No Strangers Here

Irish Vet Mysteries, Book 1

By: Carlene O'Connor

Narrated by: Emily O'Mahony

Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in Ireland’s striking, rugged countryside, USA Today bestselling author Carlene O’Connor’s dark, atmospheric new crime fiction series combines the eerie atmosphere of Tana French and Louise Penny with the compulsively taut plotting of Dervla McTiernan and Lucy Foley, as an Irish veterinarian grapples with life, death, family dynamics, and the secrets at the heart of her small community…

On a rocky beach in the southwest of Ireland, the body of Jimmy O’Reilly, sixty-nine years old and dressed in a suit and his dancing shoes, is propped on a boulder, staring sightlessly out to sea. A cryptic message is spelled out next to the body with sixty-nine polished black stones and a discarded vial of deadly veterinarian medication lies nearby. Jimmy was a wealthy racehorse owner, known far and wide as The Dancing Man. In a town like Dingle, everyone knows a little something about everyone else. But dig a bit deeper, and there’s always much more to find. And when Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien is dispatched out of Killarney to lead the murder inquiry, he's determined to unearth every last buried secret.

Dimpna Wilde hasn’t been home in years. As picturesque as Dingle may be for tourists in search of their roots and the perfect jumper, to her it means family drama and personal complications. In fairness, Dublin hasn’t worked out quite as she hoped either. Faced with a triple bombshell—her mother rumored to be in a relationship with Jimmy, her father’s dementia is escalating, and her brother is avoiding her calls—Dimpna moves back to clear her family of suspicion.

Despite plenty of other suspects, the guards are crawling over the Wildes. But the horse business can be a brutal one, and as Dimpna becomes more involved with her old acquaintances and haunts, the depth of lingering grudges becomes clear. Theft, extortion, jealousy and greed. As Dimpna takes over the family practice, she's in a race with the detective inspector to uncover the dark, twisting truth, no matter how close to home it strikes…

©2022 Mary Carter (P)2022 Recorded Books

Wish I had read reviews

I have read every single one of Carlene O'Connors books and loved them all, so I was excited that there was going to be a new series and I eagerly ordered this one. I like to listen to books while I'm quilting, so often get audible books. However, I wish I had read the reviews before purchasing the audible version. I had pre-ordered the book as I knew the author and I can't even remember if a sample of the narration was available. If it was, I'm not sure there would have been enough to be able to make an intelligent choice. Perhaps. At any rate, I hate to leave bad reviews about narrators. I had no trouble at all with the Irish accent as some have stated. I've listened to Irish narrators on other books and it isn't an issue. The problem here is that this book is just read in a very monotonous tone which makes it VERY DIFFICULT to stay engaged and puts one right to sleep. There is no inflection of voice tone, no changing of the voice for different characters. It just goes on and on as if one is listening to the most hated book they every had to read that maybe was required back in high school when reading mattered. Honestly, the voice was so monotonous that I had to go back and re-listen to chapters as I found myself wandering off. I did this at least THREE times and never made it past chapter 5. By the third time of re-listening to a chapter, I figured I should give up. Now, the trouble is I have to decide if the book is going to be good or not. I can't imagine one of O'Connors books NOT being good, but she really needs to pick a different narrator for this series. Or is it the publisher who picks narrators? Should I go and get the Kindle version of this book and just read it? What to do? I can't tell by the first 5 chapters of the audio version because if someone asked me I'd say this was a very boring book. I sure wish I hadn't spent the money on the audio version.

Good story!! Great descriptions…

Excellent story and good characters. Finally a mystery with all the loose sends tied up! Cant wait for the next thriller in Dingle!

Great Story, terrible narrator

This is a great story! Deep and complex characters, compelling story! Unfortunately, due to the narrator, I almost abandoned it. The narrator is monotone, completely flat, and halting. Truly amateurish, and made it difficult to continue listening.

Good plot

The story kept me interested although it took a stretch of imagination to believe all of it.

Couldn't get past the narrator.

Love Carlene O'Connor's books but this narrator didn't work for me. Monotonous tone and didn't give life to the characters. Stopped listening after only a few chapters. I tried, but not worth the credit. Perhaps will try this one on Kindle instead and imagine Caroline Lennon narrating it.

Great story, monotonous narrator

The story was gripping, atmospheric and well written. The narrator did not put any personality into the characters or the reading, which made it hard to give it my attention.

Worth to wait..did not disappoint!

I am a big fan of O’Connor’s Murder in an Irish Village Series so I was very much waiting for this new cast. This is a bit less “cozy” but every bit as good. The characters are well developed and interesting. The sense of place was fantastic. I could not wait to listen to the next chapter but now am sad it is finished! Narrator was perfect. MORE PLEASE!!!

Terrific Story

Unfortunately, this narrator needs to listen to O’Connor’s other narrators. The performance was lackluster at best. The story, however, was fantastic.

Great story

The narration took a little to get into but after the third chapter I was hooked

Dark, atmospheric, and engrossing

I’ve read a number of the author’s titles and this was a distinct turn from her previous series. I wasn’t sure at first but the mystery pulled me in. An excellent read for a chilly autumn day.