A wild west mystery surrounding historical events. Overall a quick read but the story was too formulaic and the characters plastic.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great story and quick read. Very entertaining. You'll enjoy this book of a glimpse into early America.

The premise of this book was intriguing. A young woman in the 19th century who is an Irish immigrant solving murder mysteries. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work. While the historical details are interesting, the mystery itself is not.
There is just something off about the pacing, and the writing style isn't very engaging.
Overall, it was hard to get into and a bit boring.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was a short read, started off a little slow and then took off. Enjoyed it and will look for more books in this series. I did not realize this was the second(?) book in the series. Will go back and read The Streel, first in the series. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this mystery and tale of the old frontier. It was atmospheric and well written.
Many thanks to University of Minnesota Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received this eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

The concept--a mystery series centered around a young Irish immigrant woman in late 19th century Cheyenne-- sounds like a promising one. And although the historical details seem to be accurate and are interesting, the mystery is underwhelming and lacks suspense. The pacing is way off, with no development around the mystery (based on a real event), and stilted, formal writing.

This book was disappointing.

A second book in the excellent Brigid Reardon series! When I read THE STREEL in 2020, I knew there had to be more Brigid Reardon books. This historical fiction character combined so many of the qualities that the women who helped settle the west were famous for that Mary Logue had to bring her back. So Brigid has now made her way to Cheyenne looking for her brother. She finds him and they decide to settle in the territory. Then, as before, Brigid finds herself deep in a murder investigation.
The descriptive elements of the book is wonderful. Cheyenne in the 1880's was not a friendly territory, especially for single women. Hardships were daily challenges to be overcome or die. Just managing to survive was a major accomplishment. As in her first book, the harsh territory becomes a character in the story along with the men and women who would settle in the middle of a barren west.

After the events in deadwood Bridget Riordan and Patty have made it to Cheyenne and they’re looking for shamus. Her brother left deadwood with a murder charge on his head but has since been cleared in Bridget and Patty has sold the mine in there now in Wyoming looking to get their money find shamus and make a new start. Soon after arriving they find out shamus is now going by Jimmy and he’s working on one of the biggest cattle spreads in the area they also find out about a settlement that’s for sale and Patty is excited and wants to buy it and although Bridget is hesitant she agrees and this is where they oh Living when she meets Ellen Ellen is her neighbor and a woman who owns her own small spread nearby one that Bridget soon finds out someone else wants to buy and her living boyfriend Bart want her to sell. Ellen refuses to and when Bridget finds her hanging from a tree she is intent on finding out the culprit. Would you start asking questions however the answers she gets will change everything she thought about her life. There is a lot more to the story and I was excited to read it but the ending caused me to lose all enthusiasm for the book. I cannot say why what or how because it would give too many key plot points away but I will say she got angry at Patty for keeping a secret but the secret he kept in my opinion was one someone would keep for a friend and I don’t see how that cost her to do everything she did afterwards. I really was excited for this Siri‘s especially because of the historical accuracy and all the great details she has in her books and I love her love for people and animals that shines through in the dialogue of the story but at the end of this book I was just so upset and disappointed by the ending I will not lie I will probably still read the third book and just series because I love the authors writing style and attention to detail that much and I do recommend this one however I just want the author to know I was very disappointed in the ending but I’m sure I made that clear. Having said that if you love boxwood greatest Thorkell accuracy mystery and intrigue then you definitely should read The Big Sugar by Mary Lock unlike me you may be fine with the ending it’s not that the book isn’t good because it definitely is and there’s way more to the story than what I put in my summary it just for the record I read this all in one sitting from beginning to end without stopping so it is worth recommending as I said I just didn’t like… You guessed it… The ending. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Truly enjoyed reading The Big Sugar. Brigid Reardon is an intriguing, likable character with drive and perseverance. She is not afraid to stand up to the men around her even if it is the 1880s when that's not a popular trait. The book describes well the rough atmosphere of the early west. Brigid's detective skills are amateur but gutsy. Will definitely keep reading this series.

"A grisly death near her new homestead draws Brigid Reardon into a complicated mystery soon after her arrival in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1881.

