Audio Book Review: Nicola Delgado delivers a wonderful tale and this one in her lilting Irish tones makes for a wonderful listen. Take you time to enjoy the story of mistaken identity and a proper whodunnit

This was a great book. I really enjoyed the narrator! I thought the plot was great, the characters were loveable and you really felt for some of them. I thought the ending was great.

A small-town librarian witnesses a murder and sets out to clear the name of the man who was wrongly arrested, in this historical mystery set in Ireland.

I've grown fond of Irish fiction because of the scenery, the folklore, the hardscrabble nature of the people, and their humor. So I looked forward to listening to this book. Unfortunately it dragged quite a bit and I had some trouble keeping track of certain characters. The story felt a bit disjointed at times. A character would be going about his or her day and suddenly jump back to something that happened decades ago, with no warning. However, I liked the main characters and the small town of Castlefreke. There is too much beauty and charm here to dismiss this book altogether. The style of the writing and the amount of introspection by the characters makes it more literary fiction than mystery.

The narration was lovely, but I'm always a sucker for Irish accents.

I loved this irish thriller. Anything set in Ireland I am hooked. This novel begun slow but I loved how we really got to know all of the characters early on. My only complaint with the narrator is that the accent felt...americanized maybe? Otherwise, a great debut.

A great mystery with sparky remarks that had me chuckling. There was a bit of head hopping, that has me rewinding to see who's POV I was listening too. It would frustrate me a bit to figure out the POVs, but not enough to quit the novel. I was hooked!

This book just oozes atmosphere. The action all takes place in a small village in West Cork, Ireland in 1988. The main character, Emma, is the librarian and the library seems to be a real asset to the village, whose shops and pubs have dwindled, as the population left for more opportunities elsewhere. It has become a real community gathering place, providing somewhere for the local “pensioners” to read newspapers and so forth. But Emma’s heart is not completely in it because her real dream was to become a “garda”, a police officer, and rise up through the ranks. Her dreams were shattered a few years before and we eventually find out what happened.

One night after a bad storm, Emma was out walking and heard shouting and gunshots at “the big house” where a reclusive rich old man lived alone. When she investigates, she comes upon a crime scene. That crime scene, and the why and wherefore of it, forms the basis of this story. One still-living victim turns out to be Colm, a man who fled the village some 30 years before, for unknown reasons. Why did he come back after all this time and what was he doing in the big house that night? The old man is dead but Emma saw a third man run off.

With her background, it’s not surprising that Colm’s elderly father asks her to look into the attack on and arrest of Colm, since he feels that the local police are railroading Colm.

I really enjoyed this twisty, dark story. So many secrets come tumbling out, one by one. The villagers were drawn beautifully as individuals. I especially loved the transformation of the feisty Mary Bennett.

I think this story could have taken place at any point in recent years, but the references to “the troubles up north” and the IRA, plus the absence of things like cell phones, made it evident we weren’t in the current day at all.

I bounced between the paperback and the audiobook for this title, which was super convenient. The audio narrator, Nicola F. Delgado, did a fabulous job with all the varied accents and voices. I did enjoy having the printed version though, to help me with some of the name (I wasn’t sure if it was Colin, Collum, or something else but it turned out to be “Colm.” Also the village is called Castlefreke, prounounced “Castle Freak.”)

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to a copy of this audiobook and to Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

When personal tragedy makes her return in disgrace to her small Irish village, Emma throws herself into her new role as the town's librarian. But then, unexpectedly caught up in a murder throws her into a role that she thought she had left behind forever...

What follows is a fascinating portrayal of small-town life, the pull of the past, and the undercurrents that swirl beneath the surface. This is an intelligent and well-plotted story from a skilful writer who brings characters alive on the page. The narrator does a marvellous job of voicing the characters.. Highly recommended.

For the first half of this book, I was very intrigued and excited for what I hoped was a winner. But ultimately, there were just too many characters and subplots which therefore made it hard for me to connect with any of them. Just okay.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook to review!

I found this book to be an interesting story! It felt too long and I did not find myself attaching to any of the characters, even the protagonist. I think this story would've been stronger had it stayed with one character's perspective.

It's 1988 in West Cork, Ireland, and Emma Daly has returned to her home in Castlefreke. She had been taking the garda courses in the city and something happened that caused a scandal. She quit and returned to the small and peaceful village where everybody knows everybody. She has taken over the local library and trying to forget about what happened. When she witnesses someone leaving the home where the richest man in the village is murdered, she tries to tell the local garda that they have the wrong suspect. They suspect a local man, Colm, who disappeared years ago and has returned, now a priest. The family ask Emma to investigate, knowing that their son is not guilty. She teams up with a stubborn widow, Mary, and her high school sweetheart, Charley, to solve the mystery. The local garda are not happy that she has involved herself and do everything to get her to butt out. Will they be able to find the third man and guilty party before someone else gets hurt?

