We’ve just passed St Patrick’s Day on 17th March and our spring weather has finally started to emerge. The daffodils are out and there are buds on the bushes – all encouraging signs of sunnier days around the corner.
This month I decided to focus on three local Northern Irish authors. Claire Allen is from Derry/Londonderry and her thrillers are always excellent – “People Just Don’t Disappear” was an addictive read. Linda Hagan is from Carrickfergus and “A Force to be Reckoned With” is the third in the DCI Gawn Girvin police detective series set in Belfast. Finally, Sheena Wilkinson lives on the northern shores of Lough Neagh and “Miss McVey Takes Charge” is an historical romance set in the 1930s.
Hopefully there is a book here for you to enjoy – even better, if you manage to sit outside in the sunshine to read it!
People don’t just disappear by Claire Allen – five stars
This was my tenth Claire Allan novel and I have to say that I’ve enjoyed every one so far. “People don’t just disappear” is Claire’s most recent novel and it was a great read. Claire lives in Derry/Londonderry and her novels are usually set there with a smattering of other Northern Ireland locations mentioned too.
The main character in this book was Bronagh and the story starts with her getting ready for a two week sunshine holiday with her boyfriend Mal. She arrives back to their home with freshly painted toenails and is interrupted by frantic banging at her front door. She opens the door to discover a six year old boy who is distraught and looking for his “mummy”. He leads her down the road to a car where she discovers an injured woman. The next thing Bronagh discovers is that she is lying on a smelly room in darkness with a pounding headache. The little boy and another woman are also in the room with Bronagh and she quickly realises that she has been kidnapped.
The next day Mal returns home from a business trip in London but there is no sign of Bronagh. Even her mobile phone is in the house and the nosey neighbour Mrs Cosgrove reports that Bronagh had left the front door open on the previous day. Mal soon contacts the police who are slow to respond to a report of a missing woman. But an investigation soon starts and the police are helped out by local investigative journalist Ingrid Devlin who had featured in previous books. The main question is will Bronagh be found before it is too late?
This is a fast moving crime thriller written from the perspective of Bronagh, Mal and Ingrid. It was gripping and addictive and I read it quickly which is always the sign of a good book. I definitely recommend it to crime lovers in Northern Ireland and outside Northern Ireland too.
A Force to be reckoned with by Linda Hagan – three stars
This is my third Linda Hagan book in the DCI Gawn Girvin series. Linda lives in Carrickfergus and this book is based in Carrickfergus, Belfast, Holywood and the north Antrim coast. It’s always lovely to read a book which is set at home on Northern Ireland but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the previous two as I felt there were too many characters and too many deaths so I got a little confused at times.
It starts with a mysterious night time death on the north Antrim coast which only Gawn witnesses. The local police don’t really believe her about it! Then she is off to Belfast to investigate a twenty year old missing person’s case as a personal favour to a senior policeman who is due to retire soon. Gawn then stumbles on to another cold case from around the same time. Is it a linked case? Gawn’s boyfriend Seb even manages to receive some anonymous threats too and his nephew is kidnapped for a short time too. Gawn’s private life is somewhat a mystery but you do manage to get her know her more in this book as well as her relationship with Seb. But will it develop into anything more serious?
There are five more books in this series and I will definitely be checking out some of the others.
Miss McVey takes charge by Sheena Wilkinson – four stars
I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Sheena Wilkinson at a book club in Lurgan last autumn. What an inspirational lady who lives on the northern shores of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. At the book club, I actually won the first book in the series called “Mrs Hart’s Marriage Bureau” and I enjoyed it so much that I thought I would try out the follow-up “Miss McVey Takes Charge”. I wasn’t disappointed. Each book does stand alone but I would recommend reading the two books in order as it gives you a fuller picture of the characters and their background.
Set in the 1930s in Yorkshire, April McVey is in charge of the True Minds Marriage Bureau in Easterbridge. She was originally from Lisnacashan, a small rural village in Co Tyrone where her school chum Evelyn still lived. When Evelyn’s four year old son was tragically killed on a farm accident, she was persuaded to visit April for a short holiday leaving her loveless husband and nosy mother-in-law back in Lisnacashan. As well as insight into daily life in Easterbridge, the book paints the picture of the rise of fascism in Europe and England mainly through the eyes of Felicity, April’s secret lesbian partner.
Overall, this is an historical romance. People were looking for love via the Marriage Bureau as well as some of the more central characters who wanted to find a soul mate. Charlie, a dog loving Catholic horse groom, is the unlikely romantic hero and the burning question is will he find love?
This was a very enjoyable and well-researched story, full of quirky characters especially April herself. It paints a very realistic picture of Yorkshire and Northern Ireland in the 1930s.
Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.
Charles William Eliot
Hopefully I have given you some inspiration about what to read next and if you have any ideas as to what I could read next, please feel free to comment below with your thoughts. Next month, I’m going to read some newly released books including ones by Elly Griffiths and Jennie Godfrey.
Lynda
The Author
Lynda Willis lives in Co Armagh and writes blogs about her rambles in nature as well as rambling about topics close to her heart. This year, she is fundraising for Breast Cancer Now so please click here if you’d like to donate.
