the FBI finds that she has been harboring a fugitive, she can forget about that peace and quiet she wanted. Then he shocks Claire by faking her kidnapping.
Entangled in whatever Jonathan's mysterious troubles are, Claire finds herself on a frantic odyssey from Maine to New York City, figuring that the only way to clear her name is to clear Jonathan's. As Jonathan gradually reveals that his real goal is to stop what he believes is a terrorist plan to assassinate the First Lady at a United Nations event, Claire knows she's in over her head.
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SHORT STORIES:
"A Necessary Death"
With working conditions deteriorating and tempers wearing thin, construction supervisor Mason is having enough trouble completing the massive building project on time and on budget—the last thing he needs is a dead body. Sure, on a job as big as this one accidents happen, but this death was no accident.
Hoping to clear up the murder quickly, Mason begins to search the site and question the construction crew who have set up camp nearby. But with few clues and fewer suspects, he'll have to turn to an unlikely source for the solution—and an explanation that's as old as the project he's given his life too.
"Under the Hill"
Ellen Leonard is feeling both free and empty. Just out of a two-year relationship, she decides a trip to Ireland could be the perfect opportunity to shake off her lethargy and also reassert her independence.
But as she settles in at a remote cottage in the Irish countryside and her days take on a comfortable routine, Ellen begins to discover that sometimes things that go bump don’t always do it just in the night.
Also features a sneak peek at Relatively Dead and Picked to Die.
"An Open Book"
After part-time librarian Sarabeth Dodson discovers elderly Edith Hathaway dead in a snowdrift in small-town Strathmere, Pennsylvania, she enlists the help of Police Chief Vanessa Hutchins to get to the bottom of the mystery. With no footprints around the body and no purse, what was the retired school teacher doing out in the middle of nowhere in the snow? The answer may have something to do with the library book Edith failed to return...
"The Rising of the Moon"
Dinty's Bar has occupied the same corner in Cambridge since before I was born. Not the Cambridge with the glitzy shops and exotic restaurants catering to parents dropping their little darlings off at the Big H, or the Cambridge filled with techy wonks. Dinty's keeps a toehold in the back end of Cambridge, between Central Square and the river. Its patrons come from the neighborhood and they're pretty consistent: blue-collar, mostly construction workers, a scattering of cops and firefighters, all Irish in some way or another. Somehow this little area called Cambridgeport has escaped the gentrification that has crept through the city, and that's the way the people here like it.
"Dead Letters"
(A Museum Mystery Short Story)
Nell Pratt, President of the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society, is intrigued when Arthur Logan, elderly scion of an old Philadelphia family, approaches her to search the Society's archives for information on the Logan family's history. What he desires most, it turns out, is her discretion--but as Nell begins sifting through documents and letters, a series of unsettling occurrences lead her to wonder if she's not the only one out there looking for a Logan family secret...
"Called Home"
(An Orchard Mystery Short Story)
Out of a job and living alone in a drafty Colonial house, Meg Corey is supposed to be fixing the house up to sell, but now she's got the flu and she's freezing and she feels very sorry for herself. Then Deborah Warren shows up to distract her—but is Deborah a ghost, or just the product of Meg's feverish imagination?
Choosing to believe that Deborah really is a ghost, Meg sets out to discover the truth of why she's been around for 200 years when all she wants is to go home.
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I did some minor Net surfing and apparently the two books that haven't been released yet are in the Victorian Village series. The first book has already been out but there's a 2nd one supposedly due for release on May 26th and the third book is tentatively set for May 1st, 2021.
Last night/early this morning, I ended up ordering a copy of the first book in the Orchard Mysteries, One Bad Apple.
The last book in the County Cork series (because of her passing, not because she was done with the series), Fatal Roots, came out in January so whenever it gets released in paperback I'll pick that one up as well.
I'm happy to see more books will be coming out in her Victorian Village series. If you notice either of them available for preorder, let me know!
I've been going through her website, looking for information about all her different series, and I thought it was interesting how many anthologies she was included in: http://sheilaconnolly.com/anthologies.php
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I did some minor Net surfing and apparently the two books that haven't been released yet are in the Victorian Village series. The first book has already been out but there's a 2nd one supposedly due for release on May 26th and the third book is tentatively set for May 1st, 2021.
Last night/early this morning, I ended up ordering a copy of the first book in the Orchard Mysteries, One Bad Apple.
The last book in the County Cork series (because of her passing, not because she was done with the series), Fatal Roots, came out in January so whenever it gets released in paperback I'll pick that one up as well.
I'm happy to see more books will be coming out in her Victorian Village series. If you notice either of them available for preorder, let me know!
I think Book 2 in the Victorian Village series was published already in hardcover. I thought I saw that the paperback of that one was due on May 26th, but it might've gotten pushed back due to the pandemic because I don't think I've seen it available in PB anywhere yet.
And the books Many A Twist and Fatal Roots were the two books I was missing from the County Cork series that I ordered. There's an ebook novella featuring the characters that I'll sadly never get to read unless it gets printed somewhere.
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I did some minor Net surfing and apparently the two books that haven't been released yet are in the Victorian Village series. The first book has already been out but there's a 2nd one supposedly due for release on May 26th and the third book is tentatively set for May 1st, 2021.
Last night/early this morning, I ended up ordering a copy of the first book in the Orchard Mysteries, One Bad Apple.
The last book in the County Cork series (because of her passing, not because she was done with the series), Fatal Roots, came out in January so whenever it gets released in paperback I'll pick that one up as well.
I'm happy to see more books will be coming out in her Victorian Village series. If you notice either of them available for preorder, let me know!
