A Distant Grave

 Last year, I got an early copy of Sarah Stewart Taylor's The Mountains Wild and enjoyed it, but it felt, at first, like an uphill trudge then got so good I read til wee hours of the night. I got an email that Taylor had a new book coming out this week and would I like a copy to read? Why yes, yes I would.

I downloaded A Distant Grave, Maggie D'Arcy #2, and went on essentially the same rollercoaster. I'm wondering if this is the style of the author since this is only the second book of hers I've read. I'm definitely not arguing with the style (maybe the wee hours in the night thing should stop. I'm getting old.)

Maggie is back in Long Island, investigating a homicide of a man shot to death on a beach. We find his name is Gabriel Treacy and he's from Ireland. Which, coincidentally is the same place  Maggie and her daughter Lilly are heading to for vacation. In the first book, Maggie reunites with Conor and, in this book, they are a full on, very long distance couple. Conor doesn't seem thrilled with Maggie's career choice and is concerned this murder might make her miss her vacation. Maggie mixes vacation with work and, while in Dublin, continues investigating Treacy's past.

Treacy's past is a doozy, to be honest. The investigation is nicely intermixed with stories from Gabriel himself about what happened to him when he was kidnapped as an aid worker in Afghanistan. When another murder happens in Ireland that appears related to Treacy's murder, things get a bit twisted up. The American murder throws in some twist with the murder weapon that confuses matters but eventually Maggie puts all the pieces together, while everything around her is really falling apart. She's a pretty stellar detective and honestly, I hope she ignores that boyfriend of hers enough to keep going on her path. 

There were just a few pieces that confused me but it's possible I skipped something in the first book. The DA Jay Cooney was incredibly hostile to Maggie in this book and I had a hard time figuring out why. Even with the reveals at the end, his hostility was, hmmm, extreme. Otherwise, this is a really good book, and most likely will be a good series. I really enjoy the America and Ireland connections and the fact that Maggie works well in both.