Treacherous Strand by Andrea Carter

Treacherous Strand: An Inishowen Mystery by Andrea Carter --- 312 pages including Acknowledgements. 

The second book is a new mystery series set on the remote Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland, and featuring Benedicta O'Keefe, a solicitor and amateur sleuth.

Ben fled a promising career in Dublin in the aftermath of a family tragedy that left her wracked with guilt, and seems to be seeking some kind of redemption by championing the lost and lonely in the small town of Glendara,where she is accepted professionally but still an outsider personally.

Melodramatic and impetuous, Ben is supposedly a sensitive soul, but can be obtuse to the point of rudeness in her interactions with friends and suspects. This time out Ben is championing the cause of a fragile Frenchwoman who washed up like so much debris on the shores of the Isle of Doagh. Marguerite Etienne was a mystery in a small town suspicious of outsiders. The local garda investigation concludes that Marguerite committed suicide, but Ben refuses to believe it. When the police close the case, Ben sets out to prove them wrong.

A sequel to Death at Whitewater Church, and to be followed by a third book, The Well of Ice, and a fourth, Murder at Greysbridge.  Having once visited Inishowen Peninsula, I can attest to Carter's accuracy in capturing the wild solitude of the place.

Click HERE to read Andrea Carter on establishing the location for a story in writing.ie

Click HERE to red a review from the Irish Times.

Click HERE to read a review from Crime Reviews.

Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.

Death at Whitewater Church by Andrea Carter

Death at Whitwater Church: An Inishowen Mystery by Andrea Carter --- 342 pages including Acknowledgments.

The first book in Irish author Andrea Carter's mystery series set in the windswept and rugged far northwest of Ireland has just been published in America.

Solicitor (lawyer) "Ben" O'Keeffe discovers a skeleton in the crypt of a deconsecrated church near Glendara, on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal.  The people in Glendara immediately assume these must be the bones of a local man, Conor Deavitt, who went missing six years ago on the very day of his wedding.

But when Sergeant Tom Molloy of the local Garda send the remains for forensic analysis, it turns out it's not Conor Deavitt after all.  Since Ben represents the owners of the church, who are anxious to sell it, she becomes involved in the case, and her curiosity keeps her looking for answers. And more than curiosity, as Ben discovers people are hiding secrets --- and that reminds her of the secrets she is hiding about her own life.

An intriguing mystery, based in part on an actual tragedy from the years of "the Troubles" in Ireland's recent past. Plus evocative descriptions of the stark beauty of Ireland's remote northwest and the self sufficient folk who live there, for those who have been or want to go. The author has already published three additional titles in the series, so hopefully those books will also be published in the U.S.

Click HERE to read an interview with the author from the Irish Times.

Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read the review from Kirkus Reviews.