The Mountains Wild
A Mystery
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3.9 • 38 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
"With its evocative Dublin setting, lyrical prose, tough but sympathetic heroine, and a killer twist in the plot, Sarah Stewart Taylor's The Mountains Wild should top everyone's must-read lists this year!" — New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie
In a series debut for fans of Tana French and Kate Atkinson, set in Dublin and New York, homicide detective Maggie D'arcy finally tackles the case that changed the course of her life.
Twenty-three years ago, Maggie D'arcy's family received a call from the Dublin police. Her cousin Erin has been missing for several days. Maggie herself spent weeks in Ireland, trying to track Erin's movements, working beside the police. But it was to no avail: no trace of her was ever found.
The experience inspired Maggie to become a cop. Now, back on Long Island, more than 20 years have passed. Maggie is a detective and a divorced mother of a teenager. When the Gardaí call to say that Erin's scarf has been found and another young woman has gone missing, Maggie returns to Ireland, awakening all the complicated feelings from the first trip. The despair and frustration of not knowing what happened to Erin. Her attraction to Erin's coworker, now a professor, who never fully explained their relationship. And her determination to solve the case, once and for all.
A lyrical, deeply drawn portrait of a woman - and a country - over two decades - The Mountains Wild introduces a compelling new mystery series from a mesmerizing author.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this languorous series launch from Taylor (the Sweeny St. George mysteries), Long Island, N.Y., homicide detective Maggie D'arcy learns that someone unearthed a scarf belonging to her cousin, Erin Flaherty, while scouring the Wicklow, Ireland, woods for missing schoolteacher Niamh Horrigan. In 1993, when then 23-year-old Erin vanished from Dublin, Maggie flew over and spent weeks hounding the garda , retracing Erin's steps, and interviewing her acquaintances before departing empty-handed. Authorities now suspect that Erin fell victim to a serial killer who may also be holding Niamh, so Maggie takes leave from work and returns to Dublin to resume digging, since solving Erin's disappearance may facilitate Niamh's rescue. Maggie's narrative alternates between past and present, her investigations unfolding in tandem, while infrequent flashbacks to the cousins' childhood chronicle their turbulent relationship. Woolly plotting saps momentum and the denouement feels contrived, but Taylor's affection for Irish geography, history, and culture suffuses the tale, adding texture and atmosphere. Fans of Elizabeth George should take note.
Customer Reviews
A mystery set in Irish country
Maggie, who comes from a long line of proud Irish ancestors, is a homicide detective in New York. Back in the 1990s, her cousin Erin, more like a sister than a cousin, opted to move to Ireland. Then one day her father, Maggie’s Uncle Danny, gets a call that Erin is missing. Maggie hops a plane to Ireland.
During her stay in Ireland, Maggie meets many of Erin’s friends and coworkers, but no one truly seems to have known Erin very well. Maggie follows the leads of things Erin left behind, photos and notes, but the trail seems to simply stop where Erin was last seen. After Maggie has exhausted all resources, she heads home to New York. Erin is never far from her mind, however.
Flash forward twenty years and there is another young girl missing from the same area where Erin was last seen. Maggie is now a celebrated detective having solved a serial killer crime in Long Island. When the call comes to Uncle Danny that something has been found, Maggie reaches out to her contact in Ireland, Detective Byrne. Maggie is suddenly back in Ireland, retracing the steps of Erin once again, and hoping that this time the outcome is different.
Absolutely loved this book. What a ride through past and present watching two young women’s lives forever changed by simple acts. Taylor has written a very compelling and page turning novel with multiple twists that I never could have imagined. She gives us light lessons in the history of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the IRA and Irish Mafia. It is all seamlessly melded together in a cohesive and very well written novel.