Audio Review: A Distant Grave by Sarah Stewart Taylor

 

A Distant Grave (Maggie D'arcy #2) by Sarah Stewart Taylor

Publication Date: June 22nd 2021 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 426

Audio Book Length: 12 hrs 33 min

Narrators: Marisa Calin

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

The story opens with Maggie dealing with some of the repercussions from the last story, and it’s not good. There seems to be a DA gunning for her, hampering her efforts to bring “someone” to justice. I’m being vague because of spoilers for the last book.

Maggie’s about to leave on vacation with Lilly, her fifteen-year-old daughter, and meet up with Conor back in Ireland when a man is found murdered on a beach in Long Island. When it’s discovered that he’s from Ireland, Maggie’s vacation turns into a bit of a work assignment. Why the man was in Long Island and who killed him? The connections are surprising and twisty!  

There’s a lot going on, from the murder to Maggie’s problems with the DA, her issues with Lilly and her continuing relationship with Conor. I was fully invested in this “page turning” mystery and I didn’t want to stop listening so I could get to the bottom of so many things!

Ms. Stewart’s writing was beautiful, breathing life into her characters making it easy to relate and root for Maggie, Connor, Lilly and even Gabriel. The settings were vividly described, giving the story an eerie and atmospheric feel! I could almost feel the biting cold of Long Islands shores and see the rugged beauty of County Clare while listening.

A Silent Grave is a pleasing mix of police procedural/mystery/thriller and Maggie’s personal life. It’s a series best read in order. Even though the previous main mystery is solved, there are quite a few plot points unresolved and continued in A Silent Grave. Also, the romance started in the first book is ongoing and like most real-life relationships it’s not all smooth sailing. I’m 100% rooting for them!  I believe they’re a couple that can go the distance. I’m happy with how things are left at this point. 

I think there will be more Maggie D’arcy mysteries coming, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

I listened to the audio version of The Mountains Wild and A Silent Grave with Marisa Calin narrating.  I was impressed with her expertly performed Long Island and Irish accents! She switched back and forth effortlessly and they sounded authentic to me. I listened at 1.25x the normal speed.

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

In the follow up to the critically acclaimed The Mountains Wild, Detective Maggie D'arcy tackles another intricate case that bridges Long Island and Ireland.

Long Island homicide detective Maggie D'arcy and her teenage daughter, Lilly, are still recovering from the events of last fall when a strange new case demands Maggie's attention. The body of an unidentified Irish national turns up in a wealthy Long Island beach community and with little to go on but the scars on his back, Maggie once again teams up with Garda detectives in Ireland to find out who the man was and what he was doing on Long Island. As the strands of the mystery lead Maggie to a quiet village in rural County Clare and back to her home turf, they also lead her in range of a dangerous and determined killer who will do anything to keep the victim's story hidden forever.

With the lyrical prose, deeply drawn characters, and atmospheric setting that made The Mountains Wild one of 2020's most anticipated summer reads, Sarah Stewart Taylor delivers another gripping mystery novel about family, survival, and the meaning of home.