Burren Mysteries Books In Order

Publication Order of Burren Mysteries Books

The series of books “Burren Mysteries”, by the Irish writer Cora Harrison, introduces the reader into a wonderful world in the Ireland of 16th Century. The series is characterized by the deep level of details to recreate a colorful and absorbing atmosphere, and thrilling and exciting pages, in which suspense is perceived permanently. The books are not only incredible, catchy, but also introduce much historical accuracy. Harrison was able to portray with strength and passion the different aspects of medieval Ireland, together with a really interesting story. The writer dedicated 12 books to the series. Among them, we find “Michalemas tribute”, “The sting of justice” and “Eyes of the law”, which have been recommended and praised by critics and colleagues in many occasions. Any reader who loves witty plots, unpredictable outcomes and exciting lines should grab one of these books and give him or herself a wonderful gift.

The history deals with the many adventures of Mara, a superlatively important person in her community, loved and respected by almost everyone. She embodies wisdom, patience and sobriety and ultimately imparts justice in the place, deciding what punishment would go to what offender. Despite what it may seem, she is very kind and amiable, and early in the book the reader would find her totally likable. One more remarkable character is the king, Turlough. This is a very interesting character. Mara and the king will be often engaged in different relationships and situations, and this will make of him a predominant character, and will allow the reader to understand what he is like, seeing how he reacts to different situations.

One of the most exciting books is the third of the series called “Michaelmas tribute”, published in the USA as “A secret and unlawful killing” by Pan Books in 2009. The story begins when several murders take place in the Burren, to which the heroine responds immediately, attempting to find the killer. Although they seem quite straightforward, the crimes hide much more, and as pages pass by, the reader will be surprised by the final outcome. Along the way, the writer leads us through ingenious and clever turns, making the reader feel confused but curious. The reader is encouraged to make guesses, think the mysteries and reach an answer. The management of the writer of multiple techniques and devices certainly creates a mysterious plot, where you never know what is to come. Another major feature of the story is how it offers a thorough exploration of human reactions. It also includes many pages filled with humor. At some point, Henry VIII is spoken of with impromptu and witty words. The book positively deserves reading, and the author a praise. Readers who love detective stories will surely find this series intriguing, exciting, breathtaking, everything a good story from this genre must offer. One does not need to have read the previous book to read this one, although it is of course recommended. It is also an exquisite book.

One more great title from this series “The sting of justice”, published by Macmillan in 2009. In this book, again we are presented with the Burren society in the 1700’s. Harrison continued in this story with incredibly vivid descriptions of places, customs and people. The quantity of characters that make this story does not conspire against their quality. There are very interesting people, who give liveliness to the story exposing their desires and thoughts. The king remains, obviously, an important character, even more than before, with the relationship between Mara and him evolving more and more in the story. The heroine continues demonstrating exceptional and remarkable values, mixed with a fantastic analytic reasoning. We can say that the book remains perfectly balanced between being a historical story and a mystery story. History is strongly present, but the plot is not affected by its presence, actually, it is helped by it. The characters, the place and the situations are combined skillfully and create a wonderful world.

The plot is sincerely amazing. It is filled with clever changes, unexpected events and improbable outcomes that will make the reader feel overwhelmed with excitement. The story introduces several paths to follow, but many times they end in a very different way than they were expected to. Again, the focus of the book is a murder. Although at first the victim appears to be an unpleasant character, the author succeeds in making the reader feel sympathy for him. The writer gives us another instance of her marvelous ability to portray human personality and feelings. In this book, actions take place much more in the countryside, and in this sense, the ability of the author to picture scenarios and locations magnificently served this book very well. And her virtue is not limited to this along the book. The strength and passion with which her characters are represented and introduced gives the reader the possibility to understand and know the customs and habits of those societies. Important it is to say too that all this is achieved not reducing the truthfulness of the events. Everything was thoroughly and extensively investigated, and historical aspects are totally reflective of what happened in reality.

This series of books will delight many readers, and is certainly worth reading, especially if you are a fan of detective stories. The plots and subplots merge perfectly and build up a magnificent story. In spite of being primordially a series of mystery books, the stories also have a lot of other features like humor and romance, making it suitable for many readers which would like to have something more than just a crime in the story. Of course, the main topic continues to be a crime, but adding all these other elements, the writer makes a much more readable, amusing story. Lastly, the fact that the books are peopled by characters that are deeply described give the story a special strength, which should be doubly remarked. The series is formed by several books, each of one with its own particular charming, so do not doubt in reading them if you have the chance.