Some days, I can’t believe that I’ve lived in Ireland for a year. I had no long-term plans when I arrived. I simply wanted to meet my biological father and sort out the mysteries of my family. It was a question of identity, I suppose. Who am I?
Well, who I am, as I learned, is the daughter of a celebrated matchmaker in rural County Clare. Despite my misgivings, my father, Liam the Matchmaker, as he’s called, is grooming me for the position because he “won’t be here forever.” His sorry words, not mine. As part of my training, I’m acting as his right-hand woman during this year’s Matchmaking Festival.
As a matter of fact, here I sit under a caravan tent in the Lisfenora village plaza. Beside me, Liam wears his signature purple top coat with tails and a fluffy scarf to ward off the September chill. He’s slender, frail almost, but still holds himself erect. He sits with lovelorn singles and performs a kind of conversational magic to get them to open up to him. I take notes in his matchmaking ledger and try to learn the “trade” by example.
I don’t feel confident in my abilities, or that I’m necessarily meant to stay in Ireland for the rest of my life. I need to figure out what I want, and I will one way or the other before the end of the festival.
Meanwhile, here I sit shivering because an unaccountable mist has descended on us. It creeps in over the fields and around the corners of the buildings that surround the plaza. It’s clammy, oppressive, reminding me that even after a year, I’m an outsider here. Worse, in some circles I’m an outcast. No one wants an ex-Californian as matchmaker. A pretender to the throne, that’s what I am in the eyes of the locals.
The barest whisper of a breeze brushes my skin, almost tickling me. I feel bare—revealed, as it were—before the gaze of the skeptical locals who hang out in the plaza, eyeing me as if I’m about to spread a pox through their ranks. Without thinking, I reach up to fiddle with my talisman necklace and touch skin instead.
The moonstone necklace is the only memento I have from my mother, and a few days ago I thought I’d lost it forever when that troubled woman who doesn’t talk—Gemma—yanked it off my neck right here in the plaza. Thankfully, I found her in Alan’s pub and she returned it—but without a proper explanation. Now, it’s getting repaired.
Moonstones are said to enhance intuition, and I could use a little of my moonstone’s intuitive powers about now. There’s something about Gemma . . . I don’t know anything about her—yet—except that she arrived with her brother last week. I have the strangest feeling about her. As if she’s somehow connected to the boy who was murdered in Blackie’s Pasture a few days ago.
Whispers in the Mist is the second book in the County Clare mystery series, published by Midnight Ink, August 2016.
There’s a whisper in the mists
In Lisfenora, Ireland, a strange fog has rolled in off the Atlantic. Along with the fog comes tales of the Grey Man, a predatory faery of local lore who snatches innocent souls into his deadly gloom.
And with the mists come murder
When a teenage boy dies in Detective Sergeant Danny Ahern’s arms, Danny finds himself pursuing his own grey man, a killer who becomes more elusive the closer Danny gets to the truth. A mute woman may be the key to solving the murder and helping Danny heal his own broken life, but first she must unlock the memories from her past.
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About the author
Lisa Alber writes the County Clare mysteries. Her debut novel, Kilmoon, was nominated for the Rosebud Award 
of Best First Novel. Kirkus calls Whispers in the Mist a “worthy successor to Kilmoon in tone, mood, complexity, and keen insight into human failures and triumphs.” She balances writing her third novel (Midnight Ink, August 2017) with gardening, dog-walking, and goofing off. She lives in Portland, OR.
You can find Lisa online at lisaalber.com, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for Lisa’s newsletter HERE and receive a free anthology e-book.
All comments are welcomed.
Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Whispers in the Mist. US entries only, please. The giveaway will end August 25, 2016 at 12 AM (midnight) EST. Good luck everyone!
Thanks for introducing me to a new series & author. Thanks for the chance to win.
Thanks for visiting, Doward!
Sounds interesting and creepy. Thanks.
Thanks!
I can’t wait to get over to my library and take out Kilmoon! Fingers crossed I can then read Whispers in the Mist next! Thanks for the chance!
Thanks, Bec — I love my local library:-)
I am just getting familiar with Lisa Alber’s books and just downloaded Kilmoon onto my Kindle Fire. It would be wonderful to win Whispers in the Mist. Thanks for the opportunity. robeader53@yahoo.com
Thanks for downloading Kilmoon — hope you enjoy it and Whispers!
Great atmosphere. I’d love to read it.
Hi Elizabeth, I love fog/mist in general — I grew up in the San Francisco/Bay Area. 🙂
Gives me the chills. Gotta read it!
Thanks, CJ!
Love stories about Ireland. This one sounds interesting
and unique. Would love to win it.
thanks.
Thanks, Mary Lou — I have fun with the novel research — in Ireland. 🙂
Ireland! I’ve always wanted to visit.
Hi Amy — Ireland’s the best, beautiful and wonderful people. I like setting my stories there because I can play with the mood/atmosphere so much.
A new to me series that sounds really interesting!
Hi Dianne — hope you enjoy series a little on the darker side! 🙂
sounds spooky/eerie and I so want to read it!! Thank you for the chance!
Thanks for entering the giveaway, Johnna!
I’m always looking for new-to-me authors to try. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Thanks for visiting, Elaine!
Your book sounds like it is filled with so much atmosphere as well as a great mystery. I look forward to reading it, and appreciate your sharing A Day in the Life with us!
Thanks, Celia — love a little fog/mist for atmosphere!
“Whispers in the Mist” sounds like an intriguing read. I’ve heard of the old time matchmakers, but have never read anything about them. Can’t wait to read. Thanks for the chance.
diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks, Dianne! And one of the inspirations was an actual matchmaker in Ireland named Willie Daly. 🙂
I would love to win a print copy of Whispers in the Mist. Sounds like an interesting book.
Thanks, Cathy!
Enjoyed Kilmoon – looking forward to reading Whispers In The Mist.
Thanks, Mary, for saying so!
I’d love to visit Ireland, this sounds like the next best thing to an actual trip there. Thanks for the chance to win it.
Yes please Dru. Toss my name into the magic hat.
The cover and title drew me right in! Sounds very mysterious!
Thank you for the opportunity to win this enticing book!
Intriguing post and a must read. Thanks for the intro to a new author/reads Would love an early start. Thanks for the chance to do so
Oh my, a cozy written about Ireland! How interesting! Thanks for the chance Dru!
Sounds like a great read.
New to me Author Looks Great Thanks for sharing it with us
New-to-me author/series……
Thank you for the giveaway!!!
Sounds really good and an air of mystery adds to it. Thank you for the contest. Marilyn
ewatvess@yahoo.com
A mystery set in Ireland sounds good. I read a lot of English mysteries, but not Irish ones.