An Early Wake

County Cork Mystery, Book 3

By: Sheila Connolly

Narrated by: Amy Rubinate

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Summer is ending in County Cork, Ireland, and with it the tourist season. Expat Maura Donovan is determined to keep Sullivan's Pub in the black as the days grow shorter - but how? When she hears that the place was once a hot spot for Irish musicians who'd come play in the back room, she wonders if bringing back live music might be Sullivan's salvation.

As word gets out, legendary musicians begin to appear at the pub, and the first impromptu jam session brings in scores of music lovers. But things hit a sour note when Maura finds a dead musician in the back room the next morning. With a slew of potential suspects, it's going to take more than a pint and a good think to force a murderer to face the music.

©2015 Sheila Connolly (P)2015 Tantor

It Makes Me Want A Pint

Any additional comments?

There is not wall to wall action but there are characters that you find yourself caring about.

Another well done audiobook

This is a great series. Within a few pages you feel like you're actually in Ireland and are friends with all the residents. Now I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

An Early Wake

This was a great story . And the performance was wonderful. Loved the characters interaction. Ready for the next one!

Accent

Please pay a little more and hire readers from the native country of the books origin!

Another Enjoyable Installment

Another Enjoyable Installment of the series. good writing, vivid characters and good narration. highly recommended.

Slow but enjoyable

An Early Wake is the second book in this series. I read the first one and really liked it. I am not sure if the overall storyline was just slower in this book than the first or that the performance was lacking but it took some determination to stick with the one. The mystery doesn’t really start until Chapter 12. It is hard to accept the girl from Boston without any Boston accent. I’ll wait before I pick up the third book for sure

Disappointing after the Excellent Book 2!

In <strong>An Early Wake</strong> by Sheila Connolly, Maura Donovan has owned Sullivan's Pub in Leap, Ireland for six months. One day Tim Reilly, a student from Trinity College in Dublin, comes into the bar and eagerly begins to ask questions about the 90s' tradition of gathering musicians and having informal performances that packed out the building. Unfamiliar with the history of the pub, Maura directs Tim to Old Billy, a regular in the pub who gets free beer by telling local tales from the past to visitors. Old Billy eagerly tells Tim and Maura about the musical past of the pub, and the next day, a middle aged man walks into the pub. Tim can hardly talk out of excitement, as the man is Neil Cronan, an Irish musical star from the 90s. Soon, aging musicians begin streaming into the pub, and Mick Nolan, one of the pub employees, cleans up the back room where the jam sessions used to take place.

The next night people crowd into the pub as the musicians take turns playing together in a casual jam session. It brings new life to the pub and rejuvenates both musicians and locals alike. But the next morning when Maura shows up tp open up the pub, she discovers the body of musician Aidan Crowley, dead of a heart attack brought on by being throttled. Local police officer Sean Murphy gets to work trying to solve the murder, while Maura and her colleagues try to figure out how to carry on with life amid the hectic elements of life.

I really loved the first two books of this series, but I was disappointed by <strong>An Early Wake</strong>. The book had a very limited mystery plot, and besides Maura, I didn't get a strong sense of the individualism of each character either. A lot of details seemed less than realistic and not as genuine as I would like, such as the fact that Maura doesn't realize that the back room has many special features including a stage and a balcony.

Amy Rubinate performs the audio edition of this book. I enjoyed her voicing of the characters, using a variety of accents, in particular Maura's Boston accent and the Irish accent of the locals. She brings out the passion of the musicians and local music lovers, doing a lot to make this book much more enjoyable than reading it visually would become.

<strong>An Early Wake</strong> was not up to the high standards I've come to expect from Sheila Connolly. However, even the best can have an off day, so I will still listen to the next book in the series. I give this book two and a half stars.

An interesting, albeit obvious, setup for another sequel

This was a pleasant enough read, though I don't feel it was as strong as the second book. However, it gave some new glimpses into the pub itself, refreshing looks at some of the earlier characters, and, I feel, a lot of promise for future volumes.

Amy Rubinate is inhabiting the characters And the various accents much more comfortably with each book. I look forward to her work in the future.

too much emphasis on words

Almost had to put this one down. The performers emphasis at the end of sentences was unnecessary and distracting.

Reiteration City!

Would you try another book from Sheila Connolly and/or Amy Rubinate?

In a series, authors must bring readers up to speed. I get that. And newbies who haven't read earlier entries need extra filling in. I get that, too. But this book isn't just filled in; it's padded. No opportunity is wasted to explain each character, each relationship, each history, over and over, till one begins complaining to the narrator, "Stop! We know that." Which is a shame because the narrator has finally dropped the Brooklyn/Boston accent and deserves praise. Oh, well, I'm a sucker for a series, and there's only one book left. Here's hoping an otherwise lovely setting and premise get a full enough plot to cover the publisher's page requirement. If so, I'll try another of the author's books.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting: The mood and setting of out-of-the-way Ireland.
The least: The economy.

Which character – as performed by Amy Rubinate – was your favorite?

Moira, now that she's dropped the Brooklyn/Boston accent, and Bridgette.

Do you think An Early Wake needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Probably not for this particular book. I don't care enough about Tim to care who his father is.

Any additional comments?

Tell me more about:
The buildings (pub and cottage)
The fishing and animal husbandry.