Following the Wake

First published in the U.K. in 2002, this spellbinding crime novel from O'Connor, one of Ireland's most popular mystery writers, has finally washed up on U.S. shores, but it is well worth the wait. The book picks up where Walking on Water (2003) left off, with the primary characters forging on with their lives after the brutal murder of American art dealer Evangeline Walter. Detective-turned-crime writer Frank Recaldo and his lover, Cressida Sweeney, have married and built a new life for themselves in Dublin, but his growing fame threatens to cast light on their past. Meanwhile, Cressida's son, Gil-now 18 and obsessed with finding out what happened to his father, who supposedly drowned after being named the prime suspect in Evangeline's death-has returned to the picturesque coastal village of Passage South. An old rotting house, hidden letters and the surfacing of long-buried memories threaten to turn Gil's world upside down, but it's a tenacious journalist digging up dirt for a series on unsolved murders who brings the tale to a startling climax. To fully appreciate the complexity of each book and the series' clever wrap-up, readers should read them in sequence. Otherwise, they may have trouble relating to the characters and following the rather jumpy narrative.