A slow burn mystery set in a pub in Ireland during a bad snow storm where the only suspect of a long ago murder is trapped with other townspeople and spots the perfect opportunity to tell her side of the story. A well told story that was a bit too long, but still enjoyable.

While the mysteries in each book in the series are solid, the characters leave something to be desired. They don't seem to have much emotional depth and they don't grow over the course of the series. That said, if you are looking for a good cozy mystery with an atmospheric setting and don't need a lot of character depth, you'll enjoy this one and the previous books in the series.

I enjoy this series but this was just and OK read for me. Maura has been in Ireland for almost a year now but is experiencing her first snowstorm. The patrons get snowed in at Sullivan's pub and one of them was suspected of murder. Maura decides to try her hand at solving the cold case. I always enjoy visiting Leap Ireland and the characters but the mystery was pretty thin. There is whole lot of repetition. The author keeps repeating herself. It was a quick read since I started skipping the parts where Maura keeps going over the same thing over and over again. The solution to the mystery was a disappointment.

Being of Irish descent, I am always curious about novels set on the Emerald Isle. Quirky characters and an engaging mystery make this book a pleasure to read. I will definitely be on the lookout for more works from Sheila Connolly!

Maura Donovan is about to experience her first blizzard in the small village in County Cork where she is running Sullivan’s Pub, which she inherited via her grandmother.
The bar is full of patrons, most of them regulars. But the regulars have been joined by Diane Caldwell, who was suspected of the murder of a neighbor 20 years previously. Diane, who has just sold the property she and her husband owned, is on the way out of town.
When it’s obvious that they are all going to be snowed in, Maura asks Diane to tell her side of the story. The motley crew asks questions, forms opinions and then starts coming up with ideas of who else might have committed the murder. With Maura acting as moderator, they come up with a pretty good theory to present to the constable after the storm.
This was the fifth book in a series, but it stands well on its own.

Cruel Winter is the fifth installment in the County Cork series by Shelia Connolly. It is the first one I have read, and I must say, not knowing the history didn't hurt a bit. I found the scenes easy to picture, and the main cast of characters easy to remember. The plot was interesting, and was a game of whodunit, where the case had been cold for many years, as opposed to an actual murder mystery. I liked that. You often start to wonder in some series how many people can die before they close the town for good.

My issues with the book tend to lie with Maura. Not having read the previous books, I'm not that familiar with her situation, but it seems to me she should know a bit more about her own pub, and I find it difficult to believe she's as much of a loner/introvert as she proclaims over and over, when she holds court in the pub, and is always talking to everyone. Maybe she just thinks she likes being alone because it's all she knows. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. I DO plan on reading the first books in the series, and will keep an open mind for future reads.

Another nice addition to this series.. Having people snowed in together could feel claustrophobic, but the characters are richly drawn, and the story is strong enough to retain the cozy feeling of the mystery.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

A fierce blizzard leaves a number of people stranded in Maura's County Cork pub, and the evening quickly becomes a mock trial for Diane Caldwell, suspected of, but never charged with, murder in a decades old case. I found the plot to be interesting and the solution to the murder clever, though it was a very big coincidence that the necessary people happened to be at the pub that night!

Princess Fuzzypants here:
When a snowstorm paralyzes Maura’s community and traps a number of travellers and locals in her pub, things get more complicated when the power goes out and Maura must find ways to keep them safe and happy. The fact that one of her “guests” turns out to be the woman everyone surmised murdered her neighbour decades earlier despite never being charged nor convicted. She is recognized by the locals and her story is retold but never from her side.
In order to occupy the hours and to discover the truth, Maura suggests they have a mock trial where the evidence can be weighed. If in the process, they come to a clear decision, they may be able to close a cold case. It turns out a couple of the other folk also have some “skin in the game”. Maura, with nothing to lose or gain, is able to look upon it with fresh eyes and ask questions that were never considered.
It is a really good story. The reader can feel the cold and isolation that being snowbound can cause. The characters are an interesting bunch and as the evidence is examined, they change their opinions. In fact, by the end of the story, they uncover the truth. But it is not just a good mystery. It looks at what it means to be part of a community and what it means to be outside through the eyes of Sullivan’s patrons.
The mystery certainly held right to the end. There were clues but no giveaways. I like that.
I like it so well that I give it five purrs and two paws up..

This story is set in a local Irish Pub. The owner, staff and a few patrons are stuck for the night due to a huge snowstorm. What to do to pass the time? Let's solve a 20 year old murder!

I loved this book! Loved the characters, setting and story. I'll definitely read more in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a spin on a locked room mystery. Although it was a little slow at times, it was still a nice cozy mystery read.

Maura, an American, has inherited a pub in a small town in rural Ireland. With the help of Mick and Jimmy, her employees, she has been figuring out how to be a pub owner and making friends in the community. Winter is moving in and Mick warns Maura that forecasters are predicting a major storm later that day. Maura scrounges up what supplies she can and prepares to wait the storm out at the pub. As the day progresses several other people wind up at the pub, including Diane, who 20 years previously had been accused of murder. Diane has never had a chance to tell her side of the story and as a way to pass the evening, Maura organizes everybody into a type of jury. When the storm breaks will they have new clues to this unsolved murder?

