A Turn for the Bad by Sheila Connolly

A Turn for the Bad by Sheila Connolly ISBN-13: 9780425273425 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: Feb. 2, 2016

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
After calling Ireland home for six months, Boston expat Maura Donovan still has a lot to learn about Irish ways—and Sullivan’s Pub is her classroom. Maura didn’t only inherit a business, she inherited a tight-knit community. And when a tragedy strikes, it’s the talk of the pub. A local farmer, out for a stroll on the beach with his young son, has mysteriously disappeared. Did he drown? Kill himself? The child can say only that he saw a boat.

Everyone from the local gardai to the Coast Guard is scouring the Cork coast, but when a body is finally brought ashore, it’s the wrong man. An accidental drowning or something more sinister? Her employee, Mick, thinks that the missing farmer might have run afoul of smugglers. The brother of the missing man asks Maura for help; he has information that he can't share with the police.


My Review:
A Turn for the Bad is a suspense novel. It's the fourth in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one. This book spoiled some events from the previous novels, but not the whodunits.

The characters were interesting and realistic. The first half of the story developed various relationships and set things up for suspense of the second half. Maura discovers the probable location of the missing man, but she can't tell the police without putting his life in danger. She and her friends cook up a daring plan to save him. The suspense built up nicely due to the physical danger to those involved and the possibility that the police won't approve of their actions even if they pull it off.

There was no sex. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.