Old Sins

Maria moves to a village in hopes of a better future and a series of events upend her life. She discovers a mystery of missing girls and talks of human trafficking. This mystery brings up memories from her past that makes her relive a horrid event. This story was an exciting thrill ride. The suspense builds up nicely and delivers a great plot.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and BookGoSocial for this book, I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Fascinating characters and dark subject matter make this a compelling read. The details of the archaeology were a nice bonus.

This was a compelling read, that I found I did not want to put down! Great, multi-faceted characters. Very interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. Suspenseful and thrilling. I felt every emotion. Kept me intrigued from the first page to the last. Simply a GREAT read!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

What an interesting mystery. It is the first novel I have read by Handy and I liked it. There were several aspects of the novel I found were done particularly well. One was the setting. The novel contains a great deal about Irish history, culture and myths. There were also good descriptions of the landscape and places, such as an old abbey. Another aspect of the novel done well was the variety of spiritual beliefs and experiences. It included everything from druids to Catholics. The information was included in the narrative through both Maria's experiences and archaeological discoveries.

Perhaps the best aspect of the novel was the character of Maria. She's a good amateur sleuth but very different in that she is a poet and a sensitive. She can see auras and sense events from the past. Her character brought a different level of feeling to the horrible events happening in the village.

This is a good mystery with an interesting setting, an unusual amateur sleuth and a good exploration of how decisions long ago, old sins not forgotten, have deadly ramifications in the present. I like Handy's writing style and will be looking for more by her.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Old Sins by Lynne Handy is a story set in Ireland, in the quaint village of Coomara. Maria Pell is on a sabbatical from Indiana, with the goal to write poetry. Even though this is #3 in the Maria Pell Mystery Series, it is definitely a standalone novel.

Maria is able to 'see ' things that are quite recent but even further back in time. She is currently living in a cottage with her cousin, who over time starts to act strange, especially when Maria brings up a baby she found as a child floating dead in a river. Maria was quite young at the time but still has disturbing memories of the incident.

Her ex, who had cheated on her is also there, he is an archaeologist who wants to get back together with her, but she is reluctant as he hurt her with his cheating. A young girl's body is found, and Maria feels compelled to find out who murdered the girl. The police inspector would rather she keep out of it, for her own safety, but Maria insists.

Then girls are abducted, and it is found that there is a slave trade going on off the coast. Maria is determined to find the girls and again almost loses her life in a scary scenario. Old sins come into play once she finds out what is going on.

I loved the fact that this novel takes place in Ireland, my favorite place to be. There is mystery and magical elements at play. The history of the town and local legends abound. Written with the knowledge that only someone who does their research knows, this is a mystery story that will keep you reading.

The mind is a curious place- it stores what we don't understand, and tries to make meaning from it. If it can't, then it uses what definition it has, but still keeps the imprint. And somewhere as we age, that imprint is still there, randomly coming back when info is obtained that might be a better match. But it never comes simply, it roars and screams to be understood. In this Irish book, perfect for Halloween reading! The past haunts Maria and when she seeks to leave it behind while getting the change to write her poetry in Ireland, she doesn't realize our minds are always with us, and so is our past. While the reader might think they know what Maria saw in the past, there is still a mystery to it, and then the modern disappearances trigger her back to that time, when questions weren't answered. Only this time she seems to hold the answer to the mystery. Will she be able to unearth it in time to save the missing girls? This is a roller coaster read, full of psychological twists and selight of hand, it will have you wanting to go back and read the first 2 books in the series!

This was a compelling read, that I found I did not want to put down! Great, multi-faceted characters. Very interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. Suspenseful and thrilling. I felt every emotion. Kept me intrigued from the first page to the last. Simply a GREAT read!

Murder, mystery, loss, and Celtic lore all weave together in a somewhat warm tale - enigmatic and human, tying threads of past and present. A mystery, yet somehow comforting.