A slow burn thriller set indfferent time periods, but which has the same characters and location in Ireland. The people in the town have known each other for years and everyone knows each others business, except for some secrets . The descriptions of the location, the small town mentality and the crimes was spot on . I liked most of the characterizations as well, though Gerry, the investigating detective felt a bit off to me. The pace picks up half way through the book, but the plot was intriguing enough to make me want to keep going.
A good read and I look forward to reading more by Sheila .
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Dungarry, Ireland is a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business or do they? Leah Ryan has come back to her hometown over 20 years since she left. The tragic events that sent her fleeing all those years ago are still fresh in her mind, however she’s finally ready to face up to things, but it quickly becomes apparent that even though so many years have passed, the locals aren’t ready to forget what happened. When her ex boyfriend Eamon is found brutally murdered, it seems like it’s unrelated, but slowly things take a dark turn, forcing Leah to finally face up to what happened when she was young, and people she was close to before show they aren’t as they seem.

This book was fantastic! I loved the storyline, Leah’s already in turmoil and feeling guilt about being away so long, leaving her brother to look after her mum that when Eamon is murdered, it clearly affects her more than she initially lets on. I liked the way the chapters were sometimes in the present and sometimes in the past, I felt this added great depth to the story. The characters were complex at times, and you sort of had to try and work out who was being real etc which I liked. Great ending too! Very good twist!

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this gripping book

on a dark night mary ryan is run over and left for dead, she would never be the same again and neither would her family

20 years later leah ryan returns home but on arrival she finds out her childhood boyfriend has been murdered.....

and then things start to escalate ....

what a read... captivated and couldnt put this book down.... wow just wow

I first came across this author about a year ago, when a friend loaned one of her books to me. That book was called When The Dead Speak. I quite enjoyed it, so I was interested in reading more from this author, and I decided to request this title on NetGalley.

This was an Irish crime thriller, and I wish I could have read it for my book club's Irish themed month, as it would have been an excellent choice. From the beginning, I found it a page turner. The atmosphere was intense and hard-hitting, but the writing had a kind of beauty about it that seemed to soften the blow.

The narrative shifts between what's happening in the present, and events that took place before and leading up to the murder. That could be a little confusing for some readers, but I liked that format, I felt it helped me to see the bigger picture.

Leah was a lovely character, but Coco was another of my favourite characters. I felt she was a very vibrant character who came to life easily on the pages.

The last book that I read by this author was part of a series, but I believe this is a standalone, so if you are a crime thriller reader, give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this.

Exciting thriller as Leah goes home to Dublin and stirs up memories of old crimes and a new murder. Teenage relationships are revisited and family ties twisted.

A twisty and enjoyable mystery that kept me hooked throughout. A lot of unlikeable characters but you were drawn into their world and kept guessing at each turn.

I found this book to be hard to get into in the beginning. I thought tracking the characters throughout the book was challenging. I had to keep reminding and going back to refresh who was who. In doing this I think it was hard to stay engaged. This book does have a lot of turns to it, and could be really great for the right person.

A good example of Irish noir: gripping, tense, and well plotted. It kept me hooked and guessing.
Tightly knitted plot, well developed characters, an interesting setting.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

As a vivacious reader of crime novels and thriller reads from the publication house, Canelo, and its sub-print Canelo Crime I have taken pleasure in reading and following the careers of Marion Todd, Rachel Lynch, MJ Lee and Bugler.

Unlike the other contemporaries, who have dealt with a series of detective fiction revolving around a central character, Bugler has dealt with different storylines and characters jumping from a different premise, location and environment from book to book.

In this instance, Dark Road Home, is a coming home of sorts for her. Set in the fictitious west Ireland coastal town of Dungarry; her conduit for this homecoming is Leah Ryan. She returns home after an absence of two decades to face the turmoil she left behind which led her to Australia. Upon her return though to visit her ailing, wheelchair bound mother, another tragedy hits as her first love Eamon is brutally murdered as his restaurant business.

It seems a mystery, but soon as in all small towns where everyone knows everybody's business, everything is connected and there are secrets behind every front door.

Leah starts a flirtatious relationship with a cop who is investigating and she tries to bury the hatchet with her brother, Frank, the sibling who was meant to leave in Leah's place and explore the world. Instead Frank has remained and is a shell of the man he was hoping to be, drinking too much and carrying a spare tyre.

Bugler writes about the Irish homeland - a place she would like to retire to - with such fondness and for fans of The Woman in the Wall and other Irish crime series (the returning Blue Lights) this will be a welcome addition to the canon.

The story which has a dual narrative of now and twenty years prior which leads to Leah's departure for this reader felt like it was treading water, and yet as so often in Canelo releases the second half of the book picked up steam and went to a crescendo that is worthy of Bugler's talent. The delicate handling of Leah and Frank's relationship and the guilt Leah feels for her leaving is told effectively.

Small town Ireland with all its secrets.
There is a lot going on in the book and a lot of characters, so much so I had to remind myself who was who and what they were to each other a few times.
What an amoral bunch of characters this town holds. All the negative emotions are rife in this book but thankfully there are a few redeeming characters to finally bring some justice to those that need it most, both good and bad.
The Dark Road Home is a dark tale and an engaging read

Dark Road Home is an easy, bingeable suspense thriller, with lots of twists and turns along the way. It's well written and told from many different perspectives with dual timelines.

