THE DROWNING SEA by Sarah Stewart Taylor is a new mystery which offers a perfect escape to Ireland's rural coast, specifically Ross Head in County Cork. That's where Maggie D'arcy, a former Long Island police investigator, is spending the summer with her Irish boyfriend, Conor Kearney. It's meant to be a relaxing attempt at getting Maggie's teenage daughter, Lilly, acclimated to Ireland and the possibility of a move to Dublin to join Conor and his son, Adrien. However, the remains of a body wash up in the sea; there are parallels to an earlier death associated with a drug raid in the area and Maggie is worried about everyone's safety. She also starts exploring the history of the manor house after a request for help from the former owner, artist Lissa Crawford. With several puzzles to solve and appearances by characters from past books in the series, THE DROWNING SEA is a complicated mystery. The marvelous seaside setting adds greatly to the enjoyment and it generally works as a stand-alone; I am looking forward to reading more from Sarah Stewart Taylor.

Title: The Drowning Sea
Author: Sarah Stewart Taylor
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4.2 out of 5

For the first time in her adult life, former Long Island homicide detective Maggie D’arcy is unemployed. No cases to focus on, no leads to investigate, just a whole summer on a remote West Cork peninsula with her teenage daughter Lilly and her boyfriend, Conor and his son. The plan is to prepare Lilly for a move to Ireland. But their calm vacation takes a dangerous turn when human remains wash up below the steep cliffs of Ross Head.

When construction worker Lukas Adamik disappeared months ago, everyone assumed he had gone home to Poland. Now that his body has been found, the guards, including Maggie's friends Roly Byrne and Katya Grzeskiewicz, seem to think he threw himself from the cliffs. But as Maggie gets to know the residents of the nearby village and learns about the history of the peninsula and its abandoned Anglo Irish manor house, once home to a famous Irish painter who died under mysterious circumstances, she starts to think there's something else going on. Something deadly. And when Lilly starts dating one of the dead man's friends, Maggie grows worried about her daughter being so close to another investigation and about what the investigation will uncover.

Old secrets, hidden relationships, crime, and village politics are woven throughout this small seaside community, and as the summer progresses, Maggie is pulled deeper into the web of lies, further from those she loves, and closer to the truth.

I’ve really enjoyed the other books in this series, and I loved this one, too. I enjoyed the small-town, Irish setting so much! It felt very vivid and realistic to me, and I enjoyed Maggie’s forays into the town and making friends there. I even shared her worry over Lilly and what she was up to! I didn’t figure out who the killer was before the reveal, either, which almost never happens. I highly recommend this series, and this was an excellent read!

Sarah Stewart Taylor lives in Vermont. The Drowning Sea is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Of the three books, so far, in this series, this is my least favorite. I think it's due to the transition for Maggie who is trying to decide what she wants to do. now that she has retired from the police force. She and her daughter Lilly have rented a cottage on the West Cork Peninsula to share with her boyfriend Conor and his son, Adrien. Will she find a way to continue her career in law enforcement by joining the Garda? As that big question looms over her she becomes involved with both a new case and a decades old one. The body of a man missing for months washes up on the beach - accident or homicide? Then her landlady asks for her help finding answers about a decades old disappearance connected to Rosscliffe Manor, an abandoned manor house slatted for redevelopment into a hotel. Some locals are happy about it but others not at all. Which may be hiding a decades old secret?
The atmosphere of the Irish village, the inhabitants and various issues addressed make for an enjoyable read. There are lots of characters to keep straight and that slowed the pace a bit as I tried to stay focused on their relationships. The setting alone makes this a great read. My thanks to the publisher Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the third book in the Maggie D’arcy series and I continue to be a big fan of these books. I loved that this one took place entirely in Ireland and the setting on the West Cork peninsula had me ready to pack my bags and fly east.

My reading has been hit or miss recently as far as finding something to hold my attention and this one was definitely a hit! If you haven’t read this series, I’d highly recommend starting with book one- The Mountains Wild. I reread it before picking up The Drowning Sea and it was great to be back in Dublin with Maggie and co.

In this third in the Maggie D'Arcy mystery series, D'Arcy is vacationing on a rural peninsula in West Cork with her boyfriend and their two teens when she's drawn into a local case involving a real estate development and the deaths of several local immigrant workers.

