Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A baffling murder investigation unearths the spotty history of an Irish psychiatric institution in the entertaining if overbusy latest entry in O'Connor's County Kerry series (after You Have Gone Too Far). As Irish veterinarian Dimpna Wilde walks in her father's funeral procession, she notices that her employee, Niamh Dowd, who was supposed to be there with her boyfriend, Mark Gallagher, is missing. Hours later, Dimpna discovers a blood-soaked, amnesia-stricken Niamh on the side of the road and takes her home. When they arrive, they find a woman's corpse in Niamh's bed, but Niamh swears she has no idea how it got there. Meanwhile, Mark is nowhere to be found, and Dimpna can't find any record of his existence. Detective inspector Cormac O'Brien eventually takes up the case, identifying the dead woman and noticing unmistakable similarities to the recent unsolved murder of a psych ward employee who was investigating a serial killer before she died. O'Connor relies on a few too many false identities to fuel the book's preponderance of third-act plot twists. Still, she's a pro at using cliffhangers to pull the plot forward, and as O'Brien's investigation deepens, fascinating details emerge about the history of Ireland's treatment of the mentally ill. Despite some bumps, this should satisfy the author's fans. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
After being called to help intercede with a man threatening to jump off a coastal cliff holding a dog, Irish veterinarian Dimpna Wilde and her assistant Patrick are returning to the clinic when a blood-spattered figure suddenly appears on the road. The momentary shock grows when Dimpna discovers that it is her office manager Niamh, who seems to have been drugged and is rambling about a dead woman in her bed. Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien is called in to confirm Niamh's grim tale; the dead body in her bed is real. Niamh reveals that she has felt someone watching her for weeks, and Cormac and Dimpna discover that this case is uncannily similar to an incident last year; plus, Niamh's new boyfriend is hiding many secrets. As the murderer turns their focus on Dimpna, every aspect of her life is threatened, including her sanity. To stop the nightmare, Cormac and Dimpna must quickly act to uncover the truth. VERDICT In the fourth in the "County Kerry" series (after You Have Gone Too Far), bestselling O'Connor delivers an emotionally intense and cleverly plotted story with a very atmospheric setting, recalling the work of Dervla McTiernan and Olivia Kiernan.--Joy Gunn
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