After the harrowing events that entangled her in Deadwood, Brigid Reardon just wants to move west and get on with her new life in America. But shortly after traveling to Cheyenne to join her brother Seamus, she finds herself caught up in another deadly mystery - beginning with her discovery of a neighbor's body on the plains near their homes. Was Ella murdered? Are either of the two men in Ella's life responsible? With Seamus away on a cattle drive, her friend Padraic possibly succumbing to a local's charms, and the sheriff seemingly satisfied with Ella's fate, it falls to Brigid to investigate what really happened, which puts her in the crosshairs of one of Cheyenne's cattle barons, called "big sugars" in these parts. All she really wants is something better than a crumbling, soddy homestead on the desolate plains of Wyoming - and maybe, just maybe, she wants Padraic - but life, it seems, has other plans: this young immigrant from Ireland is going to be a detective on the western frontier of 1880s America, even if it kills her.

Loosely based on the true story of Ellen Watson in Cheyenne in 1889, The Big Sugar continues the adventure begun in Mary Logue's celebrated mystery The Streel, which introduced a "gritty, charming, clever protagonist" (Kirkus Reviews). With a faultless sense of history, a keen eye for suspense, and a poet's way with prose, Mary Logue all but guarantees that readers, like Brigid, will find the mystery at the heart of The Big Sugar downright irresistible."

I'm glad I recently watched all of Ballykissangel so I know how to pronounce Padraic.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

Second in series, Bridget Reardon again becomes embroiled in a murder mystery when her friend is killed. The local sheriff is eager to quickly close the case and it's up to Bridget to solve the mystery.

Quick read, great addition to the series.

3.75☆

Thank you Mary Logue, University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC e-book. This book is second in the series but could definitely be read as a stand alone which is what I did. I only felt like I was missing a bit of backstory on what happened to Brigid in Deadwood before coming to Cheyenne. Other than that I felt like I could understand much of what has happened. I know this was more of a mystery but it felt like it really played into a romantic story more than a mystery. The story revolves around much of Brigid and Padraic's relationship until Brigid befriends a woman who ends up mysteriously hung. That's where the story's mystery begins.

3.5 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


The Big Sugar is part of a series of books with Brigid Reardon at the center. I have not read the first book, The Streel. I read this one as a standalone. Definitely could be a standalone, but I feel that it would have helped to know more about what happened in Deadwood prior to Brigid’s arrival in Cheyenne.

Brigid has come from Ireland to live in America with her Seamus. After events in Deadwood, Seamus heads off to Cheyenne. Brigid and her traveling companion Padraic follow after settling their affairs in Deadwood.

Brigid and Padraic pass off their relationship as siblings rather than try to explain their situation. A young woman in town takes to Padraic, which causes some distress to Brigid, as she has feelings for Padraic. They settle in a ‘Soddy’ outside of town and begin to build a life. Brigid is befriended by another woman on the plains, and when that woman is found hanged, Brigid begins to explore the mystery of her death.

I feel as though the mystery was hastily thrown together and solved in the last third of this story. The first two-thirds were spent on the push-pull relationship of Padraic and Brigid, and Brigid’s general unhappiness with living in America.

I didn’t love this book, nor did I dislike it. It just sort of was. The colorful descriptions of the land and the lifestyle were interesting, but the story itself just seemed to lack much weight.

This was an extraordinarily fast read with momentum that never lets up!

Brigid Reardon is a spunky eighteen-year-old Irish immigrant, who moves with her brother and close "friend" from Deadwood, South Dakota to Cheyenne, Wyoming. From the moment she sets foot in Cheyenne the action never stops. She meets one of the biggest cattle barons, also known as Big Sugar (roll credits), and from there, her story is entwined with his without even realizing it.

Shootings, flirtation, murder, intrigue, more murder, and so many questions about identity keep you on your toes throughout the whole book and wondering, "Who killed Ella Bates?"

This book has a lot of potential, but with only 200-odd pages to tell the story, some of the biggest "punches" fall flat. The big reveal at the end just happens. Even though there is an unexpected twist, it just doesn't seem to have any emotional draw. In a book where everything is trying to be a high point, you just end up with a lot of plateaus.

I think this book would have benefited from some additional fluff to help pad the action. Overall, the book kept me interested until the very end, but not interested enough to want to read it again.

