Fans of the police procedural will enjoy this for the dual time line stories that shine a light on the Troubles. Set in Belfast, it starts off with a bang when Iona walks into the police claiming she's killed her friends. Di Danny Stowe, who has been working cold cases, is called in because the phrase Who Took Eden Mulligan, one of his files, is written on the wall in the house with the bodies. He asks for help from his old friend Dr Rose Lainey, who is. back in Belfast after years away. These two- well, they make a good team. Why is Iona claiming to be a murderer? What did happen to Eden? No spoilers from me. I liked how Dempesy wrapped into insight into Belfast in the 1980s. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Hope to see more with Lainey and Stowe.

“Who Took Eden Mulligan” by Sinead Dempsey is an intense psychological investigation thriller that links the murder of three students to the disappearance of a mother of five children over twenty years ago. In the opening chapters we meet the two lead investigators, Danny Stowe from PSNI and Rose Lainey who has returned to Belfast on a temporary basis and about their backstories. After a frustrating period of time making very little progress, the investigators finally catch a break that they feel could help them make some progress.

This story looks into events and agreements that people outside of Northern Ireland will most likely not be aware of. The traumatic impact on victims of injustices is also a theme though not exclusive to the troubles. .

Whoever labeled this a mystery/thriller is doing it a disservice.

It is a book about the IRA, in Belfast, in the 80s. That topic will have an audience unfortunately I’m not one of them. The writing was ok though there were excessive and repetitive details that could have been culled for a tighter paced story.

The relationship between the two crimes was not revealed until the bitter end and it was rather underwhelming at that point. I did want to finish this to see how it wrapped up but it was a chore. The few twists that were interesting weren’t enough to make up for the rest of the story.

Again, there will be people that love this story. If you have an interest in the IRA and how it affected the neighborhoods and citizens for decades even after it subsided this is for you. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Avon Books UK for a copy in exchange for a review.

4-4.5*
Rose Lainey, forensic psychologist, has returned to Belfast, her home town, for her estranged mother’s funeral. She had left Belfast many years ago to get away from any association with her family name. Her mother, she believes, had a dark past connected to the IRA.

D I Danny Stowe has been pushed aside after messing up his last big case. His marriage is on the rocks which isn’t helping him stay focused.

A young woman, Iona Gardener, walks into a police station covered in blood declaring that she has ‘killed them’ before collapsing.

Danny is given a break since at the scene is a message “Who took Eden Mulligan?” and is put in charge of the investigation.

Rose looks in on Danny, friends since being at university together, who asks her to help with the case. She agrees. He wants her help interviewing Iona, who is believes didn’t kill anyone, but she is not yet fit. So, in the meantime, Rose will look into the Eden Mulligan case. Is it really connected to the present murders? If so, how? And if Iona didn’t kill them who did?

Set in Belfast of the present day and looking back to the 1980s this book gives a fascinating insight into what it was like for those living through ‘The Troubles’ particularly for those living in the Catholic areas of Belfast. Eden Mulligan was a Protestant married to a Catholic man who was often absent working in England. When he was home he drank a lot. They had five children whose lives were irrevocably altered when their mother disappeared one night and their father never came back to care for them.

This is a tremendous story of murder, abduction and loss. It goes beyond the normal police procedural investigation into the murky world of the IRA, how it impacted on people’s lives. Also, at the involvement of priests and how being ‘a man of the cloth’ might bring influence and power in and over a community but even that cannot always save him if his personal life choices change.

These various threads are well handled and written by the author who writes with authority and the voice of experience. The two main characters are well drawn and likeable. This is certainly a duo who have the ability to become favourites for many readers of any future books. There is also scope to develop D I Stowe and his squad into terrific characters and, along with Rose, a great team.

I liked the setting, the various storylines including Rose and Danny’s backstories which were neatly woven into the book. It is well paced, an engrossing story and a wonderful read that I would not hesitate to recommend.

Thanks: Many thanks to Ellie Pilcher for the invite to read Who Took Eden Mulligan? and to Avon Books for the eBook via NetGalley.

