Cruel Winter

A County Cork Mystery

By: Sheila Connolly

Narrated by: Amy Rubinate

Snow is a rarity in Maura Donovan's small village in County Cork, Ireland, so she wasn't sure what to expect when a major snowstorm rolled in around Sullivan's pub. But now she's stranded in a bar full of patrons - and a suspected killer in a long-ago murder.

Maura's been in Ireland less than a year and hasn't heard about the decades-old unsolved crime that took place nearby, let alone the infamous suspect, Diane Caldwell. But the locals have, and they're not happy to be trapped with her. Diane, meanwhile, seeks to set the record straight, asserting her innocence after all this time. And since no one is going anywhere in the storm, Maura encourages Diane to share her side of the story, which she'd never had a chance to do in court.

Over the next few hours, the informal court in Sullivan's reviews the facts and theories about the case - and comes to some surprising conclusions. But is it enough to convince the police to take a new look at an old case?

A clever spin on the classic locked-room mystery, Cruel Winter, the fifth in New York Times best-selling author Sheila Connolly's series, will delight fans of the Emerald Isle.

©2017 Sheila Connolly (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

very simplistic

The book is a quick in easy listen. They paint a really nice picture of Ireland and the people who live there. They also show how living in a small community can be tough because everyone knows your business. I enjoyed the story right up until the last 2 or 3 chapters when they made some off handed comment about gun control. There was no reason for it and really no place in the story for it. It stuck out like a sore thumb. it also showed the ignorance of the author.

Snowed In and Solving Old Crime

Unlike some other listeners, I found Cruel Winter to be a great addition to the series. I love all the characters in County Cork and how they have welcomed Maura Donovan as the pub owner. The quirky, sometimes closed minded people, are fun to get to know, and when Maura learns about the 20 year old unsolved murder case still hanging over Diane Caldwell's head, she's taken aback. The biggest snow storm in ages, gives the folks at the pub an opportunity to hear first hand what actually happen all those years ago, and Maura gets caught up in the story. Excellent conclusion, well worth the wait.

Compelling story

Delightful mix of characters trapped together in an old tavern during a snowstorm. Great setup for solving a 20-year-old murder. Twists and turns. Engaging.

Not up to Sheila Connolly's usual standard

This audio book is 7 & 1/2 hours long. Unfortunately, there were only about 2 hours of story here. The author starts with a storm and a mysterious woman in the bar. Then she proceeds to tell the woman's story over, and over, and over and over again. I got so sick of Maura "reviewing" or "summarizing" the facts in her head and to the group that I could have smacked her one. There was zero advancement of the series ongoing story of romance between Maura and Sean or Mick, an infinitesimal bit about Jillian and Harry, a tiny bit about Maura wondering, (but not deciding) what to do with the bar, and several repetitions of praise for Rose's cooking. It's like Ms Connolly had an idea and a deadline, so she just repeated her material until she had enough words down to call it a novel. Don't waste money or a credit on this. Buy the paperback and read the first two and last three chapters, and you will get the gist of it.

Great series

This series contains believable characters and well thought out plots. My husband enjoys the stories too.