ARC Review: No Comfort for the Dead by R. P. O'Donnell

No Comfort for the Dead
Author: R. P. O'Donnell
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (February 11, 2025)

Description: After witnessing a murder, a small-town librarian is forced to act when the local police arrest the wrong man, perfect for fans of Dervla McTiernan and Carlene O’Connor.

1988, West Cork, Ireland. Emma Daly has returned to her home in Castlefreke, a small and peaceful village where everybody knows everybody. She has taken over the local library and is trying not to think about the scandal she left behind in the city. But when the richest man in the village is murdered and the main suspect is the mysterious son of a local family, her charming small-town life is turned upside down.

Emma knows for a fact that there is more to the story, and when the family asks her to investigate, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Teaming up with a stubborn widow, an elderly hypochondriac, and her high school sweetheart, it is up to Emma to solve the mystery before either the police or the murderer can stop her.

My Thoughts: This historical mystery set in West Cork, Ireland, in 1988 stars a librarian who has come back to her hometown in disgrace. Emma Daly breezed through university and was building a career with the police until an affair with an older officer caused her to be fired and blackballed. She heads home to lick her wounds and winds up running the local library.

When the owner of the Big House is found murdered and the main suspect is a local who left town thirty years earlier, Emma is asked by the man's family to look into the case. Emma's devotion to Sherlock Holmes has fueled her love of mystery but this one is tough. She has no authority and the local police are less than welcoming.

She soon learns that there is more to the crime than a simple burglary gone wrong which is the police's viewpoint. She is assisted in her investigation by a local widow who has been isolated and overlooked most of her life and her former boyfriend who has come back to Castlefreke under mysterious circumstances. 

The story sounds straightforward. However, the execution was marred in my opinion by being too "literary" and too introspective. I found myself skimming a lot as I tried to follow the mystery and avoid the social commentary, the characters all falling apart, and the whole issue of dying Irish villages struggling to hold on. 

Fans of that sort of wandering, introspective story will enjoy this one. I like a more straight forward story with characters who are less stuck in their own heads. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.