Review - The Mountains Wild

Title:  The Mountains Wild

Author:   Sarah Stewart Taylor

Series:   Maggie D'arcy #1

Publisher:   Minotaur Books

Genre:   Mystery/Thrillers

Format:   Kindle ARC

No. of pages:   416
Date of Publication:  June 22, 2020

Rating:  4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

In a series debut for fans of Tana French and Kate Atkinson, set in Dublin and New York, homicide detective Maggie D'arcy finally tackles the case that changed the course of her life.

Twenty-three years ago, Maggie D'arcy's family received a call from the Dublin police. Her cousin Erin has been missing for several days. Maggie herself spent weeks in Ireland, trying to track Erin's movements, working beside the police. But it was to no avail: no trace of her was ever found.

The experience inspired Maggie to become a cop. Now, back on Long Island, more than 20 years have passed. Maggie is a detective and a divorced mother of a teenager. When the Gardaí call to say that Erin's scarf has been found and another young woman has gone missing, Maggie returns to Ireland, awakening all the complicated feelings from the first trip. The despair and frustration of not knowing what happened to Erin. Her attraction to Erin's coworker, now a professor, who never fully explained their relationship. And her determination to solve the case, once and for all.


A lyrical, deeply drawn portrait of a woman - and a country - over two decades - The Mountains Wild introduces a compelling new mystery series from a mesmerizing author.

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS:

Over two decades ago Maggie D'arcy's family received a troubling phone call. Her cousin Erin had gone missing and there was no trace of her. Maggie headed to Dublin and spent weeks searching for Erin, to no avail. Now, Maggie is a cop on Long Island, and has made the rank of detective. She gets a call from her uncle and soon finds out that the Gardaí located Erin's scarf. What is worse is that another girl has now gone missing. So, Maggie leaves her teenage daughter with her ex-husband and returns to Dublin.

Are the two cases tied together? As stressful as it is, Maggie searches even deeper than she did before, determined to find the answers as to what happened to Erin all of those years ago, as well as to turn over any stone when it comes to finding out what happened to the missing girl of recent events. 

The Mountains Wild is the first book in a new mystery series. It is a compelling well-written story that sucked me in from the very first page. The story is told in then and now format which lent a lot to me really feeling for Erin, and how her disappearance led a permanent mark on Maggie's soul. This book also tells of the dynamic of Maggie and Erin's relationship.

I found that I could not put this book down. As a matter of fact, while reading it on my Kindle I happened to look down and realized that I was at 85%, which definitely shows my level of interest. There next book in this series, A Distant Grave, will be released next June, and I will most definitely be reading it so that I can see what case Maggie will be solving.

Many thanks to Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sarah Stewart Taylor is the author of the Sweeney St. George series and the Maggie D'arcy series. She grew up on Long Island, and was educated at Middlebury College in Vermont and Trinity College, Dublin, where she studied Irish Literature. She has worked as a journalist and writing teacher and now lives with her family on a farm in Vermont where they raise sheep and grow blueberries. 

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