While Taylor's books always provide a lovely sense of place and interesting, complex characters, this title is my least favorite in the series. The mystery is less engrossing than in the first two books, and the resolution employed one of my pet peeve tropes. The ending was so sudden that I went back and re-read it, thinking I'd missed something. Recommended for die-hard fans of the series, if only to keep up with the development's in D'Arcy's personal life.

I've been enjoying this <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/293527-maggie-d-arcy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Maggie D'arcy</strong></em></a> series as it has layers of plot.  Maggie is a homicide detective in NY at the start of the series but she visits Ireland to try to find out what happened to her cousin.  Her family has a rich history with Ireland,  and runs an Irish bar on Long Island.  In the first two books, Maggie works with the Garda in Ireland on cases.  She also falls for an Irishman.

In <strong>The Drowning Sea</strong>, Maggie is planning a move to Ireland.  She and her teen daughter, Lilly, go for the summer. But she isn't sure Lilly will want to move there.  Lilly is a bit fragile and she is a teenager.   Maggie also has to decide what she will do for employment if she moves.  She wants to be who she is but she will have to retrain to work in the Garda in Ireland.  So there are a lot of decisions and planning even though it is a vacation.

But of course, someone turns up dead and Maggie, being a cop, investigates somewhat.  Their landlord asks her to look into something that happened in 1973 when the landlord was 10 as she was worried a young woman disappeared.  There also was a big drug investigation about 5 years ago and there's concern it has continued.  So there are all sorts of mysteries which don't get any better as additional people are found dead and others are missing.

I really enjoyed all the mysteries and the personal growth and change for Maggie and her family.  Her Irishman, Connor, has some personal issues with his ex-wife happening also.   I can't wait for more to see how everything turns out for the family plus there are bound to be more cases.

"The Drowning Sea" was an enjoyable story. It is the third book in the Maggie D'Arcy mystery series. The reader would probably benefit from having read the first two books, as there are events and relationships/connections between characters referenced in this book that appear to relate to the prior books, and therefore, familiarity with the earlier books would provide for a richer understanding of major characters, including Maggie D'Arcy. However, I have not (yet) read the earlier books, but I found there was enough information in this book to get a good sense for the major characters and their past experiences. Maggie and her daughter Lilly are spending the summer in Ross Head, in southwest Ireland, with Maggie's Irish boyfriend Conor and his son Adrien. Maggie was a detective on Long Island, but recent events have brought an end to that job, and she finds herself unemployed and contemplating moving to Ireland, and possibly joining the Garda Siochana (the Irish national police service), although she is unsure about uprooting her daughter, who has dealt with a lot of trauma in the past year.

However, the restful vacation is short lived, as the body of a young man, who had been missing for several months, washes up on a local beach, and the postmortem suggests his death may not have been accidental.
There is also a lot of tension among some of the residents of Rosscliffe and a local developer who is planning to turn Rosscliffe House (the former "Big House", with all that implies regarding Protestant/Catholic conflict in Ireland) into an upscale hotel. Lissa Crawford, the former owner of Rosscliffe House, and the owner of the cottage that Maggie and Conor are renting for the summer, also approaches Maggie with help solving a mystery from the 1970s, as she has vague memories regarding events surrounding her family's departure from Rosscliffe House, and she is concerned that something happened to Dorothea, the governess, who was not seen after the family left Rosscliffe for Dublin. There are residents of Rosscliffe who had connections to Rosscliffe House when it was still occupied, but what they remember is limited or they are reluctant to share. Maggie also has to deal with drama involving Conor's ex-wife, as well as Lilly's developing relationship with Alex, a local musician. The investigations into both recent and past events will place numerous people at risk and unearth secrets, some recent and some decades old. The story has plenty of suspense, intrigue, drama, and action, and touches upon numerous issues, some that are universal and some that are tied up in Irish history. The author has created an interesting cast of characters. I plan to read the first two books in the series and look forward to what adventures await Maggie in the future.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I was very excited to receive the eARC for „The Drowning Sea“ since I loved the first Maggie D’Arcy mystery „The Mountains Wild“ in 2020 and the second “A Distant Grave”- and this one is a fabulous follow up, that can be enjoyed on ist own (as with any good crime series if you are looking for the character development in the MC and their personal story and backstory it is better to read them in order - if you are in it for the crime the story stands on its own.).
Stewart Taylor’s books are thoughtful slow burns, building up while also masterfully setting a beautiful scene - in this case the Southern Irish Coast in summer - and they are also expertly plotted. I love her writing and will be waiting for the next book ! She combines a police procedural rooted in reality with fabulous characters and a very real sense of place.
In this book Maggie could be enjoying an extended vacation in Ireland but she is being asked to look into an old disappearance and the cliffs seem a little to accident prone to her liking … she knows she has no jurisdiction whatsoever but listening to people talking can’t hurt ? Neither can asking them a couple of questions … or can it? When her daughter befriends a local musician things get more personal - the struggles in their vacation village between the developers who want to attract rich tourists/investors and those who want to conserve undeveloped coastline and the status quo seem quite a bit more heated, and what about the years old drug case related to this area that did not net any big fish - could there be a connection ? When all the plot threads start coming together, it is very hard to put down but you’ll have to pick it up yourselves. I am not going to spoil the book for you just get it and travel to Ireland by book and start reading ! I am sure you’ll love it

Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review !

Menacing, twisty, and intriguing!

In this latest novel by Taylor, The Drowning Sea, we head back into the life of Maggie D’Arcy, who, after recently leaving her job as a detective on Long Island, heads for a vacation in West Cork, Ireland, where things aren’t as quiet and relaxing as she hoped when the town she’s ends up staying in is rife with misfits, mayhem, a history of drug smuggling, and an estate, Rosscliffe Manor, that seems to have a lot of long-buried secrets of its own.

The writing is crisp and tight. The characters are multilayered, dependable, and tenacious. And the plot is a captivating mix of twists, turns, red herrings, secrets, deception, obsession, manipulation, malicious intentions, small-town politics, and murder.

Overall, I found The Drowning Sea to be another fabulous addition to the Maggie D’Arcy series by Taylor with its complex characters, sinister storyline, and exceptionally dramatic ending.

This book took me a bit to get into it. A summer vacation brought ex-detective Maggie Ireland and of course a body being discovered in the water reeled her back in to solve the mystery.

I liked this book once it really got going, so over halfway in. There were so many characteristics to sort out, I was even a bit confused near the end. I did enjoy Maggie's family dynamics since that made them seem more relatable and real.

I think the plot could have been streamlined a bit more instead of meandering so much. The 1970s history lesson part of the plot wasn't really necessary and didn't really add much. An old house and the cliffs added some of the eerie factor to the book, but not enough to have me on the edge of my seat.

Overall enjoyable, but I left the end of the book with mixed feelings.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

This is the 3rd in the Maggie D'arcy series by Sarah Stewart Taylor and while you dont have to read the first 2 to enjoy this book I would recommend it if possible. Atmospheric with a great group of characters this book continues this excellent series. Maggie is out of a job and vacationing on a W. Cork peninsula with her boyfriend, Conor, his son and her daughter while they get ready for their move to Ireland. But their idyllic time is interrupted when the remains of a Polish construction worker are discovered at the base of the cliffs. Lies, hidden relationships, old secrets and crime are uncovered in the investigation into his death.
I highly recommend this book, thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this mystery! A very engaging story, a beautiful backdrop, well developed characters make for a good evening with reading and popcorn. Or, your snack of choice. I was especially drawn to this book by the cover illustration. It seems to draw you in to a very hidden and mysterious location, and a really good mystery it is! I will read more by this author!

Happy pub day to THE DROWNING SEA by @sarahstewarttaylor ! Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for my e-arc in exchange for an honest review! This one is out TODAY!

I have only read the second book on this series (I now own the first one, but haven’t read it yet), and so far, the second book is my fav! This one was still good, but in this one, Maggie is no longer a detective. Is she still involved in crime? Yes! But I miss when she was actually a detective and we got all the gritty details involved in solving a crime! What we do get in this one, in regards to solving crime, is still good and I did enjoy it. I just wanted more!

This book takes place in completely in Ireland, which immediately made me want to travel there! It’s on my bucket list!

I did really like how this book explores more of the blended family dynamic with Maggie and her boyfriend, and their two kids. It was nice to see some of the struggles/worries of blended families, moving to a new country and basically starting over. All with a teenaged kid, who is still struggling with her mental health.

If you have read any of the previous books in this trilogy, I recommend still reading this one! You can also read them out of order (like me!) and not be totally confused.

