Wonderful story that keeps the reader entertained the whole way through the book. It was well done and very good.

This book flowed really well, but I didnt connect to the characters and that for me is important. I love a book set in Ireland so if you do ,you may like it too.

I think this book proves just about anything can happen anywhere.
I think that Beverley is my favorite character. I love how she tries to keep things going no matter the circumstances. I think that at times it had to be frustrating because of everything going on.
The many twists and turns for a lot of the scenes were wonderfully entertaining. I liked how they pulled you in right along with the characters in this story.
I definitely love the setting of a small Irish community and like many other communities they had their problems.
One being a murder of all things. That's why I said what I did earlier.
But I loved that these characters were flawed and I liked the realistic side of it.
All in all a very good story with vivid descriptions that will make you feel like you're there helping to solve a mystery. Which was .my favorite part of the book. I love sleuthing.
Lots of wonderful characters and a good plot that will keep you entertained for sure.
It can never happen here? Yes it can that's like saying that the Titanic was unsinkable. Yes she was and did.
I also want to say that I really liked the cover. Mysterious and my favorite color.
5 stars for a wonderful read about life's journey and where it may take us. One just never knows
I highly recommend this book.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

An enjoyable and interesting read set in Ireland amongst a small local community. This book reflects on a group of parents ‘supporting’ their children’s school. The power they yield might feel exaggerated, and maybe, in some ways, it is the extreme view, however it felt altogether scarily realistic in my experience.

3 stars

I have mixed feelings about this one. Now that I have finished it, I can say I enjoyed it on the whole but I stopped and started reading it a couple of times and I considered not reading further. This book is almost 400 pages long and the first 200 pages are really about scene setting in the small Irish town where it is set. THere aare a lot of characters and the plotbis told from various points of view. There are several main strands to the plot, a previous car accident where a young man was killed and another injured, the kidnap of a cat and the school play and various school activities related to that and the parents of children at the school . It all felt very fragmented but very slowly the main theme emerged and was dealt with quite well.
I found the gossipy style of deciding what the events were and what they meant by the parents a bit irritating in places, though I can see how it would be in a small town like this . Serious issues are dealt with here , though I was sorry to see that although there was a solution it did not really look at underlying behaviour and or effects.
Thanks to Net Galley for an interesting and thought provoking read

It Could Never Happen Here by Eithne Shortall is a highly recommended domestic thriller told through multiple points of view.

In the town of Cooney in West Cork, a body has been pulled from the river behind the school. The parents and others in the school must be interviewed and the much anticipated play will be cancelled. Before this incident parents were jockeying for positions for their children or themselves in the play.

Beverley Franklin is a highly controlled, tightly wound woman. As the director of the Glass Lake primary school play, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, she must make sure every goes smoothly to protect the school's reputation as well as that of her daughter, Amelia, who is the lead character. When she catches Amelia in a shocking action, she immediately gets to work to make sure the right decision is made concerning it. The problem is that Beverly has no idea what is really going on and gossip is created and past on at lightning speed in Cooney.

There are many characters in It Could Never Happen Here, but the majority are truly unlikable and written as such. The pleasure in the narrative is following the utterly despicable and gossipy bunch of rumormongers, which includes all the mothers associated with the primary school. These women aren't your average helicopter parents, they are Chinook helicopter parents.

Readers won't know who was murdered until the very end, so with this group of characters for most of the novel everyone could be the victim. Interspersed within the narrative are brief insights into the police investigation and clips from interviews with those present in the school. There is a subplot about a cat kidnapping that is odd but funny.

While the novel is interesting at first, things drag on way too long and the gossipy cliques, prejudices, and rehashing of past events begin to grate. For the review copy, transitions between character's viewpoints weren't clearly delineated which may be changed in the final copy. 3.5 rounded up

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Corvus via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

I do love a book about a small Irish village. The author did a great job of making you feel like you were in this nosy, suffocating town. I liked the interspersing of the police documents throughout the book--it added to the feeling you were part of the story. Lots of twists at the end!

