The Hero of Tír na Cara by Michael Barrett

Neither a romance nor a mystery, but SUCH a fun read, I have to give it a platform!  (I told y’all I have diverse tastes, so if you’re along for the ride, it’s gonna wander about a bit.) 

As those of you who’ve followed my writing saga know, I finished writing my debut novel during a summer in Ireland, a country I happen to love. A lot.  The quirky delight that is The Hero of Tír na Cara jettisoned me right back. As the hero of the book himself so succinctly puts it: “No one comes across the pond ta see offices or factories, do they? They come to see the small Irish village, with green fields and a proper pub with a seisiún over in the corner. That’s us, isn’t it? An honest-to-God Irish village. As feckin’ authentic as it gets.”

And right there is the delight of this read — being the fly on the wall in a ‘feckin’ authentic Irish village’ as the villagers within fuss and fight, rise and fall, and handle what life throws at them — the good, the bad, and the ugly. Michael Barrett does a superb job of characterization, each member of this cast so unique and whole and easily visualized that by the end you feel as if you’ve actually spent a summer with these folk and know them all well. Ah, that we could be so lucky! 

Take the trip to Tír na Cara. You will not regret it.