Sarah Stewart TaylorReseñas

Book 2 of Maggie D'arcy, a Long Island cop with ties to Ireland. When a body is found, Maggie and her team are called to investigate. It is Gabriel Treacy, an aid worker. When they find signs of torture, and note that some items are missing, the investigation takes Maggie to Ireland. Due to vacation there with her daughter, Lilly, and see her boyfriend, Conor, the timing is good, but the case interrupts her vacation. Maggie discovers info that Treacy's colleagues are in danger, and there is an investigation into Ireland adoptions tied to the Magdalene laundry scandal. Also involved are several politicians. Maggie is also in danger, and everything comes to an explosive head.
I am enjoying this series and look forward to reading book 3.

Book One of the Maggie D'arcy series.
Maggie's cousin, Erin, goes missing in Dublin, after traveling there on the advice of a priest. Maggie searched for her, to no avail. Maggie returns home to NY, later becomes a cop. Now divorced from Brian, she has a teen, Lilly. Maggie returns to Dublin after her uncle Danny says something has been found. Maggie still has feelings for Conor, Erin's co-worker.
In Dublin, Maggie tries to assist the Garda. Another body is found. Maggie is confused. She returns home, and remembers a clue. She solves the case.
Unexpected twists in this one - a good start to a new series. I will continue it.

I

Sarah Stewart Taylors most recent book, Stolen Child (the 4th book in the Maggie D'Arcy series was nominated for a 2024 G.P. Putnam Sue Grafton Memorial Award. Since there are only 4 books in the series, I decided to start at the beginning.

In this series launch from Taylor (the Sweeny St. George mysteries), Long Island, N.Y., homicide detective Maggie D’arcy learns that someone unearthed a scarf belonging to her cousin, Erin Flaherty, while scouring the Wicklow, Ireland, woods for missing schoolteacher Niamh Horrigan.

In 1993, when then 23-year-old Erin vanished from Dublin, Maggie flew over and spent weeks hounding the gardaí, retracing Erin’s steps, and interviewing her acquaintances before departing empty-handed. Authorities now suspect that Erin fell victim to a serial killer who may also be holding Niamh, so Maggie takes leave from work and returns to Dublin to resume digging, since solving Erin’s disappearance may facilitate Niamh’s rescue.

Maggie’s narrative alternates between past and present, her investigations unfolding in tandem, while infrequent flashbacks to the cousins’ childhood chronicle their turbulent relationship. Woolly plotting saps momentum and the denouement feels contrived, but Taylor’s affection for Irish geography, history, and culture suffuses the tale, adding texture and atmosphere. Fans of Elizabeth George should take note. Agent: Esmond Harmsworth, Aevitas Creative Management. (June) --Staff (Reviewed 04/13/2020) (Publishers Weekly)

This book struck me as a cross between a family saga, police procedural and a romance novel. While caring about finding Erin's fate, none of the characters, except maybe Roly, are endearing. I wouldn't run out to get the second book in the series.½

Another great book in the series. I am grateful that I got to read it early but sad that I now have a long wait for the next one.

This is my favorite new series.

4.5⭐️

A solid procedural that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Garda Maggie D’arcy is a former Long Island homicide detective with twenty years of experience under her belt, who relocated to Ireland a few years back and is working her way up the ladder in local law enforcement, currently on community policing assignment in Dublin's Portobello neighborhood. When former mer model/reality television star and single mother Jade Elliott is found strangled to death in her home and her toddler daughter Lauren missing. Maggie and her partner Garda Jason Savage were first on the scene. Given her experience in homicide and the fact that the investigative unit is temporarily short-staffed, Senior Investigator Roly Byrne ropes her in to join the investigation. We follow Maggie, Roly and her temporary partner Detective Sergeant Padraig Fiero, as they do a deep dive into Jade’s past – both personal and professional as they frantically search for the missing child and try to find the killer. What follows is a complicated web of lies, secrets and some shocking revelations.
I liked the structure and pacing of the plot and enjoyed following the mystery as it is gradually unraveled. The procedural aspect is very well depicted. Plenty of suspects, twists and red herrings make for an engrossing read and I was surprised by the final reveal (which is always a good thing!). I haven’t read too many procedurals based in Ireland, and I really enjoyed the setting and the details of the law enforcement structure and procedure mentioned in the course of this novel. We also get to know more about Maggie and her boyfriend Conor, who discovers some old photographs within the walls of their home, adding a parallel track to the story that has a bittersweet ending. We also meet Maggie’s daughter Lillie and Conor’s son Adrien. This is the fourth book in a series and though I haven’t read the previous installments, I had no problem following this one. I do, however, intend to read the other books simply because I really liked the protagonist and how well the procedural aspect was presented in this novel. I also thought that the author struck a perfect balance while weaving the mystery and Maggie’s personal life into a fluid and engaging narrative, with the latter never overshadowing the former. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor and would gladly recommend it to those who enjoy reading police procedurals.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

