Irish take on The DaVinci Code, plus <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychometry_%28paranormal%29" target="_blank">psychometry</a>. The pace is good, the story's as believable as any thriller is, the visions tormenting the MC are suitably weird so we empathize with his PTSD. The hetero romance was easy enough to ignore.

It's got the OTTness of thrillers, the religious tinge of a bad man's desire for redemption is (intentionally?) a piss-take, and I'm not mad that I read it.

I just could not stop reading this book, it has action, history, romance, and sci-fi. The story has a good plot, it's well-written and provides great entertainment! Highly recommended!

Well this was certainly different. Lots of action and endless travel. Family with homes or connections where they travel to. Visions from another time and place as they hunt for a treasure. It was okay but I was not pulled into the story. I did finish the book.

An exciting and fast paced historical mystery and thriller. I loved the descriptive writing and attention to detail.
Many thanks to The Book Whisperer and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Fast paced and with a pretty straight plot (even with the flashbacks), it's a quick read, entertaining enough to keep you hooked. No idea if the flashbacks of the protagonist are based on some real investigation, but I can see how it was thought out enough to make it plausible. The romance aspect was not my favorite since it felt a bit superficial, but the mystery was interesting and allowed me to learn a bit of Ireland history.

I enjoyed this book, but have some reservations. I loved the characters of Key and Arin and I really loved the historical connection to Irish history and the Book of Kells. The settings in both Jamaica and Ireland really sucked me in. The idea of genetic memory is intriguing and so is the plotline about uniting Ireland. The plot is tight and the action swift. While the flashbacks sometimes confused the issue, the story came together nicely. But...

While I knew this was "book 1" in a series, I expected more of a solution to the storyline. This book leaves the readers hanging. The main plotline of looking for the missing piece of the Book of Kells is resolved, but so much is left undone. I'm sure this was planned, and I will likely read book 2, but I looked for more of a resolution. I expected this to be a series with a continuing character (like so many other detective/mystery books). I guess it's just book 1 of a duology. Perhaps I would feel differently had I realized that from the beginning.

My daughter and I recently traveled to Ireland, which really enhanced my enjoyment of this book. There was a lot of historical facts incorporated into the book, which was quite interesting. I liked how the fiction story was weaved together with the true history. I enjoyed the characters.

I liked this book so much I purchased the sequel, which has the same characters.

People that like Irish history or have Irish heritage would definitely enjoy this book. This was an excellent thriller/mystery.

At the start of The Key to Kells, protagonist Key Murphy has recently begun having intense visions that seem to be of events from the distant past. He soon discovers that he has a fairly rare gene that allows him to connect with his ancestors' memories, living through them as if they were his own. His family had kept this possibility a secret from him until now, but now that this gift has emerged, they want him to use his memories to find Ireland's greatest lost treasure, the cover and missing pages of The Book of Kells. A Murphy ancestor had hidden this treasure to keep it safe from invaders, intending to bring it home when it was safe to do so. Centuries later, it is still missing, and would be worth a pretty penny. Now it is up to Key and his newly discovered distant relative Arin to find the treasure and return it to Ireland before others, with more nefarious purposes, do.

This story has an intriguing premise. How cool would it be if there was a genetic way to connect with your ancestors? What amazing insights could be found? I also liked the view into historical Ireland and Jamaica that this thriller provided. Key works well as a protagonist, he's just a good guy who you want to succeed. I would have liked to see more of Arin's character come through though. The romance was fine, although even though their relation is so distant, it still feels a bit strange for them to get together. The mystery was compelling, with some high stakes sequences, and the story leaves you with a nice little sting, urging you to pick up the next book in the series.

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

This is a dual timeline story. There's something so unique and interesting about dual timelines that keeps a reader hooked onto the story. In this book, we have a unique twist to the timeline - the main character, Key Murphy, lives the lives of his ancestors through visions. And these visions are caused by a gene mutation.

Each character has an interesting side story - I loved Key's background the best. Thanks to his gene mutation, he's been a prodigy and from-fame-to-shame situations in life.

I found the story too long and dialog-y. My only niggle is that Key Murphy is too trusting. In the second half of the story, especially in the last few chapters, we have an exciting development. And this is where I felt Key has no idea what he's signed up for and he blindly followed what he saw. Sometimes, seeing is not believing, innit?

Having said that, I am looking forward to reading the next installment. This book ends with a cliffhanger and with so many new developments in play, I am curious to know what happens next.

3.5/5

A nice fast paced book. It doesn’t leave you hanging, which is something I dislike personally. The characters are fully developed and are interesting. There were all kinds of situations, past and present. I liked the history, and find the Knights Templar especially so. All in all a very enjoyable book, that I recommend you need to read. Add this to your “to read” stack and put it on top.

Courtesy of Netgalley and The Book Whisperer, I received the ARC of The Key to Kells by Kevin Barry O'Connor. While it took me a while to get oriented to the story, I found the premise fascinating, the characters compelling, and the narrative suspenseful! I especially enjoyed the historical research and the political overtones in this novel. Highly recommend!