Thanks for a preview of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rose returns home to her family that she has not seen for years, it is unfortunately her mothers death that draws her back.

She meets up with an old friend Danny who is a policeman. Rose gets drawn into a case that Danny is working on and together, along with Danny's team they do their best to solve the mystery. A bunch of teenagers are found in an old cottage, there are 2 survivors. On the wall there is a message about the disappearance of Eden Mulligan,. Eden disappeared many years ago so therefore this modern day murder and Eden are connected...but how??? This sets off the main story of this book and really drew me in to the theme and kept me guessing.

Rose and Danny make a great team, both with issues within their personal relationships but both great individual characters. I would love to read more about Rose and Danny and hope there will be another book.

I read this really quick as I could not put the book down. Worth a read for anyone who likes a good murder mystery.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

''They're dead. They're all dead. It's my fault. I killed them.'' These are the words of Iona Gardener, who stands bloodied and staring as she confesses to the murders of four people in a run-down cottage outside Belfast. Outside the cottage, five old dolls are hanging from a tree. Inside the cottage, the words ''WHO TOOK EDEN MULLIGAN.?'' are graffitied on the wall, connecting the murder scene with a famous cold case.

This story gives us an insight to the IRA and the troubles in Belfast in the 1980's. Two cases, years apart that are entwined. The characters are well rounded, believable and likeable. Most of the investigation focuses on the cold case. The story does dip for a bit in the middle. This is a well written and informative read. The loose ends were tied up nicely by the end.

I wouldlike to thank #NetGalley, #AvonBooksUK and the author #SharonDempsey for my ARC #WhoTookEdenMulligan in exchange for an honest review.

Eden Mulligan disappeared leaving behind five children. Her case never investigated. Years later a young girl stumbles into a police station confessing to murdering her friends. Could there be any link between the two cases? Thats for DI Danny Stone and Dr Rose Lainey to find out but with no one willing to speak to the police can they learn the truth,

This was an interesting mystery and looks at life before and after the troubles of Northern Island. The mystery itself however was not as exciting as i'd hoped. The plot is steady but builds to an expected conclusion. I wanted more and although the ending fits, it lacked the drama I was expecting. The reason for the later murders just seems so callous. I like Danny and Rose though and their friendship was played well through the story. A good story just not quite the dramatic conclusion I wanted.

What a stunningly good book this is! It is completely unputdownable.

Right from the very arresting prologue, my attention was grabbed. I could not put this book down, and just kept turning the pages, late into the night.

There’s so much to this gritty and compelling book. It’s a thriller and police procedural, with a forensic psychologist, a gruesome murder, family secrets and lies, all set to the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. This is all so cleverly interwoven to create a really dark but authentic story.

As a child growing up in Dublin, I heard about Northern Ireland and the Troubles on practically a daily basis on the News. But this book really gives us a vision of exactly what it was like to live there, to feel the sense of fear and intimidation that permeated everyday life. It gives us a glimpse into the effect on families and communities.

Above all else, this is a superb, and totally compelling read. The characters are so authentic, and I liked both Danny and Rose. They’re both dealing with a lot on their personal lives, and neither are perfect. Their relationship works so well, both as friends and work colleagues.

The plot moves fast, and is very clever. I had no idea who had murdered the victims, nor how it could be connected with the case of Eden Mulligan. When the truth is revealed it’s a shock, with a few twists along the way.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it’s a really standout thriller, one of my favourites so far this year.

This book had so much potential. There is a strong historical plot line following a cold case from The Troubles in Northern Ireland, which is referenced in a grisly crime scene in the present day. There are some decent (but didactic) passages about forensic psychology, the field of one of the main characters.

So -- two crimes, decades apart. Two main characters, the forensic psychologist, Rose, and the detective assigned to investigate, Danny. Rose and Danny are old college friends, so it's a foregone conclusion that they will find their way into each other's hearts. I just wish it hadn't been telegraphed so often throughout the book.

That's the first drawback -- that this is romantic suspense, with emphasis on the romance. The writing for the historic and academic sections is very, very different from the emotional sections, making for a highly uneven read.