I enjoyed this character driven mystery set in West Cork. Emma is a smart cookie, and should have been the garda investigating this one. Set in 1988, technology was new and not in common use. Good old fashioned leg work and talking to people was the way to get information. In Castelfreke, that means head to Nolan's Pub. With Colm in a coma after being injured during the shooting, he is the one who cannot give a statement. Emma has tragedy in her past, and she returns home in disgrace, hiding out in the library. Rumors abound and the local garda use that to try and belittle her. This is not an action crime thriller, but a slow building, character driven story. I enjoyed the mystery, but loved getting to know the characters and hope that there will be another story with Emma as protagonist in the future. I listened to this book, narrated by Nicola F. Delgado. She does a nice job, but I'm not sure why an Irish narrator wasn't used. I would have enjoyed hearing an Irish brogue tell me this story. That was a disappointment for me.

No Comfort for the Dead by R.P. O'Donnell was yet another mystery that failed to grab me. I need to care about a character to stay invested in a story. Give me something—depth, charm, a flaw that makes them interesting, anything to make me root for them. The mystery itself? Serviceable. But when there’s no emotional hook, no character that stands out, it’s hard to care about the outcome. I found myself zoning out, barely engaged, and by the end, I was just glad to be done.

"1988, West Cork, Ireland. Emma Daly has returned to her tiny little village in Ireland, a quaint and peaceful town where everybody knows everybody. She’s looking to escape a devastating love affair and the subsequent scandal that prevented her from becoming a cop by single handedly revitalizing her local library. But when the richest man in town is murdered and the culprit seems to be the long lost son of a local family, Colm, her charming small town life is turned upside down. "

I really enjoyed this (somewhat historical) small-town Irish mystery. This is a very character-driven story, with many charming, yet a few deadly neighbours. The mystery is fairly straightforward, but the characters make this novel stand out. Definitely worth a read.

I received a free audiobook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I always enjoy listening to an audiobook with a lilting accent, and this was no exception. The narrator did a great job with all Irish characters. I actually liked the storyline with the librarian pairing with an old flame to help solve a murder she unwittingly witnesses. I would definitely categorize this as more of a cozy mystery rather than a thriller. And I'm good with that! It was somewhat slow-paced but I liked the character development which sometimes is missing in these more plot-driven thriller types.
I didn't find this to be a twisty sort of mystery but it unfolded nicely with a satisfying ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARL. All opinions are mine.

I thought this was really well written for a debut. The author does a great job setting the scene and in descriptions in general. You feel like you are in that time period and place. The narration was really well done - the separate and distinct voices were fun. One con in this area is that there felt like quite a few characters and in an audiobook setting it was a little easy to get confused.
I would categorize this as more of a cozy mystery vs a traditional thriller/mystery. I really enjoyed it overall and would definitely pick up something from the author again in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of No Comfort for the Dead by R. P. O'Donnell in exchange for an honest review. This was a really good book! Throughout the whole book I kept thinking how much I wanted to live there. I loved the characters and the way O'Donnell writes people. Each character felt real, like poor Mary, who I really felt like she would be a neat friend. And I want to go to that library and maybe ask if I could work there. Basically, this book felt like home, only with murder.

ABOUT 'NO COMFORT FOR THE DEAD': 1988, West Cork, Ireland. Emma Daly has returned to her tiny little village in Ireland, a quaint and peaceful town where everybody knows everybody. She’s looking to escape a devastating love affair and the subsequent scandal that prevented her from becoming a cop by single handedly revitalizing her local library. But when the richest man in town is murdered and the culprit seems to be the long-lost son of a local family, Colm, her charming small-town life is turned upside down.

Emma knows there is more to the story. She watched a third man flee from the scene of the crime, but the cops don’t believe her. When Colm’s family asks her to investigate, she decides to take matters into her own hands and clear Colm’s name, who hasn’t been able to give a statement since he was wounded the night of the crime and is now in a coma.

Teaming up with her high school sweetheart, Colm’s nephew, Charley, and the secretary of a lawyer who works for the cops, Mary, it is up to Emma to solve the mystery before either the police or the murderer can stop her.

MY THOUGHTS: What a lovely debut novel! No Comfort for the Dead is a character driven mystery set in the era before computers and mobile phones. The village pub (Nolan's) is where to go if you want to know something, but information is a valuable commodity to be traded.

