No Strangers Here

The body of horse owner Johnny O’Reilly is found on a beach in County Derry. There are no tracks around the body, only a vial that once contained euthanasia medication used by veterinarians and sixty-nine black stones arranged to spell Last Dance, the name of Johnny’s most famous racehorse. Everyone knows everyone in this small Irish community, but the histories of the two families are especially closely entwined. Many years ago, Dimpna Wilde, daughter of the local veterinarian, was raped by O’Reilly’s son. It was hushed up, and neither the outcome of that violence, a boy, nor the perpetrator have any knowledge of the other. Then there’s the death of Last Dance. The newspapers of the time reported how Dimpna, then a teenager, released the million-dollar thoroughbred from its stall, and the panicked animal raced to its death. The multitude of convoluted motives spawned by these events bedevils the investigation of Cormac O’Brien, an inspector brought in from Killarney. No Strangers Here is an exceptionally well-paced page-turner, with clues, surprises, and red herrings appearing effortlessly, yet effectively, from start to finish. If that is not enough, this excellent mystery is masterfully rounded off with a gripping and totally unexpected ending.