By Andrea Carter, Book 3, Inishowen Mystery Series, Oceanview Publishing, November 2020
*An ARC was provided for an honest review by Oceanview Publishing and Edelweiss Plus.
The Well of Ice by Andrea Carter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
THE WELL OF ICE by Andrea Carter is the third in the interesting and well-written Inishowen Mystery series. The story takes place in County Donegal, Ireland on the Inishowen Peninsula and stars local solicitor, Benedicta “Ben” O'Keeffe.
It's a few days before Christmas, and Ben's sometime lover, local sergeant Tom Molloy, tells her that the man who killed her sister has been released from jail. He goes on to assure her that the killer, Luke Kirby, is unlikely to bother her as he's now living in the UK. But on a quick trip to Dublin to handle some business and see her parents, she runs into Kirby, who says something that frightens her. The day after returning home, she drives into the slightly bigger town of Glendara to tell Molloy about her run in with her sister's murderer, but she never makes it further than the outskirts of town due to a road closure. Ben walks toward the crowd of town residents spilling over the town green and sees that everyone's watching firefighters at the burning shell of a popular bar. She finds out that the fire was set and starts to wonder if Kirby is connected and in the Inishowen area after all. Thus begins Ben's quest to find the pub arsonist and help solve the murder of one of the bar's wait staff.
THEMES: Facing your past, falling for the wrong person, retribution for a murder, moving on after a loved one has died, believing in yourself
PROS: Setting well laid out and becoming like a character in the story, interesting side characters, fast-paced with good dialogue, character growth throughout, surprising twists, serious issues sprinkled throughout with believable resolution
CONS: None
THE WELL OF ICE is the third book in the Inishowen Mysteries series by Andrea Carter. The story flows seamlessly from one scene to the next, the plot is well thought out, and the side stories are neatly woven to a satisfying ending. If you like your books character-driven with a twist of amateur sleuthing and a hint of Christmas, then you'll definitely want to spend some time with THE WELL OF ICE .
If You Like This, You May Like: DEATH AT WHITEWATER CHURCH and TREACHEROUS STRAND by Andrea Carter, MAX TUDOR NOVELS by G.M. Malliet, THE BANBURY CROSS MURDER SERIES by Ben Westerham, THE CHARLES LENOX MYSTERIES by Charles Finch, RUTH GALLOWAY MYSTERIES by Elly Griffiths, VERA STANHOPE NOVELS , SHETLAND ISLAND MYSTERIES , and THE TWO RIVERS SERIES by Ann Cleeves, KATE SHACKLETON MYSTERIES by Frances Brody
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