As always, Sarah Stewart Taylor has written a winner! Finished with her Garda training, Maggie D'arcy is once again a beat cop, patrolling in Dublin. When she and her partner are first on the scene of a murder and potential child abduction, she has to remember her place as a uniformed officer rather than a homicide detective. Once she's seconded to support the detectives on the case--led by her friend Roly and partnered with Detective Fiero who she met in the previous book--she has the chance to demonstrate her worth and particular talent in missing person cases. A wonderfully engrossing novel that takes many twists before its satisfying conclusion.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

I love the Maggie D'arcy series. It is wonderful traveling around Dublin and Ireland with Maggie as she tries to solve murders. I did not guess the ending on this mystery at all and yet when the killer is revealed it made perfect sense, all of the clues were there and I was blind to them. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series when it is released.

Maggie D'Arcy has left New York after her last detective case made her fearful for her daughter's safety. She and her daughter Lilly are staying at least for the summer with Conor while Maggie decides if she wants to join the garda. A Polish immigrant's body turns up in the sea, and investigators believe there is a chance it could be connected to a drug situation a few years back. When Lilly is dating the younger brother of another Polish man connected with the building site where the deceased immigrant worked, she questions whether this is a good thing or not. Most of the locals seem to like the buy, but the connection causes her concern. Police never tell Maggie what's going on, but she investigates a little on the side. The case conclusion is suspenseful and satisfying.

The Maggie D’Arcy series written by Sarah Stewart Taylor is a brilliantly written series.
A Stolen Child is Book #4 of the series published in June of 2023.

The first 3 titles, The Mountains Wild, A Distant Grave and The Drowning Sea are excellent. Book #4, A Stolen Child is also five stars. *****

A Stolen Child takes place in Dublin where former Long Island homicide detective Maggie D’Arcy has just finished her Irish police training and is officially a Garda, though itching to be elevated to her friend Roly Byrne’s detective/homicide unit.
Maggie is settling into Dublin life and enjoying her community policing work, when she and her partner discover a former model and reality star murdered and her toddler daughter missing.

A Stolen Child is a good mystery and police procedural with excellent writing, plotting, characters and location. Ms. Taylor adds so much ‘atmosphere’ to these titles and so much cultural info that one feels a part of her Portobello neighborhood and family and the local Garda network.
A Stolen Child is a title that one doesn’t want to put down and a title and series to be recommended. *****

A Stolen Child, by Sarah Stewart Taylor, is an international police procedural featuring Maggie D’Arcy, a New York detective who has relocated her family and career to Dublin, Ireland. This book is the fourth in the Maggie D’Arcy series, but I enjoyed it as a standalone – although it’s made me want to read the whole series.
Maggie has trained to be a Garda, aspiring to be a detective again in this new country, and is currently assigned to community policing in Dublin. She and her partner are called to check on a potential Violence complaint, but the woman who answers the door says there’s no problem, it was just a loud television show. Then, a week later, the woman is found dead in her apartment, and her toddler child is missing. Maggie and her partner wonder, what did they miss on that earlier call?
Then Maggie is assigned to the detective team for the case, temporarily filling in while the team works another high-profile case. It’s a chance for her to use her detective skills and her commitment to and knowledge of the community she’s been working in. She’s also balancing the intense requirements of the case against her personal life – her daughter, her lover and his son, remodeling the lover’s home so it can be sold and they can all move to a new home together. And she’s still adjusting to Irish culture.
What I found most compelling about the book is how Maggie’s professional skills as a detective combine with the professional and personal skills in listening, observing, intuiting the spots where something is off but there’s no obvious clue. As she and the team sort through the facts and witnesses, she weighs a witnesses’ reaction against her own experience as a mother, tests someone’s statements against her sense of whether they might be lying and why.
The book is mostly dialogue – the investigators, the witnesses, the family of the victim, questioning the neighbors – and when the investigation really gets underway this technique becomes a fascinating way to show how police questioning works. It was fascinating to read the questioning and see Maggie’s reactions, her quick shifts in technique based on an unexpected answer or a small revealing physical movement, or something left unsaid. The dialogue took me right inside the police procedural process, how it works and how it feels.
The book is well plotted, and the characters are complex and very individual. It held my interest, and was hard to put down. I’m anxious to go back and read the earlier Maggie D’Arcy books in the series.

