Before Deerprath Castle, the ancestral home of the Gallaghers, is turned over to the Irish National Trust, Carragh Ryan arrives to catalog the contents of the library. She has taken the job because of the castle's connection with Evan Chase, author of gothic tales, who, having come to Deerprath to research a legend called the Darkling Bride, married the possibly mad, and soon dead, Jenny Gallagher back in the 1880s. Also converging on the castle in the present day are Aidan, the sexy Viscount Gallagher, taking a break from his job at Scotland Yard in order to retrieve some family papers from the library, and DI Sibéal McKenna, who has been tasked with reinvestigating the unsolved murder, or murder-suicide, of Aidan's parents when he was a child. As Carragh delves deeper into questions surrounding the castle's unexplained deaths, she also unearths secrets that some Gallaghers would prefer stay buried. The novel is overfurnished with plot points, but Andersen, author of the popular Boleyn trilogy (starting with The Boleyn King, 2013), provides a well-realized setting and plenty of puzzles to keep readers engaged.--Quinn, Mary Ellen Copyright 2018 Booklist

Reader Drummey's brogue adds a layer of authenticity and atmosphere to Andersen's unique mixture of contemporary mystery, romance, and gothic chiller set in a haunted Irish castle. In 2015, young Carragh Ryan, a novice archivist, is hired by 80-year-old Nessa Gallagher to inventory the historic library at the family's Deeprath Castle, where, according to local legend, the ghost of the wrathful Darkling Bride is still in residence. The castle is soon to be donated to the Irish National Trust, a decision made by Nessa's great nephew, Aidan Gallagher, a handsome Scotland Yard detective who inherited the estate after the still-unsolved murders of his parents at the castle two decades before. The novel flashes back to that period and to 1879, when Jenny Gallagher, the disturbed wife of novelist Evan Chase, killed herself. Drummey performs impressively as the despondent Jenny and the distraught Evan, and, when the Gallaghers gather at Deeprath, she gracefully shifts from imperious Nessa to distracted, aloof Aidan, to his brittle, cynical older sister Kyla and her smarmy, adulterous husband Philip. Drummey's narration adds an Irish lilt to the love story, suspense to the whodunit, and an air of gloom and doom to the gothic flashbacks, resulting in a tale listeners will find as seductive as it is thrilling. A Ballantine hardcover. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

American Carragh Ryan, an Irish scholar, is hired by Aidan Viscount Gallagher to catalog the library of Deeprath Castle, his family home in the mountains of County Wicklow. A centuries-old ghost, the Darkling Bride, is an unexpected complication. A more recent tragedy, the 20-year-old murders of the viscount's parents, adds another mystery. As they discover clues hidden by the beautiful Lady Jenny in the days leading up to her death, Carragh and Aidan come together in their search for the truth. History and geography combine in a luscious setting that features the surrounding countryside as well as a 700-year-old castle. Sarah Jane Drummey delivers a well-paced performance that adds to a compelling listening experience. VERDICT A balanced mystery with minor supernatural elements that moves inexorably to a surprising and satisfying conclusion. This gothic romantic suspense novel will appeal to Mary Stewart and Phyllis Whitney fans who have been pining for more. ["Eloquent, atmospheric, and suspenseful, this is the perfect read for fans of Kate Morton and Lucinda Riley": LJ 1/18 review of the Ballantine hc.]-Janet Martin, Southern Pines P.L., NC © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.