I really liked Maura and several of the other characters. The story line was creative and something different, what with the “locked room” with a suspected murderer in their presence. There was a nice mix of newcomers to the area and locals who were around when the crime happened. I felt like the first part of the book moved a little slow but once the trial portion of the story commenced the pace picked up. This book is part of the County Cork Series but it read just fine as a stand-alone. Overall, this was a nice story that will be appealing to cozy mystery readers.

A delightful story set in Sullivan's Pub on a snowy night when passengers and patrons are stranded. What better way to spend the hours than to rehash a 20-year-old murder that has remained unsolved.

I read this EARC courtesy of Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley. pub date 03/14/17

CRUEL WINTER by Sheila Connolly is an entertaining mystery that unravels in a pub in Ireland during a snowstorm.

Upon her grandmother’s death, Maura Donovan from Boston inherits a pub in Ireland from a distant relative. When a bad snowstorm detains Maura and her staff, plus several locals in the bar, an unsolved murder begs to be solved while they wait out the weather.

From the curmudgeonly patron to a thief among her staff, American Maura has her hands full on a good day. Will a perilous snowstorm be the worst or best thing to happen in an unsolved murder case?

The aging Irish pub atmosphere in a small town is easily visualized in this novel. I found the historical details enjoyable as they scrounged around in the basement for oil lamps, then got the old stove fired up to cook when they lose power. The characters seemed realistic but not necessarily distinctive. More emphasis seemed to be on the impending storm. But, I didn’t read the prior four books in this COUNTY CORK series, so these characters may have been more fleshed out previously.

The storm is a major part of the story, but the weather talk felt repetitive. Even though I realize it is all that people want to talk about in a small town when it’s happening, it slowed the reading for me. Maura seemed to have more questions than she should after running the pub for nine months. As an outsider, she took nothing for granted, so her questions often furthered the murder investigation they were re-hashing among themselves.

Maura has an innocence that can be annoying, since she should know more than she lets on. Even with that shortcoming, I still found her to be a caring hostess for a bunch of stranded people during the storm.

CRUEL WINTER is an easy read full of Irish charm. The mystery isn’t overly complicated, but it is interesting how they solve the case. The atmosphere was my favorite part of this novel. Having been to Ireland years ago, I yearn to go back and this book took me there for a few hours.

Review by Dorine, courtesy of The Zest Quest.

It's cozy, so enjoy the setting and skip over factual things. Take it with the flow, don't look too deep and the ride part is just fine. Stuck in a pub, with a 20 year old mystery to solve. Can Maura do that? Turns out this is book 5 in a series, so I missed a good bit, but the book held up on it's own okay. Think of this as lightweight one hour solve a murder TV series show book and you will probably enjoy it as I did.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

This was an interesting twist on murder mystery. When a sudden snowstorm strands a number of people in Maura Donovan's pub her first thought is how to keep them warm & as she doesn't serve food usually, how to feed them. However when one of the people turns out to be Diane Caldwell- a suspect in a murder many years ago, it changes the dynamics of the group.

When the power goes out and everyone accepts that they are going nowhere, Maura- with Diane's grudging agreement decides that they should look at the murder and try and find out what really happened.

I hadn't read any of Sheila Connolly's previous Co Cork books, but it did not stop me from getting up to speed with the characters. It was a really interesting way to present this type of story and I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

Very interesting plot-- definitely a keeper

I requested CRUEL WINTER by Sheila Connolly because it is from a publisher (Crooked Lane Books) with whom I am not very familiar. I was intrigued by the setting: a pub in the in County Cork, Ireland and thought this would be an entertaining mystery to read. After referring to Agatha Christie, Kirkus called CRUEL WINTER "a fine read in the classic style." There's a snowstorm approaching and a diverse cast of characters end up being stranded at the pub, setting up the opportunity for a locked room mystery. What could be more fun?

Unfortunately, it seemed to take the entire first third of the book to describe those characters and I was just not that invested in their stories. In fact, I was a bit annoyed with Maura Donovan, the pub's proprietor. She supposedly grew up in Boston and yet the author keeps stressing how Donovan isn't sure what is needed to prepare for a major storm – that seems totally unrealistic. Perhaps it provides a key plot twist at some point, but I can't say because I moved on to other titles in my "to be read" pile. I know this is part of a series and I am sure that Connolly's fans will embrace it, but I was hoping for a faster pace and more initial action and suspense. I will try another title by this prolific author.

Cruel Winter is the fifth book in the County Cork mystery series. I enjoyed the first four book very much and was looking forward to this addition to the series. Maura was as insightful as usual. The setting in a winter storm that strands a number of people at the pub was interesting. A twenty year old murder adds to the drama of the storm.
The elements should work and make a fascinating story, instead the story seemed to drag on. I appreciate how the package was tied up in the end, but it felt like it took a long time to get there.