Thanks to #netgalley, #stmartinspress, and #minotaurbooks for the ARC.½

This is the fourth in the Maggie D’arcy series; it is the second one I have read. Although I was glad to have had an earlier introduction to some of the characters, this would work as a standalone.

Maggie, a former Long Island, NY detective, has relocated to Ireland with her daughter. They are living with her lover and his son. She has completed training to become a Garda and is assigned a partner to do community policing in the Portobello area of Dublin. A woman who lives on Maggie’s beat is murdered and her young daughter is missing. Because the present detective team has another high profile case as well, Maggie is enlisted to assist them with the investigation.

This is a solid police procedural with the unique perspective of an American detective adjusting to life with the Dublin police department. It was a fast, engrossing read; I did not want to put it down. It is a bit dark, with twists and turns.

I enjoy series with strong, cable female MCs and this one has joined my list of must reads.

Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress #minotaurbooks for the ARC

Amazing. Intense.

Another solid procedural thriller from Sarah, a slow burn that will keep you enthralled from start to finish. Picking right up where we were left off on The Mountains Wild, Maggie is still recovering from her personal woes and her professional life is finally beginning to get back to normal, when she’s thrown headlong into another case that once again upends both her worlds and sends them colliding together once more.

Not only are you reading a mystery, you’re entrenched in the family life of Maggie, you’re wrapped up in Lucy’s wellbeing, you’re cheering on the love life of the beloved Uncle Danny, and you can hear the Irish brogue of Colin so many miles across the ocean. You personally feel the triumph of each clue found during the investigation, and the disappointment from different characters when something falls through or doesn’t go as planned. Everything about this story is different yet the feeling is familiar and comfortable.

This is incredibly written, an absolute joy to read, and I eagerly await the next installment of this series.

An advanced copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher. The opinions are my own.

Lately, I’ve inadvertently chosen a string of books that have all been based in Ireland. I have no real ties to Ireland and though I know it is a beautiful place, I never really had a true desire to go there in person. These books have changed my mind, and The Mountains Wild was no different. Taylor has a remarkable ability to paint beautiful word pictures with entrancing imagery. You can really smell the peat fires and feel the moisture in the air (or maybe living in the PNW myself makes these things easy to conjure).

Along with my growing interest to see Ireland is my realization that I know very little about Irish history or politics. While I still have much to learn, Mountains is a quick study in some of the strife and conflict that has plagued the country for decades. It has piqued my interest for further study into its complicated past.

Scenery and background aside, the story itself is a masterpiece. Several plots intertwine to create one cohesive novel. The characters are raw and real, relatable with multiple layers and imperfections, traumas and complexities. No one person is without flaws, which leads the tale on a twisted path that denies the reader an inability to predict the outcome. Even if you guess something right, you’re still going to be surprised.
The Mountains Wild is a gorgeous thriller and I look forward to future works from Sarah Stewart Taylor.

I received a complementary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another good read from this series. Love the Irish countryside descriptions.

A good police procedural. Maggie D'Arcy is a homicide detective in Long Island. She's pretty intense!

