A Gruesome Discovery

August 1, 2016
In 1923, the Irish War of Independence has ended, but tensions are still high between the IRA and the ruling government. Vast areas of Cork have been burned by the British auxiliaries, targeting anyone suspected of Republican sympathies. But it's the poor who have suffered most. So when city planner James Doyle is assassinated in the city market, the only shocking thing is that young reporter Sam O'Mahoney is accused of the crime. No one saw Sam kill Doyle, but when the shooting ended, Sam held a gun in his hand. With such damning evidence, it's clear Sam will hang for the deed. His mother pleads with Reverend Mother Aquinas, who was in the market when the shooting took place, to find the real killer. Of course, the Reverend Mother wants to help, but in a city torn by hatred and fear, can she uncover the truth? Period ambience, an intriguing look at a desperate time in Irish history, an absorbing plot, and a wise and intrepid amateur sleuth in the form of the Reverend Mother make this an engaging historical mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

February 1, 2018
Cork, Ireland, 1925. The Reverend Mother Aquinas, who runs a school for Cork's poorest children, receives a gift from a local auctioneeran old trunk labeled School Books. But when she opens the trunk, she's horrified to find the body of businessman Henry Mulcahy inside. The reverend mother has confronted death and murder before, so she knows exactly whom to callDr. Scher, to declare Mulcahy dead, and Inspector Patrick Cashman, to investigate the case. There are many suspects. One is Mulcahy's son, Fred, who rebelled against his strict father and joined the Republican Army. A second is Mulcahy's daughter, Susan, who wants to be a doctor but who, much against her will, has been promised in marriage to Mulcahy's business partner. Or perhaps the killer is Mulcahy's wife, who had been badly treated by her husband. When more deaths occur, the reverend mother decides she cannot wait for the police to solve the case and puts her own keen understanding of human nature and excellent deductive powers to use. A gripping plot, memorable characters, and authentic period ambience make for an engaging read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

January 8, 2018
Set in 1925, Harrison’s solid fourth mystery featuring the Reverend Mother Aquinas (after 2017’s Beyond Absolution) finds her examining a large trunk, a presumed charitable contribution, that’s been delivered to her at St. Mary’s of the Isle convent in Cork, Ireland. The trunk is labeled “old school books,” but the peculiar smell emanating from it puts the reverend mother on guard. An unexpected visitor, Fred Mulcahy, who has ties to the Republican movement, says the trunk might be his property. When she opens the lid, inside is the maggot-covered body of Fred’s father, well-to-do merchant Henry Mulcahy, wedged in with several rotting animal hides. The stricken Fred is surprised—he was expecting guns—and evades her questions before firing a shot into the corpse and making a hasty retreat. Determined to solve Henry’s murder, the reverend mother has to figure out whether his killing was political or personal. As usual, Harrison does a fine job mixing the explosive politics of 1920s Ireland with details of ordinary life. Agent: Peter Buckman, Ampersand Agency (U.K.).

January 1, 2018
In 1925 Cork, Ireland, a horrifying find in an old trunk leads an unlikely sleuth to further discoveries scarcely less shocking.A smelly trunk arrives from the auction house of Mr. Hayes, a gift to the school from the Reverend Mother's cousin Lucy. Instead of the expected old school books, it contains the dead body of Mr. Mulcahy, a wealthy tanner, packed with a bunch of decomposing skins. Mulcahy's son Fred arrives on the scene just after the Reverend Mother opens the trunk; he was evidently expecting a different trunk, with a shipment of guns for the Irish Republican Army. Although he's appalled to see his dead father, he's so far from mourning the loss that he shoots the body through the heart before taking off. The Reverend Mother calls Inspector Patrick Cashman, a former pupil whom she and medical examiner Dr. Scher have helped before (A Shocking Assassination, 2016, etc.). Poor, clever Eileen, another former pupil, who works for a printer and is also involved with the Republicans, snatches Fred away from the police on her motorbike and barely escapes trouble herself when Fred tries to flee on a fishing trawler. The Reverend Mother meanwhile fills Patrick in on the Mulcahy family, a large group with a long-suffering wife and mother, who were just moving into a brand new house, selling the old one, and moving the tanning yard when Mulcahy was killed. The oldest daughter, Susan, wanted to become a doctor, but her father was determined to marry her instead to his business acquaintance Richard McCarthy, the executor of his will, who claims that they'll need to sell the new house to support the family. Susan, who helped keep the books, is certain there's plenty of money. With help from Eileen, she sets out to prove that McCarthy and a new lawyer are hiding it. There are so many suspects, from Mulcahy's family members to his business enemies, that the sleuths can only pray that following the money will lead to the killer.The competent and exacting detective's contacts and knowledge of Cork again help her solve a difficult mystery in fine fashion.

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