It's not just romantic "clues" that are repetitious, though. I believe that every single chapter had a paraphrase or re-summary or rehash of the pressure the duo was under to solve both crimes, and how little they had to go on. We were told, not shown. It felt as if the story were drawn out with padding, as if deliberately, to make it last longer.

That's the crux of my disappointment, that so many parts of the book failed to live up to the prologue and the possibilities.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Avon UK for an advance readers copy.

A woman turns up at a small police station covered in blood. She then informs them people are dead, and she killed them. At the crime scene they find strange hanging dolls and the words ‘who took Eden mulligan’. DI Danny Stowe ropes in his old friend Rose Lainey, a forensic psychologist, to figure out what happened and how this is connected to a cold case involving a missing woman? 

I really tried to get into this book, but it just fell flat for me. The beginning was intriguing and roped me in, but that unfortunately was the end of my enjoyment. I was just so bored and the story was so slow. 

However, I enjoyed the setting. The author painted an engaging picture of Belfast and weaved in the backstory of the historical Troubles. The characters were likeable although their obvious liking for one another, but neither admitting it seemed to bog the plot down. 

Overall, a powerful setting and a plot that had so much potential but unfortunately the book fell flat for me.

Review link attached.

Thanks to netgalley for this one.

An eerily and prescient novel, It would be easy to spoil for others so I’ll proceed with heeded caution.

I have to say, this one had me enthralled the entire way. What it does better than most, is humanising its characters whilst simultaneously portraying the inhumane. The relationships that are formed are elegantly crafted and the prose is both verbose and easy-going.

There are elements here that show a great maturity and complexity in the styling and I can’t applaud the author enough for allowing an eery and elegant story to grow and fester in my psyche. This really did permeate my inner-core with its subtle yet blunt and thumping pulse that relented sombrely and derisively as I read-on.

This is a truly captivating read and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy. This is one I’ll undoubtedly be reading again.

I enjoyed hearing about the troubles and Irish history, but I struggled a little with the story. I didn’t connect to the characters and I found the ending to be a bit far fetched.

There were times when the writing was a bit redundant/repetitive, and other times when the tone was a little... opinionated? Judgy? And it got under my skin a bit. But that is me nitpicking, because overall I found this book to be an excellent read and thoroughly enjoyed the story.

I haven’t read anything else by Sharon Dempsey before Who Took Eden Mulligan?, which I found to be an intriguing Irish crime novel with some really likable, interesting characters.

The story follows our two protagonists: Danny Stowe, a Detective Inspector leading his first case in a rural area outside of Belfast, and forensic psychologist Rose Lainey, one of Danny’s childhood friends. Rose returns to the area for her mum’s funeral but ends up being pursuaded by Danny to stay and help him investigate a perplexing murder case.

A young girl has confessed to murdering four of her university friends in a frenzied attack, but the evidence doesn’t quite add up. There are links to a cold case where a woman disappeared for no apparent reason many years before. Together, Danny and Rose start to investigate.

The novel is not just about the investigation but their relationship, with tension and history between them bubbling under the surface, as well as Rose’s family history affecting her treatment of the case. The novel’s themes also includes lots about the IRA and The Troubles, and this subject is really interesting to read more about. The plot moves along quite slowly, so I wouldn’t say I was a particularly fast-paced read, if thats what you’re into.

The characters in this novel feel realistic and interesting, and I would happily read more about Danny and Rose, so I do hope this becomes a new series.

This is a well written thriller. Great story line that will keep you in the edge of your seat. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC. I definitely recommend if you enjoy a good suspenseful thriller!

Pub date:2/2021

This police procedural set in Belfast starts off dramatically when a blood-covered young woman confesses to the murder of her four friends. The bodies are laid out in a cottage, where the words "Who took Eden Mulligan?" are scrawled on the wall, a reference to the disappearance of a young mother in the '80s, during the Troubles.