This excellent second series installment features New York detective Maggie D'Arcy. Right before she is to visit her boyfriend in Ireland, she responds to the homicide of an Irish man. The man's body showed signs of a severe beating in the past. Maggie's doubts about the long-distance relationship seem compounded when she must use part of her vacation time seeking leads on the case. An angry prosecutor calls her back to New York before her vacation time is up. Readers see the detectives sifting through every piece of evidence, even finding a connection between the prosecutor and the victim. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but this one drew me in and kept me wanting to listen. While in Ireland, Maggie ponders what moving to Ireland might look like, but she knows her experience would not get her a position in the garda and that she would need to go through their training program. I look forward to the next installment.

Another strong entry in this series bridging both sides of the Atlantic. This is a strong procedural with atmosphere and romance thrown in.

Another winner from Sarah Stewart Taylor about Maggie D'arcy. Though no longer a police officer, Maggie gets pulled into intrigue while on holiday in Ireland. After the traumatic episode in Long Island, Maggie and her daughter are on a trial run with her first love and his son, making plans for Maggie to relocate to Ireland and move in with Conor when she gets asked to help a neighbor untangle a childhood mystery. The apparent suicide of a Polish immigrant complicates matters and Maggie soon finds herself reunited with Griz, a Garda officer, as a drug investigation centers on the village. Wonderful setting and descriptive prose make this a must-read (and I appreciate the realism in that Maggie, despite being an experience US cop, can't just waltz into a job in the Garda Siochana!).

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

Sarah Stewart Taylor moved to my list of favorite authors when I read The Mountains Wild with strong characters, in-depth plotting, and atmospheric surroundings. The second book in the Maggie D'arcy series didn't disappoint. Maggie finds her latest case on Long Island has connections to Ireland, and threatens to derail her vacation plans there as she gets pulled into the investigation. Maggie's a tough broad and a good cop, but is beginning to wonder if it's time for her to move on, both literally and figuratively. I liked that it addressed the issue of moving to Ireland realistically; all too often, fiction makes it seem too easy for someone to simply pick up and start over again, but there will be hurdles if Maggie moves to Ireland. Looking forward to the next chapter in the Maggie D'arcy series.

Thanks to St Martin's Press for access to a digital ARC via NetGalley.

Stewart combines a solid procedural with Maggie D'Arcy, an American detective, and a cold case/murder squad in Ireland with a family story and even a bit of romance. It also combines a cold case, Maggie's cousin with a current case. Well done and the cold case endng was a complete surprise to me.

THE DROWNING SEA is written by Sarah Stewart Taylor. The title is Book #3 in Ms. Taylor’s Maggie D’Arcy mystery series.
Maggie D’Arcy is a former Long Island homicide detective living in Ireland with daughter, Lily, and boyfriend/partner Conor - in preparation for a possible move to Ireland. ‘Testing the lay of the land, so to speak’.
Of course, a homicide and mysterious happenings occur in the small town where their holiday home is located.
This title is a fantastic addition to the series. There is a well-described location, detailed and interesting characters, small town/village politics, resentments and jealousies, and a very well-paced, tense plot.
I like Ms. Taylor’s writing very much. It is very detailed, with many historical tidbits thrown my way and insights into all the characters.
Her Sweeney St. George series is excellent, also.
A great title, a great series. *****

I'm so glad I discovered this series. This second book, like the first, is split between Ireland and the US. This book introduces an entirely new mystery, which Maggie investigates both at home on Long Island and while traveling the Irish countryside, with a returning cast of characters including Marty, Connor, and Lily. The Irish scenes were some of my favorites, and I especially loved meeting Connor's family. Kimberley and I buddy read this, and we were both troubled by Maggie's decisions to prioritize her case over family time, though this was addressed in the final chapters of the book. I can't wait to dive into the newly released third book in this series, the last one to this point, and I'm already hoping for more books. Maggie is a smart, down-to-earth character, and I'm excited to crack into another case and discover more of Ireland through Maggie's eyes. Plus, of course I can't wait to see what comes next for her and Connor! Note for listeners: this book is narrated by Marisa Calin, who also did book 1, but I much preferred the listening experience here, especially for the American characters.

Another great installment in the Maggie D'arcy series. I always love reading about Ireland through Sarah's eyes, she does a great job of describing Ireland and all of it's beauty.

Looking forward to book #4, maybe there will be a wedding. There will definitely be murder and maybe Maggie will officially be on the case.