I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. At times I found the amount of characters and secrets they were keeping to be a little too overwhelming and I had to keep reminding myself who was who, and what role they were playing in the book. I did very much enjoy the storyline and the complexity of it all though.
Everyone in this book has a secret and almost everyone has a motive for murder.

It was also a little predictable for me, I had figured out at least one of the murderers before it was revealed right at the end.
However, the climax was still great and this definitely kept me on my toes and entertained.
My first Sheila Bugler book but maybe not my last, we'll see.

Thank you Netgalley,Publishers and author for my eARC of this book. All opinions are 100% my own and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

A lot of books usually either have a super good beginning or an amazing end. It's pretty rare for me to find one that has both but this defiantly had such a great beginning and all the way through pace that kept me wanting to keep reading like crazy and it also had an unforgettable ending.

Leah is returning home to Dungarry, Ireland from her new home, Sydney, Australia, to visit her poorly Mum Mary Ryan and her brother, Frank. Some 20 years ago, Mary is the victim of a hit and run and everyone assumes the driver was Seamus O'Malley. The story told via dual time lines - before and now. On Leah's day of arrival back in Ireland, she receives a phone from Aisling, her old friend, to say her brother Eamon has been found killed. The story is well written and there are very good descriptions of the locations and the people we meet. All in all, this book was a cracking read and with the use of before and now, we learn how it all comes together for a dramatic conclusion. I highly recommend this book.

Two murders set in the same small village in Ireland,one in the past ,one in the present. A lot of unresolved issues confuse things but we get there in the end. A good read.

I have a fair few memories of time spent in small towns in Southern Ireland so the location of Sheila Bugler's twisty tale was familiar to me - although I'd yet to witness a murder in one (time still allows!) Here the fictional town juts against the sweep of the Atlantic and has that dark brooding foreboding that instils fear.
Here Leah Ryan returns from her high earning high life in Sydney Australia after many years to her ill mother and despairing brother Frank She immediately finds herself transported to a traumatic childhood and friends who have not moved on in revenge and resentment. It took a little time to line up all the characters but once a murder took place we were propelled as readers into a scary journey with lies and deception. There was light relief for Leah in an evolving romance with Gerry Spillane the well named Garda detective, as the various twists of family ties and identities unravel.
Overall a great thriller that elevates itself from many an angst ridden Irish novel, although without that typical funerial and religious overtones of sin. Real terror in a real world. Beware those who may be friends.

Fabulous mystery set in the fictional town of Dungarry on the west coast of Ireland. The story of historical unsolved murders is told through the voice of Leah in dual timelines. Secrets and complex relationships keep on unfolding and telling the reader just little bit more to keep on guessing. The characters of Leah and Frank are troubled through their traumatic childhood so there are strong themes if family and friendships throughout. The deacriptio s of the weather and particularly the sunrises are glorious and add to the mood of the story. I loved it.

Well Executed..
When Leah Ryan makes a return to her small home town in Ireland after twenty years she knows that nothing will be straightforward, that her reception may be less than joyous. What she doesn’t expect is a murder that is way too close to home. Long held secrets and lies may well out. Well executed suspense with many intertwining threads, a deftly drawn cast, a well imagined sense of place and a slow burn plot populated with unexpected twists.

I love stories where the protagonist has to return to her small hometown and deal with some drama or a mystery. This one starts out with the crisis immediately when Leah comes home after 18 years abroad. She basically abandoned her mom and brother. Her mom was injured in a hit and run before she left and suffered brain damage. Her brother is the caregiver.
So she comes back and the first item on her agenda is to meet her former best friends.
But oh no. Her bestie isn't there! Her bestie's twin just died. Also her is married to the friend who did show up. Now Leah has to break the news. like "hi I haven't been home in 18 years. Your husband is dead. How about some wine?"
Awkward. No wonder she hasn't been home.
Anyway she has a lot of weird stuff to deal with and it was fun being along for the ride. I loved the setting.

This was my first Sheila Bugler and it definitely won't be my last! I really enjoyed this Irish mystery thriller and it held my interest at a fast pace. I liked that it was written in both before and after, I couldn't wait to get to the end to find out who was responsible for the past events which shaped the futures. Thank you NetGalley and Canelo

Leah returns to her small home town in Ireland after 18 years as a lawyer in Australia. It is a difficult reunion with her brother, mother and her two former friends, Aisling and Coco. And things get even worse when Leah's ex-boyfriend, Eamon, is found murdered. Eamon is the twin brother of Aisling and the husband of Coco. Completing the cast are Tom (Aisling and Eamon's father), Isabelle (Coco's mother) and Gerry, a detective, who links the murder to a hit and run two decades earlier that left Leah's mother with brain injuries.
The writing flowed and the author did a great job of creating her small-town Irish setting. I did guess the culprit early on but I still found it a page turner. It’s the second book I’ve read by this author, having previously enjoyed Black Valley Farm, and I intend to work my way through her back catalogue.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.