Cruel Winter

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.

I liked the situation of a bunch of people in a bar listening to suspected killer Diane tell her side of the story while a storm rages on. Maura asks a lot of questions and comes up with some theories. The story rambled a bit between discussing the murder and discussing the storm. A light mystery that was mildly interesting.

This is one of my favorite cozy series as Sheila Connolly brings all my imaginations to life of visiting a pub in a small town in Ireland. Maura Donovan has been in Ireland for less than a year and so she's not sure what to expect when there's talk of a major snowstorm in an area where snowfall is rare. It's all hands-on-deck for the employees and the guest list seems unpredictable. Will it be like the snowstorms she was familiar with in Boston or something completely different? How should she prepare O'Sullivan's pub to care for her employees and pub guests especially when the pub doesn't serve food? What will Maura do to keep everyone comfortable when she realizes one of her guests is a long-standing suspect of an unsolved murder that show more all the locals are well aware?

It's always easy to curl up with a mystery by Sheila Connolly but be sure to curl up with blankets and nourishment for this winter treat! The cold air is swirling snowflakes with no end in sight and there's a different twist for a murder investigation long after the crime. I can hear Maura saying, "Only at O'Sullivan's would this be possible!" show less

A rare snowstorm strands Maura Donovan in her pub along with her staff and several visitors, both local and outsiders. One woman was accused of a murder 20 years ago that had yet to be solved. With nothing but time on their hands, Maura and the others offer to hear her side of the story to see why the garda let her remain free. Maura's fresh eyes on the case turn up some tidbits that were not uncovered in the original investigation, but will it be enough to get the garda to look at it again? While I enjoyed this installment, and especially the audiobook narrator's brogue, I found that the story seemed implausible that it would actually be occurring if this had been real life. However, it did keep me entertained. Readers are not show more introduced to the culprit until the very end when one last piece of information falls into place, and from there things move quickly. It kind of makes it impossible for readers to guess "whodunit" unless they were going with "person or persons unknown." show less

A blizzard is about to hit the village of Leap and Maura is at odds and ends getting supplies ready. A group of people seek shelter in her pub along with a stranger who was accused of murder 20 years ago but there was never enough evidence to arrest her. As the lights go out, gets colder and everyone crowds around the fire, they decide to figure out what happened by listening to the different remembrances of the patrons. Started out okay but dragged on and on.

When a snow storm arrives in the area Maura Donovan plays host to a variety of people in her pub, one of which was a suspect in a murder twenty years previously. So to keep the customers occupied while they are snowed in, the murder is discussed looking for a motive and the real killer.
This is the first in the series that I have read, I don't think it is necessary to have read the previous books.
I found the telling to be too long winded and slow, with a repetition of information. Also Maura seemed to be totally unprepared for winter and a running a pub, and I didn't find the characters that plausible. I can't imagine that I will be reading any of the other books.
A NetGalley Book

CRUEL WINTER by Shelia Connolly is the fifth book in the County Cork Mysteries series.
I like this ‘cozy mystery’ series. I think I like that it takes place in Ireland - County Cork, Ireland - an area I have visited several times. The place names are familiar and the settings interesting.
It is a bit of a leap to call these titles mysteries. There is very little ‘mystery’ and even less tension and suspense. But it is pleasant, relaxing reading and doesn’t require much interaction between the reader and the plot and characters.
In this title, CRUEL WINTER, a serious blizzard is making travel impossible and several people end up at Sullivan’s (the pub that Maura Donovan surprisingly inherited from her grandmother several months show more previous) for the night.
One visitor to Sullivan’s on this snowy evening is Diane Caldwell. Although never formally accused, Diane was suspected of a murder which happened locally over twenty years before.
For something to do during the stormy night, Maura organizes a discussion of the old murder and patrons try to puzzle out the real culprit of the murder of Diane’s neighbor all those years ago.
Our main character, Maura, frustrates me. Her personality is very inconsistent. One minute she is whining and moaning about all her obligations and how can she manage the pub and the next minute, she is bossing everyone around, firing off questions, being assertive and pushy and taking charge of solving a cold case murder. This is a person who hasn’t been to the city of Cork yet which is only 1 hour away; doesn’t know how to buy food or supplies for the pub; is always moaning about taxes, licensing and beer deliveries; and is seemingly bewildered as to how to buy a coat.
One minute I like Maura and am interested in her, and the next second, I feel like throttling her for being so ‘out of it’ and helpless.
All cozy mysteries frustrate me with their lack of tension and consistency, but they are like old, familiar friends one can’t seem to part with.
Try one out and decide! show less

I always love a good locked room story, so when a snowstorm threatens tiny Leap, in Ireland, everyone in town and at Maura Donovan's pub battens down the hatches to prepare, I was ready to be entertained. Not wanting to turn any travelers away, Maura keeps the pub open and is rewarded with several folks, looking to ride out the storm. One is discovered as the chief suspect in a two decades old murder. In this framework, Diane relates the story of what happened the night of that long ago murder, with help from the long memories of some townsfolk. The groups acts as jury, with Maura in charge, all listening and proposing other ideas of how the crime may have been committed. And while it got a bit repetitious, I liked how they group was show more able to come to other conclusions. Although the fifth in a long running series, it would read well alone because of the way this story is told. show less