Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Declan's Cross by Carl Neggers

STOP! Do NOT read this book if you haven't read the other two in this series. You will not understand most of what is happening. You might still get some enjoyment but really, not as much has having the more extensive background of earlier books in the series.
Julianne is one such character we met in Saint's Gate and Heron's Cove. She dated Colin's brother Andy for awhile before he inevitably broke her heart. When offered a chance to study marine life in Ireland, Julianne jumps at the offer, even though she just met Lindsey. One problem, Lindsey isn't there to pick her up. Well, Julianne is a big girl who can get herself up to the cottage where she's staying. But Lindsey never shows up. At least, not alive.
Declan's Cross (Sharpe & Donovan, #3)Luckily, Emma and Colin are in Ireland and on their way down. Not to check up on Julianne, at least not ostensibly, but it is quite the coincidence that she ended up in the same small village where a spectacular art theft (a running theme in the books) took place decades earlier. 
Like the other Sharpe and Donovan (and really, any of Neggers' books) series, this book is a tangled series of intersecting stories. I sometimes have to put these books down and just think for a little bit and read something less complicated. But don't put it down for too long or you'll have to start back at the beginning.
I probably would really rate this at a two and a half but bonus points for the grand descriptions of Ireland. There are too many rehashings in this books, not just from the other two books but from this story as well (Andy's love her/don't love her, Father Finn's past) and also some story leaps (Lindsey's father might be connected to the art theft?) that just strech a little too much.
Will I stop reading this series? Probably not. I loved the first book too much and hope that I can find that level of enjoyment again.

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