A complex Mystery set in soil not usually tilled, neutral Ireland in 1944, following the Allies' invasion at Normandy. What seems on the surface a simple matter of identification of a corpse turns into a complicated and highly dangerous investigation for Garda Eamon Foley, while in the background gentle romance blossoms.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel on May 26, 2020, from Netgalley, Brendan Gerad O'Brien, and BooksGoSocial. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am happy to recommend this author to friends and family. He has a library of work, many settings in Ireland, many timed in WWII. Thank you Netgalley for exposing me to this author. He has a large selection of works, most available on Kindle Unlimited, to feed my binge-reading soul.

The opening of this novel nearly put me off - shades of Steven King. It does, however, settle into an intense murder mystery in Tralee, Ireland nearing the end of WWII. Eamon Foley is an officer in the Tralee Garda Barracks. He will be involved in the investigation of the death of a young man found on the path to Blennerville, often against orders, occasionally against his own volition. This is happening in the same time frame as the rumors of the presence of a German submarine seeking repairs near Dingle so there is turmoil all along the western coast of Ireland, neutral in the war but definitely not pro-Axis.

Our victim is wearing a ring, passed down through the Daly family through the ages to Paudy, the eldest son of the notorious Mixer Daly. Paudy disappeared many months ago. Unfortunately following the provenance of the ring does not solve the mystery of the identity of the dead man... Who is he? How did he get hold of Paudy's ring? And on which side of this conundrum are the big city cops really on?

i really enjoyed this mystery, the characters were great and I really enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery in the book.