Murder and Kidnapping
Maggie D’arcy has been on an interesting journey over the course of the series. I was very curious to see where we would find her in book four, A Stolen Child. I was impressed with just how author Sarah Stewart Taylor handled this part of Maggie’s journey.
When we first met Maggie, she was a Long Island homicide detective. However, over the course of the series, Maggie has fallen back in love with an old flame in Ireland, and she and her teenage daughter have moved over there. That has meant that Maggie has taken a step back in her career as she’s joined Ireland’s Garda. That’s meant months of training, and, as this book opens, Maggie is on patrol as a rookie. She has friends on the force who will try to help expediate her rise to detective based on her experience in the states, but for now, she has a regular beat in a neighborhood.
One day, Maggie and her partner are called to the scene of a death on their beat to secure the scene before the detectives arrive. Maggie immediately recognizes the address as one they’d been called to a couple of nights before for a potential domestic disturbance. Sure enough, the woman they spoke to then is dead now. Maggie’s concerned that they might have prevented this death if they had done a better job a couple of nights before. But then, she realizes that the dead young woman had a toddler who is nowhere to be found in the flat.
With the missing child, the case quickly takes on a high media profile. With the police already stretched thin, Maggie is loaned to the detectives to help solve the case. Can she figure out what happened before it is too late for the missing child?
The book wastes little time setting up the crime and getting Maggie involved officially in the case. However, I found the pacing a little uneven a couple of times in the middle. Once we get to the end, much of what we have discovered along the way comes into play, and there are several good twists as we race to the logical climax.
What really impressed me about this book was how integral to the story Maggie’s familiarity with the neighbor turned out to be. Yes, she spends part of the book officially investigating the case, and it takes her to other towns. But she does spend some time back on patrol, and it is her knowledge of the people in the neighborhood that provides a few fresh leads. The book couldn’t have been written at any other point in the series and held up as well, and I appreciate that.
As the book progresses, we get to know several of the suspects. That makes the impact of the final act that much stronger. Meanwhile, it was great to catch up with Maggie. While we don’t see as much of her family, I appreciated what we did see, and I liked how some of her relationships at work progressed here.
This is a police procedural, so it has more language than the cozies I often read. It’s also a little darker than most cozies. However, neither is overwhelming, and as long as you know this when you go to pick up the book, you’ll be fine.
As with other books in the series, this book is set in the late 2010’s. I’ll be curious to see how the pandemic is handled, or if this is treated as an alternative universe and that is ignored. Honestly, I will be okay with either possibility.
A Stolen Child is another enjoyable visit to Ireland. Maggie makes a great tour guide. If you are looking for a solid police procedural set outside the United States, you’ll be glad you picked up this book.
Enjoy the rest of the Maggie D’arcy Mysteries.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
I'm hoping to read the first book in the series soon. I've heard such good things about it and this one sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the first one and need to catch up! Thanks for the review and reminder.
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