Emma has returned home, her dreams of a career in the Garda as shattered as her self-esteem. She takes refuge in the local library, building it up to be an important community asset. But inside, part of her still longs for her Garda career. It seems like fate when Emma stumbles across a crime scene after hearing gunshots, to see a nondescript man fleeing the scene, one dead body and another who may soon be dead.

With the local police wanting to write the crime off as a burglary gone wrong and ignoring Emma's claim of a third man on the scene, she feels bound to undertake an investigation herself. The police warning to keep out of it, and the pleas for help from the injured man's parents only strengthens her resolve.

Although the mystery is a good one, it is the characters who carry the story. In typical Irish fashion the story meanders as we learn about the different characters, their lives, and their relationships with one another. This is not a book to be read in a hurry. It is full of social commentary; the personal problems the individual characters face, and the impending death of a village where the young leave to further their education never to return.

I was a little disappointed that an Irish narrator wasn't used for the audio format. Although narrator Nicola F. Delgado was adept at performing the conversations in an Irish accent, I thought she over-performed the rest of the narration which became irritating at times.

A beautifully written book with charming and entertaining characters.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.1

#NoComfortfortheDead #NetGalley #readingirelandmonth25 #beggorathon25

MEET THE AUTHOR: R. P. O’Donnell was born to an Irish-American family, just south of Boston. After graduating university with a degree in English, he moved to West Cork, where he lives with his family.
No Comfort for the Dead is his first novel.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Dreamscape Media via NetGalley for providing an audio e-ARC of No Comfort for the Dead written by R.P. O'Donnell and narrated by Nicola F. Delgado for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

No Comfort For The Dead
I can’t believe this is R.P. O’Donnell first published book because it was such a beautifully written book, it was so detailed and that really helps paint a picture while reading. I listened to this on audiobook and I absolutely loved the narrator and their Irish accent. Emma, a former police officer now turned librarian lives in a small quaint town of Castlefreke, a village of 
West Cork Ireland. I love a good murder mystery and this had me on the edge of my seat for most of the book. One thing I did not like was that they smoked in the library, yes different countries have different rules but come on your gonna stain all the books with nicotine and ruin the amazing smell that books give off. R.P. O’Donnell does such an amazing job introducing all the characters and setting the scene. I can totally see this being a start of a series because of all the characters that were introduced. This book gives me vibes from classic mystery books, a mystery that isn’t to gruesome and has a lot of character building.

Tropes:
* Murder Mystery
* Sherlock Holmes
* Cozy Mystery

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this Advance Listening Copy. I wrote this review voluntarily and all words are my own.

No Comfort for the Dead is set in 1988 in a tiny town in Ireland, where a local librarian with a past witnesses a murder. Without the payphone in the town working, she can't do anything but run to a local pub for help, and by that time it is too late.

As the story progresses, you find out that the tiny peaceful town has a seedy and scary underbelly, and without Emma the librarian on the case, the trouble could have continued for years to come.

Even with the murders, there are some comedic bits about locals drinking in an Irish pub that made me laugh.

The narrator was lovely, really immersing me in slow pace of a small Irish town. That being said, the pace of the novel overall was too slow for my tastes. I am used to thrillers with quicker pacing.

It is very similar to the writing of Carlene O'Connor, though her books move at a quicker pace.

Netgalley and R.P O'Donnell for the preview audiobook!

I listened to an advance edition of this book and was unsure at first about what to expect. First and foremost, the narrator is one of the best I’ve listened to in a long time who switches between male, female and different dialects. I never realized how many different accents you could distinguish between Irish citizens. This narrator took this book to another level. This book reminds me of Richard Osmand’s writing. Layered with characters and the level of background is intricate and brings the depth of the characters to life.
There is a murder mystery and there are some villains but the main characters ( there are a handful of them) bring some damaged pasts that they are trying to come to grips with and it moves the story in the direction of wanting to root for them.
Give this book at least a 25% start before the pace picks up but that first part sets the stage for some excellent “Sherlock Holmes” style storytelling!

I want to start off this review by saying the narrator for this book was ON POINT . I love a good narrator, especially when it takes place in an iconic location where accent is going to be key. The narrator nailed the specific accents of each region of Ireland, which I believe is particularly difficult. So, well done.

This book wasn't a five ⭐ read for me, but I did find it enjoyable with a good plot and engaging characters. What fell a little flat for me was there was a little too much going on for me, and it felt a little too complicated at times. But, that could just me as a listener and have nothing to do with the author or presentation.

I would give this book a chance if you enjoy stories of small towns, women understanding themselves later in life, and something not necessarily cozy, but not incredibly dark where you don't want to climb out of a hole for a week after finishing the book.

I give this a solid 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Select for the advanced copy of this audiobook. All my opinions are my own.