I think Book 2 in the Victorian Village series was published already in hardcover. I thought I saw that the paperback of that one was due on May 26th, but it might've gotten pushed back due to the pandemic because I don't think I've seen it available in PB anywhere yet.
And the books Many A Twist and Fatal Roots were the two books I was missing from the County Cork series that I ordered. There's an ebook novella featuring the characters that I'll sadly never get to read unless it gets printed somewhere.
I think a lot of book release dates this year will be up for grabs because of coronavirus.
This is from Sheila's publisher's (Macmillan) website:
The Secret Staircase
The Secret Staircase
Victorian Village Mysteries (Volume 3)
Sheila Connolly
St. Martin's Publishing Group
From New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly, The Secret Staircase is the third Victorian Village Mystery, which finds Katherine Hamilton discovering a long-dead...
AVAILABLE IN:
eBook
Available 08/24/2021
Pre-Order
Killer in the Carriage House
Killer in the Carriage House
Victorian Village Mysteries (Volume 2)
Sheila Connolly
St. Martin's Publishing Group
Welcome back to Asheboro, Maryland, where real estate can be a matter of life and death. Killer in the Carriage House is the second book in the Victorian Village...
AVAILABLE IN:
Physical Book
eBook
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I did some minor Net surfing and apparently the two books that haven't been released yet are in the Victorian Village series. The first book has already been out but there's a 2nd one supposedly due for release on May 26th and the third book is tentatively set for May 1st, 2021.
Last night/early this morning, I ended up ordering a copy of the first book in the Orchard Mysteries, One Bad Apple.
The last book in the County Cork series (because of her passing, not because she was done with the series), Fatal Roots, came out in January so whenever it gets released in paperback I'll pick that one up as well.
I'm happy to see more books will be coming out in her Victorian Village series. If you notice either of them available for preorder, let me know!
I think Book 2 in the Victorian Village series was published already in hardcover. I thought I saw that the paperback of that one was due on May 26th, but it might've gotten pushed back due to the pandemic because I don't think I've seen it available in PB anywhere yet.
And the books Many A Twist and Fatal Roots were the two books I was missing from the County Cork series that I ordered. There's an ebook novella featuring the characters that I'll sadly never get to read unless it gets printed somewhere.
I think a lot of book release dates this year will be up for grabs because of coronavirus.
This is from Sheila's publisher's (Macmillan) website:
The Secret Staircase
The Secret Staircase
Victorian Village Mysteries (Volume 3)
Sheila Connolly
St. Martin's Publishing Group
From New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly, The Secret Staircase is the third Victorian Village Mystery, which finds Katherine Hamilton discovering a long-dead...
AVAILABLE IN:
eBook
Available 08/24/2021
Pre-Order
Killer in the Carriage House
Killer in the Carriage House
Victorian Village Mysteries (Volume 2)
Sheila Connolly
St. Martin's Publishing Group
Welcome back to Asheboro, Maryland, where real estate can be a matter of life and death. Killer in the Carriage House is the second book in the Victorian Village...
AVAILABLE IN:
Physical Book
eBook
Hurray! I just received paperback copies of MURDER AT THE MANSION and KILLER IN THE CARRIAGE HOUSE. I'm eager to read this - they are going in my to-be-read-this-summer pile!
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Hurray! I just received paperback copies of MURDER AT THE MANSION and KILLER IN THE CARRIAGE HOUSE. I'm eager to read this - they are going in my to-be-read-this-summer pile!
I've got the first book. I thought I was going to have Book 2 but lost out on an auction to get it a bit cheaper.
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Hurray! I just received paperback copies of MURDER AT THE MANSION and KILLER IN THE CARRIAGE HOUSE. I'm eager to read this - they are going in my to-be-read-this-summer pile!
I've got the first book. I thought I was going to have Book 2 but lost out on an auction to get it a bit cheaper.
That's so frustrating when that happens!
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I stopped at my local B&N today. They had the paperback edition of Sheila's KILLER IN THE CARRIAGE HOUSE so I picked it up.
And the County Cork mystery novel FATAL ROOTS showed up in the mail today.
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I stopped at my local B&N today. They had the paperback edition of Sheila's KILLER IN THE CARRIAGE HOUSE so I picked it up.
And the County Cork mystery novel FATAL ROOTS showed up in the mail today.
Yay! We were just heading out to B&N around lunchtime when we passed our son, daughter-in-law and grandkids on their way home. So we turned around to meet them at home. We're going to head out again soon.
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My copy of MANY A TWIST came in the mail today and I now have the entire County Cork series with four books to read in order to finish the series.
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My copy of MANY A TWIST came in the mail today and I now have the entire County Cork series with four books to read in order to finish the series.
I used to be a super fast reader, but I seem to be slowing down with old age. My granddaughter and I are reading the whole Boxcar Children series (we're almost through with Book 6). Those are mysteries so I should count those, but reading those means I still have a stack of Sheila's books to read and I have three or four more of Edith/Maddie's books. I'm already a night owl so I'll just have to find a way to read while I'm in the kitchen and in the shower!
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Becke, I don't read all that fast anymore either. I used to read a lot during down time at work but since I'm so busy right now there, the only reading I do is on my lunch break.
And when I get home from work, I'm usually so beat that I don't want to read a lot because I'm so tired. I power through sometimes but I find I do a lot of my extended reading on the weekends right now.
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Becke, I don't read all that fast anymore either. I used to read a lot during down time at work but since I'm so busy right now there, the only reading I do is on my lunch break.
And when I get home from work, I'm usually so beat that I don't want to read a lot because I'm so tired. I power through sometimes but I find I do a lot of my extended reading on the weekends right now.
I did the most reading when I commuted to work by bus and train. Train was the best, except when I got too engrossed in whatever I was reading and missed my stop!