Most of the investigation focuses on the cold case of Eden Mulligan, and it's an interesting journey, particularly the picture it creates of Belfast during the Troubles. The connection between the Mulligan disappearance and the present day murder I found much less convincing, and after a slow-moving middle, the threads come together very quickly at the end. The writing was workmanlike, and I didn't particularly enjoy the believed-to-be-unrequited pining each of the main characters was doing about each other. However the story drew me along, and I enjoyed seeing all the threads wrap up in the ending.

Who Took Eden Mulligan?

3/5

If you are a fan of police procedurals with a sprinkle of romance or of Northern Irish historical fiction, you may enjoy this one.

Two mysteries become entangled when a woman, covered in blood, stumbles into the police station and confesses to the murder of her four best friends. Investigators find the words “Who Took Eden Mulligan?” written in coal across the hearth at the crime scene. They’ve been asking themselves that same question for decades.

I enjoyed the historical aspects of this book more than the actual crime story. We’re transported back to the 80s when the IRA reigned Belfast. We can picture Eden and Rose’s home lives, and the challenges being catholic or Protestant brought to bear. We see how five kids’ lives were wrecked when their mother went missing, their father abandoned them, and how it affected them into adulthood.

The actual trying to solve the two cases was very repetitive until it wasn’t. We heard how DI Stowe screwed up his last case, how he reminisced about college with Rose, and how Rose questioned her mother’s involvement with the IRA ad nauseum. Did they do any actual policing? Or just whine about how hard the case was and try to talk to people who wouldn’t talk to them. That’s is until magically both cases were solved at the same time with one interview that didn’t let on to how it magically solved both the cases.

The light romance was more of a distraction than anything else. If you’re going to get together, get together and make it count for crying out loud.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Avon Books UK to review. It releases February 18, 2021.

This book started out with a exciting prologue that grabbed my attention and an overview that promised a gripping thriller.
I enjoyed the setting in Ireland and the insight into the way of life for those alive during The Troubles. Unfortunately, that is where my appreciation for this novel ends.
The main characters, Danny and Rose, had little personality and instead seemed to be built up merely by their pasts: Danny's broken engagement, his demotion at work and need to prove himself through this case, and Rose's plight to uncover details about her family history, that she only started caring about now that her mom passed. In order to care about that, I'd have to care about her first. Further, it was discussed numerous times almost to distract from the ongoing lack of progress in the case.
That was not the only repetition. The Mulligan children lost their mom at a young age, their father abandoned them and the cops did virtually nothing. And we hear over and over and over again how this destroyed their lives.
There was very little progress with the investigation throughout hence the need for repititious filler.
And the part about dental records didn't seem plausible. There is no database for that. You have to find the person's dentist first and hope they have records that old. But it was close to the end so we needed to a quick resolution.
All in all I had to push through to finish.

Thank you to the publisher Avon / HarperCollins and to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review. All opinions are my own.

DI Danny Stowe of PSNI has been side-lined to working cold cases. He gets an opportunity to re-prove himself when he is appointed lead on a murder case following the discovery of the bodies of several young people in a cottage near Belfast. Intriguingly, the case appears to have links to a missing person’s case from the 80s.
He enlists the help of Forensic Psychologist Rose Lainey, a friend from University days who happens to be back in Northern Ireland for a funeral.
Who Took Eden Mulligan is Sharon Dempsey’s second crime novel set in Northern Ireland. Writing a current day crime novel set in Northern Ireland is not new, however combining it with the investigation of a case set in The Troubles is. Ms Dempsey tells the story as it is, and as it was. Her writing style is gentle, but uncompromising and her extensive journalistic experience is evident throughout.
The bonus for this reader is one of having been born in the area where the historic case occurred, and the knowledgeable descriptions aroused many memories.
The Will they Won’t they relationship between Danny and Rose added to the enjoyment, there might be a series here.
A very enjoyable and well-informed read, highly recommended.

This is an intriguing read, combining a current murder investigation and a cold case involving a missing mother of five children. I loved the characterisation and the intricate plotting, as well as the Belfast setting. A mixture of police procedural, thriller and romance. giving a good insight into the IRA and the troubles of 1980's Belfast. A good solid read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.