Kate packs up her daughters and heads back home after getting a message from her sister Colleen. Home is Shamrock, Massachusetts. Colleen waves away her message, however, refusing to explain why she sent it. Not long after, Kate finds herself immersed in a murder. The main suspect? Colleen, the victim's best friend. Although she's with Kate when they discover the body, there's lots of evidence that points to Colleen, a talented Irish dancer. Heck, given the secretive nature of not just Colleen, who goes out of her way to avoid discussion with Kate, but others who are just as secretive, Kate even wonders if it's possible her sister did kill her friend.
As the first of a new series, there is a lot of background info worked into the plot as well as introductions to the probable recurring characters. To be honest, I never really warmed up to either Kate or Colleen, the latter being downright annoying much of the time. Kate is a chronic over-thinker, her mind seeming to whirl rapidly at almost every moment expecting the worst and she tended to wear me out. To be honest, I'm not sure I felt drawn to any of the characters. Maybe Garrett, former boyfriend, now cop, someone who seems to pop up unexpectedly and frequently. Kate's oldest daughter Maeve shows promise but, typical child, seemed to blow hot and cold. Kate's parents aren't well fleshed out and I was left wondering what the logic was behind her father being the former chief of police who was shot on the job and now in a wheelchair. Perhaps that will be made clearer as the series progresses. Oh, an Kate freezing up at playing the piano again sort of made sense but that's probably another thread for future books.
As for the murder, Kate arrived home just in time to go to the dance rehearsal with Colleen where they stumble across the dead body of Deirdre. Young Maeve and flighty Colleen handle it better than Kate, go figure. Could Colleen have murdered Deirdre? Why is there a trail of blood? Is it sheer coincidence that Moira McShane almost immediately tries to take advantage of Deirdre's death by advertising her soon-to-be-open new dance school? Where's the no-show pianist? Could the long-winded mayor somehow be involved? How about Conor, who works scooping ice cream, or maybe ambitious, organized Zoe? What secrets are being kept? Even Kate has secrets, of course. Bottom line, while I wasn't quite taken with this book (3.5 rounded to 4) and I'm also not quite sure how she figured out whodunit at the end, that may just be me. I am interested enough to say I'll definitely check out the next book in the series, however. There's promise here and still much, much more to be discovered about the characters and relationships/connections between them. Thanks #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for introducing me to Kate's grand debut as an amateur sleuth. The twist/reveal at the end definitely makes me curious.
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