eyes.2c Reviews

The Women on Platform Two : A Novel  by Laura Anthony      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Poignant story set in  Ireland in the late 60’s early 70’s. Attitudes towards women in Dublin are . Contraception is not allowed. Pregnant girls are thrown out onto the streets. Let’s not even talk about the Magdalene Laundries. Girls die from backyard treatments. Women are their husband’s chattels, abuse in marriage is common but never talked about. The story of a group of women for various reasons who challenge the law is based on a true story, heroic and life changing. The law is different across the border in Northern Ireland. The women take a stand. We join Saoirse in 2023 Dublin. She’s just discovered she and her partner Miles aren’t pregnant. She needs to getaways to think. She ends up on a train bound for Belfast with an older woman Maura Davenport bound for Belfast, and is enthralled by the story Maura tells. So much so that she ends up staying on the train. A courageous loo...

The Darkening H ills (Detectives Harvey & Birch Murder Mysteries #4 )  by Kerry Buchanan         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I must admit to being seduced into reading this title by the Publisher’s Blurb, “ an electrifying crime thriller full of breathtaking twists, set amid the lonely hills of County Antrim, Northern Ireland.” I full heartedly agree. This had it all, a heart stopping criminal investigation which leads into unexpected and personal places. A frenzied and horrific killing of an old man, Rob Harris, in a lonely cottage “far from the maddening crowd,” opens up so many avenues of inquiry, but all appear to be tied up in red tape! Detective Sergeant Aaron Birch is the main character. He’s been sent to this part of the world as a relief placement. Detective Inspector Asha Harris is monitoring the situation. His team is varied, unexpected and often surprising. Intriguing main and secondary characters that I’m hoping we’ll see more of. A great read! A Joffe Books ARC...

The Cold Light of Day  (Verity Kent #7)   by Anna Lee Huber       ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sidney and Verity are secretly sent to Dublin to find out what’s happened to Captain Alec Xavier. On their own cognizance they’re pursuing news of Lord Ardmore and the stolen cylinders of phosgene, a deadly poisonous gas. They’re appalled at the situation in Ireland and the British Governments policy of coercion, following the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act. The Black and Tans are a disgrace. The intelligence community is slack and privileged.  Indeed they’re asked to investigate a scandal by the viceroy Lord French. A young woman, Miss Kavanagh, of  an  aristocratic family had been attacked by the IRA in her back garden, her hair chopped off and left as an example for stepping out with a British Officer, a Lieutenant Delgrange. She was distraught by her parents’ attitude and committed suicide.  That’s not the complete story and Verity’s anger builds as she and ...

Galway Confidential  (Jack Taylor #17) by Ken Bruen        ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ok, I never tire of Jack Taylor. Hard bitten, alcoholic ex Guardia turned detective, who lives around the edges, alternating between kindness, generosity, driven intent, all whilst shrugging his shoulders at the world that passes him by. He’s totally outrageous. A mostly cynical, Jameson drinking, hard living, all softened by his easily accepting Irish charm. Jack’s been in a coma for the last eighteen months. The world has passed him by. He’s essentially missed Covid, the English Parliament destroying itself, Liz Truss and her shortest reign as Prime Minister in history, the craziness of Brexit, the war in Ukraine—all whilst he was non compus mentis. Now he’s being asked to find out who’s killing nuns. Oh, and who’s setting homeless people alight? Welcome back, Jack! The world has been a poorer place with you out of action. Bruen’s conversation style, hard hitting language, softened by the o...

Secrets of an Irish House  by Ann O'Loughlin    ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’ll be frank. Yes, I did tear up at certain parts in this tale. How could I not? Katie Williams’s partner of six years dies in a subway shooting. Katie had asked Harry to take an Uber but roadworks made the journey too time consuming. Harry had ended his life in the wrong place at the wrong time. The reading of the Will has Katie, and Harry’s ex wife and business partner Maggie, discovering that all the money has gone. Harry had secretly bought a place in Ireland that they knew nothing about.  Kilcashel House in Wicklow County. To inherit they must both go to Ireland and live at Kilcashel Housefor ten months. What they find is an empty, half renovated mansion on the sea, with a life tenant occupying the gate lodge. Anna Walker is a somewhat grumpy woman who wants them gone. Both women have been screwed over by Harry. Katie’s passion is baking. She was to have opened a Bagel Bakery in Manhattan. Maggie is an expe...