I love a historical fiction/mystery, but I was a bit let down by this one. I breezed through The Streel (which precedes Big Sugar), and I was excited to read more about Brigid Reardon. However, I found this book to be more predictable, the writing less deliberate, and the characters hardly developed. The climax doesn’t come until nearly the final pages, and while I understand that this is meant to be a series, the ending still felt sudden and unresolved.

Brigid and her “brother” Paddy are traveling from Deadwood to Cheyenne after the events of The Streel (I almost made the mistake of not reading that first! You don’t need to read it, but it certainly helps for context). Upon arriving, they establish themselves on a homestead when Brigid stumbles onto another murdered woman, hanged from a cottonwood tree. Despite being warned against looking into the crime further, our heroine can’t help herself. She spends her free time unraveling the mystery of the lynched woman while juggling life as a rancher, her shaky (and somewhat scandalous) relationship with her “brother”, and looking for her REAL brother, Seamus, who fled Deadwood in The Streel. Big Sugar is a fast-paced thriller that delivers on the Western genre, as well as provides a rare glimpse of life for women making their way on the frontier.

While the whodunnit aspect of the book is entertaining, it simply felt rushed and lacked the depth I enjoyed in the previous book. The characters motivations don’t seem especially nuanced or complex; everyone (even Brigid to some degree) appears to be acting on their primal instincts, and while that might be a commentary about the Wild West, it doesn’t land in an especially compelling way. I still look forward to more from Mary Logue and to see what Brigid will be getting into next, but Big Sugar disappointed me a tad compared to The Streel.

I had a difficult time putting down this book. Paddy, Shamus and Brigid have a unique story all in their own. I immersed myself in the homestead of Cheyenne and was hopeful for Brigid to begin her life in love, however this leaves you wanting more at the end and allows the reader to draw their own conclusion,

I enjoyed reading this book. Set in Wyoming, a historical story that is based on fact. The characters came to life, the scenes brought to reality, the story told was easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes history, mystery, or just a really good tale of the Old West written wonderfully. I must read more of this author, also.

Although in my wheelhouse of favored subject matter, I was a bit disappointed in this one. For some reason, the characters did not spring to life for me. Others, of course, may think differently. But the grand denouement seemed rushed and unbelievable, and the Bridgid's motivation in her quest didn't quite ring true. My rating for this title is a weak three stars.

It seems that murder follows Brigid Reardon wherever she goes. She and her brother Seamus leave Ireland for America with the hope of finding a better future. In Deadwood, Brigid finds the dead body of her brother’s fiancé on Christmas morning. Her brother is the only suspect. Brigid knows Seamus did not kill the girl, but he flees to Cheyenne while she stays in Deadwood to find the killer and clear her brother’s name. When she arrives in Cheyenne with the Reardon’s friend Padraic, they are told that her brother has found a job as a cowboy and is working on a huge spread of land owned by a local cattle baron. These rich ranchers are known as sugar daddies. While they wait for Seamus to return from working on the range, Brigid and Padraic settle into a crude home built into the side of a hill called a soddy. Brigid hates the dark and hardly livable soddy and takes a walk across the prairie one day only to find her closest neighbor hanging dead from a cottonwood tree. The sheriff is certain the death is a suicide, but Brigid thinks her neighbor Ella was murdered for the deed to her land. As in Deadwood, the men do not believe Brigid’s story. They tell her it isn’t a woman’s place to go snooping around in hopes of finding Ella’s killer, but of course Brigid will not rest until Ella’s death has been solved. This mystery, loosely based on a true story, is full of interesting characters and plot twists. The author wonderfully describes Cheyenne in the 1880’s and provides a historical record of the rough life facing settlers in the American West at that time. I hope that the author writes another mystery for the brave and intelligent Brigid Reardon to solve. I would like to thank NetGalley and the University of Minnesota Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I like historical mysteries, which is why I was interested in reviewing this.

My first impression was that I liked the protagonist and the way she narrated. This book felt like an escape, and it was a light, easy read. I felt the ending was kind of ambiguous, which made me wonder what might have happened next to this character. I think this book is part of a series, so I may have to read the next book to find out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.