I’d like to thank the Independent Publishers Group, Corvus and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘It Could Never Happen Here’ written by Eithne Shortall in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

‘It Could Never Happen Here’ takes place in a small Irish community where there’s so little crime the Garda have only one patrol car. As the story starts a body is pulled from River Gorm and the parents and staff of Glass Lake Primary School are arriving at Aberstown Garda to make statements, but we aren’t told at that time whose body it is. The parents will go to any lengths to protect the reputation of their children’s school and as preparations are underway for the annual musical, great lengths are taken to cover up a scandal.

I liked the descriptions of the characters although I didn’t warm to some of them, and laughed out loud at the antics of Porcupine the cat who left the Maguire family to have sleepovers with elderly Mrs Rodgers. There was a good bit of humour, mystery, twists and turns, and surprises waiting to spring out as life continued in this small Irish community. This novel is easy to read and perfect for a warm summer’s day.

For me this one started out slow but quickly picked up as our small town mystery started to unfold. Perfect for fans of the Beartown series from Fredrik Backman.

I received a complimentary copy and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is a domestic thriller and an ode to how far mothers will go for their children. The book follows Beverly a good mother who wants what's best for her daughter. She goes to extreme lengths to keep her daughters reputation solid as well as the school musical.. Riveting, mysterious , fast-paced and jaw dropping. I loved how the book tackled motherhood, reputation and ambition.

This was a good book with lots of neighborly drama. There were likable characters and of course, horrid one. The book centered around Glass Lake Primary School and a group of mothers known as the Lakers. The Lakers ruled the school, intimidating each other, the principal and the teachers. When Glass Lake puts on the Wizard of Oz play, everybody wants in and the mothers will do anything to get their children a big part. The book opens with a death and from that minute on I was trying to figure out who died and why. Was it possible that one of the Lakers would even kill if it meant that their child would get a desired part in the Wizard of Oz. Well written and a joy to read, I would recommend this book as a women's fiction thriller family drama. Thank you to Corvus and NetGalley for the digital ARC. This is my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Eithne Shortall for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is set in a small town in Ireland which revolves around the school, Grass Lake. When several connected emergencies/tragedies take place, the citizens go to great lengths to cover them up at the expense of the town, the school and their relationships.

There were parts of this book I really enjoyed (such as the story line about Porcupine the cat), and other parts that were drawn out with too many not so likable characters and situations.

Overall I give this book 3 stars for some great ideas, but it fell a little short for me.

Get ready to meet a community you will not forget! In the vein of Big Little Lies, It Could Never Happen Here is a wealthy private school community with its own pariahs and secrets. The parents are competitive to the point of viciousness, the secrets are worth killing for.

The story opens with a death but the real excitement is the day to day story of the parents, the children, and the teachers. Nothing is as it seems, yet everything is quite familiar.

I just loved this novel and I know you will too. If you like mysteries, domestic thrillers, parents gone wild, deep secrets and multiple points of view, It Could Never Happen To You is your next read!
#independentpublishers #Corvus #ItCouldNeverHappenHere #EithneShortall

Book: It Could Never Happen Here
Author: Eithne Shortall
Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
Pub Date: September 5, 2023

I’m so glad I requested this book. This book had drama, mystery, humor, real-life and it was a very relatable book. I also really like books where you don’t know exactly who has died. From the beginning you know someone has been killed but who? They just drop hints along the way. And my goodness the cat situation is hilarious and Mrs. Rodgers always acting frailer than she is to get by with things. But it also tackles the seriousness of sexting between teens and the lengths parents will go to to protect their children. And also the lengths parents will go to when they can’t believe their kids would never do anything wrong. I loved these characters and I loved to dislike these women. I totally thought I knew what was going on but the twist came at me out of nowhere. Lots of surprise twists and confessions. This is a solid read and it’s a heavy topic mixed in with enough humor so that it’s not overwhelming. I’ve never read anything by this author and I very much enjoyed her writing style.

Thank you Independent Publishers Group and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is September 5, 2023.

This was an interesting read about the implications of a sexting scandal on a small irish community and school, well written, I enjoyed the narrative.