A Distant Grave

By: Sarah Stewart Taylor

Narrated by: Marisa Calin

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In the follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Mountains Wild, Detective Maggie D'arcy tackles another intricate case that bridges Long Island and Ireland in A Distant Grave.

Long Island homicide detective Maggie D'arcy and her teenage daughter, Lilly, are still recovering from the events of last fall when a strange new case demands Maggie's attention. The body of an unidentified Irish national turns up in a wealthy Long Island beach community, and with little to go on but the scars on his back, Maggie once again teams up with Garda detectives in Ireland to find out who the man was and what he was doing on Long Island. The strands of the mystery take Maggie to a quiet village in rural County Clare that's full of secrets and introduce her to the world of humanitarian aid workers half a world away. And as she gets closer to the truth about the murder, what she learns leads her back to her home turf and into range of a dangerous and determined killer who will do anything to keep the victim's story hidden forever.

With the lyrical prose, deeply drawn characters, and atmospheric setting that put The Mountains Wild on multiple best of the year lists, Sarah Stewart Taylor delivers another gripping mystery novel about family, survival, and the meaning of home.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

“A fast-paced, tension-filled yarn filled with twists the reader is unlikely to see coming. Taylor tells the story in a lyrical prose style that is a joy to read. She excels in vividly portraying both the rural Ireland and Long Island settings and in developing memorable characters...” (Associated Press)

©2021 Sarah Stewart Taylor (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Narrator ruins the story.

I am returning this book without reading the whole thing because I just cannot abide the narration. She uses too much false alarm and her characters sound unbelievable. She narrated with both an Irish and a New Yooork accent which is also weird - not the characters, the narrator. Anyway I lost interest in the story which may have been good.

Captivating

This atmospheric and sharp series is wonderful on audible. Very much looking forward to Book 4!

A little slow to develop but worth the wait

The story developed a little slowly, but it was well worth the wait. I think Marisa Calin’s performance really brought the story to life. I’m looking forward to the next one.

GREAT Thriller/Detective Story!!

this is the 2d in a projected series of books centered around Irish American NY (Long Island) Detective Maggie D'Arcy. I did listen to the first book, but you don't have to in order to jump right into this one. all the "backstory" is not really required to be totally sucked into the twists and turns of A Distant Grave. it's good! I love a good thriller/espionage type book and this is kind of a mash up with various elements from local cops to international intrigue to war crimes. Sarah Stewart Taylor hits SO MANY interesting plot lines/twists and does it well. I also am a big fan of storylines that leap back and forth in time and provide more than one "point of view." I like books that allow me to really get inside characters heads. A Distant Grave does that really well.

Ireland and Long Island play big roles in the book and it's interesting comparison.

And it is pretty great to read(listen to) a detective/crime/thriller where the protagonist is a woman. But also a GROWN woman who is a single, working mother trying to navigate a career she excels at, being the sole parent to a teenage daughter AND attempting a "romantic relationship."

look ladies, we're ALL super heroes. it's nice to see that actually represented, you know?

Interesting police investigation

The narration is better than for book one, no more exaggerated LI accent. Twisty plot is good. But it’s never satisfying when the crimal just explains everything at the end.

Ruined by narrate or

Stewart Taylor writes an engaging story that is almost ruined by the narrator. Her breathy voice is bad enough but the accent is worse, Irish lilt with New York twang. So distracting I almost stopped listening. Will read the next one rather than listen to it.

Just couldn't do it...

I didn't think the narration could get worse but it did. I struggled through the first book due to the on-again, off-again Long Island accent. Good story but hard to focus. Got this book and wasn't able to get past the 4th chapter. I just couldn't do it anymore. The on-again, off-again Long Island accent is still there but now she's breathy and has an inappropriate lilt and emphasis at odd times and for no apparent reason. The only reason I picked this series up was because Aoife McMahon narrates the third. I thought I'll deal with the first 2 to have a better experience with the third. Not worth it. Again stories are good, to bad about the narrator.

Poor sequel to book 1

The first book in the series was well written and gripping. This book is so slow and rambling with way too many characters. A disappointing sequel, I was really hoping for better.

Deplorable Narration

The narration of this story completely ruins it. The voice of Maggie is either high whiny or low "I'm pretending I'm tough". I was so distracted by this I could't finish the audiobook.