My criteria for a good book is one which I have a hard time walking away from. I received a digital version of The Key to Kells and had to stop everytime I walked past my Kindle to read a few more chapters. I loved the book obviously. The story revolves around Key Murphy who possesses an Ancestral Memory gene, which gives the ability to see and live memories from an ancestor from the Dark Ages in Ireland. Key’s ancestor was given the task of saving the cover of The Book of Kells, a national Irish treasure, from invading Norsemen. As he searches for clues, it seems that he is not the only one looking for it. Story is fast-paced, exciting…it will not be a disappointment.

The Key to Kells by Kevin Barry O’Connor is a mixed genre book: science fiction, history, religion, romance, politics, and thriller. Probably more. The story opens with Key Murphy, police consultant, with a gun to his head, about to die. Not tonight, he vowed. The police made it in time. It was all about his friend, Buck’s, little sister, Tanya McCoy, who had been his best friend. She died of an overdose but as far as he was concerned it was murder. This all shifted rapidly when he used his talent to put together some numbers they had found in a newspaper in her room, and tracked the drug gang and her killers. But now, he was having visions, from long ago Ireland. He was going crazy. He went home, to his folks and found out he wasn’t crazy. His father had similar visions, as had his great-grandfather. From there things moved quickly. Before he knew it he was on a plane to Jamaica to meet a distant cousin and learn more about this whole story. It was a wild ride, for Key, and for the reader.

Key was in interesting character: his whole life was full of questions. How he could be genius level on a topic one day and back to being human the next. It happened often. Then there was Tomas, his “imaginary” friend when he was five, then he was gone. HIs father gave him a binder full of notes from his life and from that of Key’s great-grandfather. They had inherited a gift. Key had it too, but wasn’t quite there yet. In Jamaica he met Arin, a college professor/anthropologist whose father had had the same gift and a ggg grandfather who had left notes. He’d had the gift. She was half Irish, half Jamaican black. She was beautiful and encouraging. These and the others were well-written characters. The plot was intricate, moving from time-to-time, but exciting, all revolving around the Book of Kells, another treasure, and reunification of Ireland. It was a terrific plot which one had to pay attention to or lose the string. Other people wanted these treasures as well but seemed to stop at murder to get them. Similar to Dan Brown in many ways. Good book. I am looking forward to more in this series.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Key to Kells by the Book Whisperer, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #TheBookWhisperer #KevinBarryOConnor #TheKeyToKells

I've never read any book quite like this one. It crosses many genre without losing it's own story while still holding the reader captive to the past, present and future of Key Murphy. His connections to his ancestors is an original plot line....or original to me.....and adds a dimension missing in many stories I have read. Kevin Barry O'Connor has done an excellent job of building this cast of characters and the communities that hold them in history. He has woven the past and present so tightly that I had to research some of the back story after finishing the book. The story has it's own pace, slowing and speeding up as the tension builds. Where will Key find himself in the near future? Read on and find out.

I loved the spiritual ‘ supernatural angle which was brought to what otherwise looked like a fairly standard thriller. It really added a unique direction and did it in a credible way, making to truly part of the book and not an “add on.” The author has a lovely turn of phrase, too, which suits this almost mystical touch. Really interesting and a bit unusual.

This book is a mixrlture of genres, part thriller, romance, supernatural and historical. Because of this mix, it took me a while to get into the book. At times wordy, at times US cop story , for me in places, it tried to be too much. The characters were ok, fairly typical Irish and or Jamaican. The plot perhaps a little too far fetched and everything went a little too well. As it progressed, I started to like it more, though the private jetting around the world was irritating and stretched the bounds of credibility a little too far.
Saying that, I am iterested to read more about Key Murphy , the book has piqued my curiosity.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am not raving about this one, but don't want to write it off either

An interesting concept of a man being able to access memories of his ancestors makes for a compelling beginning to this thriller series. Almost like a Dan Brown type of action adventure romp through history with real world intrigue and consequences, but set up more as a cop drama and definitely less preachy than Dan Brown. Interesting cast of characters and a fast paced plot driven story made this a very enjoyable read and am looking forward to further stories in the series. Thank you NetGalley and Book Whisperer for the arc.

This book has two story lines. There is a book of Kells which has pages missing from it and one man will do anything to get those missing pages. The book is the basis for Christianship. Key has a unique characteristic in that he can go into the memory of a deceased family member. It is due to a mutated gene. Key also has a familial link to the book. There is much action and the reader will be sitting on the edge of their seat. Well written but tends to be wordy.

The Key to Kells is the first book in a series and it ends with a twist that makes you want to grab the 2nd in the series right away. Intrigue, mystery, mysticism, and a little bit of romance make this book an interesting read that will be sure to capture your attention as it did mine. The main character, Key, discovers there is a ‘gift’ that runs in his family. It is an anomaly in the DNA that gives a predisposition to having the memories of his ancestors. As he navigates this newly discovered experience he embarks on a quest to finish a task that an ancestor began many centuries earlier.
#TheKeyToKells #netgalley

What a wild ride. This is an adventure story like no other. Cian and Arin are fated to meet as determined by their ancestors centuries ago. Cian has memories of his ancestor who protected artefacts that could bring Ireland and possibly the world together again in hope and faith. This story takes you from Philly where Cian is a detective to Jamaica, Ireland and beyond. It is a fast paced story and will be hard to put down.