Mary Anne Kelly

Twillyweed by Mary Anne Kelly is a 2015 Mysterious Press Publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I confess I am unfamiliar with this series and so was not aware there were four other installments in the Claire Breslinsky Mystery series. Even so, I had no real indication this was not a stand alone as the author quickly got me up to speed on the events that have led us all to this juncture in Claire's life.

Claire is now divorced, with grown children, struggling with her photography career, and to top off her recent string of bad luck, she finds out her current lover has a big secret, and her niece, Jenny Rose, whom she only recently discovered even existed, is coming to America from Ireland, and her sister wants Claire to meet up with her on her behalf.

Jenny Rose has come to America to make contact with her birth mother and takes a job as an Au Pair, caring for young Wendall, a boy she quickly becomes attached to. Meeting her Auntie Claire, put the two women together amongst the same group of people, and they develop a quirky, but nice and solid relationship. However, a theft is soon discovered, which leads to a murder, and once again, Claire is in the big middle of the whole messy affair.

The one thing that kept screaming out to me as I read this story was that it felt dated, as though it had been released back in the 1990's, but was being reissued in digital format. However, I could not find any previous editions of the book anywhere, so I tried to ascertain if the story was historical and deliberately set in this time frame. But, I couldn't find any indication of that either. But, there are glaring signals and huge hints that this story is not set in present day.

If you know that going in, you will be mentally prepared for attitudes and beliefs we no longer practice, and the unusual lack of or mentioning of modern technology, except on a very rare occasion. However, this is not exactly a bad thing, in that the atmosphere was weirdly charming, even quaint.

This is a whodunit mystery, but it's also a family saga of sorts. The mystery part gets off to a very slow start, and it's not until over half way in that we see any action from that element. However, once the ball got rolling the guessing game picked up speed and I never would have guessed who the culprit was.

I liked Claire's character, her tenacity and honestly, and at times even her self deprecation. Jenny Rose was wisecracking, with an attitude typical of her age, but could come off sounding disrespectful on occasion, but she grew on me as the story progressed. However, both women wind up finding some peace and harmony in their lives, which was good to see.

The book was a little off the beaten path and is certainly a unique spin on the typical amateur sleuth trope. If I ever can manage to find the time I would love to go back and read the previous books in the series, and I will certainly read any future releases too.

I think mystery lovers who like the amateur sleuth trope or cozy mysteries, will enjoy this one. It's a character driven story with a mild romantic undertone, the violence and language are tame, so most everyone could enjoy this one.… (meer)