Tara Meehan is the sleuth in the “Home to Ireland” mysteries. One of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions. So, let’s get to know Tara.
Tara Meehan here, reporting from Galway Ireland. This morning the Galway Bay is calm, and the approaching heatwave has slowed down the pace of this bustling Medieval city. I thought August in New York was bad, and granted, this isn’t typical, in fact Irish people are preparing for this heatwave like Vampires would, shutting their shades and insisting they won’t be venturing out until darkness falls. After my morning stroll, I return to the mill my Uncle Johnny owns– Irish Revivals, where I intend to spend the rest of the day treasure hunting in cardboard boxes.
My interior designer fingers tingle as I examine each object that has arrived this morning. Stained glass windows from an old cathedral. Iron gates from a manor house. A wooden box covered in a light sheen of dust, begging to be opened. Danny O’Donnell, the man I’m not sure is my boyfriend because we’ve never said that and sometimes he disappears for days at a time, is using his muscle to ferry boxes from his truck to the warehouse, stopping once in a while to give me a nod and a smile. Hound, my Irish Wolfhound and I watch from the sidelines. As usual, I have a blueberry scone as big as my head cradled in my hand from the bakery in town, and a mug of coffee clutched in the other. I live in a loft above the mill, and would love to swipe some of the new objects for my space, but Uncle Johnny would have a fit. Taking the merchandise for oneself is not good for business.
But I could take a few pieces to my new shop in town, Salvage, a smaller retail version of the mill. I’m over-the-moon about my Grand Opening, if the permit to open ever arrives. Here I am at thirty-three years of age, officially starting my new ex-Pat life in Ireland. Goodbye New York City, hello Emerald Isle.
My new favorite thing to do is scour the warehouse for pieces to bring to my shop. And given my new shop has a patio, that includes decorative garden items as well, of which we have plenty. Statues, flowers planters, and iron gates that flowering vines love to climb. And guess what? I’ve finally learned to drive. And I have a jeep. Given I have nothing else to do but wait for my permit to open, I’m thinking of taking a ride through neighboring Connemara along the Wild Atlantic Way.
Danny is going on another scouting trip, and Johnny is spending the weekend with Rose, his psychic girlfriend, so I’m riding solo. I’d ask my new best friend Breanna to join me but she has to work this weekend. She’s a clerk at the Garda station, and they keep her busy. Winding roads, jaw-dropping scenery, and a break from work. That’s all a girl needs. Enough waiting. Time for a much-needed distraction. And I won’t bother to consult Rose first, knowing her, those Tarot cards of hers would generate a dire warning. Trouble ahead, do not proceed. But I’m a sensible woman in need of a little adventurous drive along the coast, and my guts says it’s everyone else that should be afraid: full disclosure my driving skills are still a bit wonky.
Murder in Connemara is the second book in the “Home to Ireland” cozy mystery series, released July 29, 2020, only at Barnes & Noble and will release on all platforms and formats in 2021.
In Galway County, a chance at redemption is denied by an unforgiving killer . . .
Former New Yorker and interior designer Tara Meehan is eagerly anticipating the grand opening of her architectural salvage shop Renewals in her newly adopted home of Galway. She’s in the midst of preparations when heiress Veronica O’Farrell bursts in to announce she’s ready for some renewal of her own. To celebrate one year of sobriety, she’s invited seven people she wronged in her drinking days to historic Ballynahinch Castle Hotel in neighboring Connemara to make amends in style.
But perhaps one among them is not so eager to pardon her past misdeeds. Veronica is found lying in the ruins of manor house Clifden Castle with an antique Tara Brooch buried in her heart—the same brooch Tara Meehan admired in her shop the day before, posting a photo with the caption: #Killerbrooch. Now she’s a prime suspect, along with Veronica’s guests, all of whom had motives to stab the heiress. It’s up to Tara to pin down the guilty party . . .
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About the author
Carlene O’Connor is the USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed Irish Village Mysteries and the Home to Ireland Mysteries. She comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland filled with tales in 1897 and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. Carlene currently divides her time between Chicago and the Emerald Isle. Please visit her online at Visit her/his website at CarleneOConnor.net.
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