While there is a slightly different type of pace in this third Maggie D'Arcy mystery now that she's left her job as a detective on Long Island and is considering a full time move to Ireland, it still has the wildly atmospheric setting of the previous books. Set in a West Cork Village, this one has Maggie truly on the outside of an investigation as a dead body turns up during her vacation with Conor and their children. While she's also concerned with the idea of moving her daughter to Ireland after the turmoil of the last couple of years, there's also the issue of what she wants to do for a living and how to get there. The village is full of interesting characters (and suspects), and both the mystery and other aspects of the story are fascinating.

After quitting her job, Maggie D’Arcy is spending her summer in Ireland with her daughter, her boyfriend, Conor, and his son, as they get serious about Maggie and her daughter moving to Ireland. They’ve rented a cottage on a West Cork peninsula, but their vacation hits a snag when the body of a young man who disappeared months ago washes ashore. Even though Maggie isn’t a cop, she can’t help but ask questions. Where has he been for the last few months? Who would want him dead? Can Maggie find the answers even without her badge?

Since I’ve enjoyed the first two books in this series, I was curious to see where the series was going to go in this book. Once again, the writing was atmospheric and made me feel like I was there with Maggie. The characters are well drawn, although I did have a little trouble keeping all the relationships of the villagers straight. Still, I loved getting to spend time with the core cast again. Unfortunately, the pacing of the book was off, lagging at times in the middle and leaving us with a weak climax, although the climax did answer all our questions. The book is written in present tense, and it took my brain a bit to adjust to that. Most of the story is told from Maggie’s first-person point of view, but we do get some chapters from other characters’ points of view to help flesh things out. Fans of the series will be glad they picked up this book.

Maggie is recently unemployed from being a homicide detective so she heads to Ireland to be with her boyfriend and their kids. While there, unexplained drownings occur and Maggie can’t help but investigate.

This one is getting great ratings so I have to assume I’m the unpopular opinion and just didn’t connect with it. It’s book 3 and I didn’t feel the need for the other books but maybe that’s why I didn’t connect to the characters? Maggie was out of the police force so she was investigating on her own time. Not being directly involved in the investigation was not as interesting. She was not tromping through crime scenes and discussing the case with forensics. I felt like I was just getting surface information. The actual hunt for clues and the killer wasn’t really there.

I really loved the details of the Irish community and surroundings. Taylor did a great job with the imagery of West Cork. All in all, the book just wasn’t for me. I needed more gritty details, more backstories and more adrenaline.

This is the third book in the Maggie D’arcey series. I wish I would have read the first two books as there were several mentions to things that happened in the past that put Maggie where she is today. With that said, I enjoyed this book. Maggie and her daughter are spending the summer with her boyfriend in Ireland. Maggie is no longer with the police but her police instincts can’t leave her and she gets involved with a local case.

I loved the setting of the book and its description. I could feel the cold wind from the sea and see the cliffs. Great book!

This was an entertaining third book in the gripping mystery series by Sarah Stewart Taylor.

My favorite part of this series is the way the author can set the scene, and Sarah Steward Taylor has done it again! She is a master at vividly describing a landscape and placing the reader smack dab in the middle of it! In this book it was an Irish coastal town with a mysterious (haunted?) house – sufficiently beautiful and creepy.

This is a bit different from the other books in the series because Maggie is not a detective anymore. I really like her as a detective working with her colleagues, so I hope Maggie becomes a PI or a detective again in future books in the series.

The mystery was interesting and had sufficient twists and turns. I did not figure out the murderer until the end!

I liked the family tension between Maggie dealing with her daughter’s teen years while navigating her new relationship with Connor. I can’t wait to see what is next for these characters.

This is book three in the Maggie D'arcy series and I was so excited for the next book about police detective Maggie. The Drowning Sea takes place along the West Cork coast of Ireland as Maggie and her daughter are spending the summer in Ireland. When a body washes up their peaceful summer takes a dangerous turn.

IThe Irish setting is always my favorite! I liked how Maggie got involved in the community and seeing her relationship grow. I think this would be okay to read as a standalone.

Highly recommend this wonderful series!

This is the 3rd book in the series and doesn't disappoint. In this homicide detective Maggie has retired and is visiting Ireland when a body washes up on the shore. The characters and the investigation capture the reader.
I highly recommend this book, and all the author's previous books.

I received a copy from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.