Ballybeg — population 3968, pubs 35 - is a friendly Irish town, small enough that everyone knows who you're interested in and most people want to attend the wedding. In LOVE AND SHAMROCKS a Dublin single mother, Clio, is unwillingly on the move to rural surrounds in order to keep her teen daughter away from her music teacher, after allegations of inappropriate conduct. At least in Clio's mothers' house at Ballybeg, there won't be anything strange going on.

Garda Sergeant Sean Mackey is investigating an elderly Elvis impersonator discharging an air rifle inside a house, with most of Ballybeg keen to watch the entertainment. He'd love to get away to Dublin and some serious crime. However, the serious crime has a way of finding Clio. She's barely settled in the town before a sinister acquaintance is phoning her and ordering her to go to Cork city and drop off some money. Next, this disembodied voice orders her to steal one of her own mother's antiques. Time Clio confessed that she's not long out of rehab and still vulnerable. She thinks going along will protect her daughter Tammy - but will it? How can she escape the clutches of this hoodlum?

Clio lost my sympathy pretty quickly, I must say. First she specifically chooses to involve the hoodlum in her and her daughter's life, starting down the trail of crime. Next she has a few stiff drinks in a Cork hotel and jumps into bed with a total stranger. A nice stranger as it happens, Sean, but she doesn't know he's a Guard or that he lives in Ballybeg now. Who was keeping an eye on her rebellious daughter that night?

The characters are strongly drawn, and Clio's mother Helen has a flair for the dramatic. Helen Havelin has a media career, she was the mistress of the father of someone in Ballybeg, with the unforgivable result of breaking up the marriage, and she's now got a stalker. Busy lady. As far as she's concerned Clio made a mess of her life from the start and she's not bringing up Tammy to good standards. Well, it's fair to say that all is not going smoothly. Involving a group of Travellers in the tale provides further tensions, and their image isn't polished but Sean still disagrees with his superintendent's preferring to protect the local celebrity diva.

I had not read any of the earlier books in this 'Ballybeg' series but there is so much going on that I think even locals would be confused. Typically, they'll sit you down and make you tea before answering any questions, and the crashed economy is responsible for various strategic circumstances, like Sean being assigned to guard the Havelin family. If you like suspense and family drama in your modern romance, with adult content and some satire, in LOVE AND SHAMROCKS Zara Keane has created a heady mix of love and life.

Book Summary

An Irish romantic comedy featuring an ex-thief heroine, a cop on a mission, and a dash of suspense.

Trouble in Dublin…

Clio Havelin needs a lucky break. Desperate to protect her child, Clio accepts her estranged mother’s offer of a refuge in Ballybeg. What can go wrong in a place with more cows than people? Her hope for a fresh start is smashed to smithereens when she’s blackmailed into facilitating the heist of the decade. So the last thing Clio needs is a sexy cop underfoot, especially when she’s one crime away from freedom. Too bad she’s already slept with him.

…True Love in Ballybeg.

Seán Mackey wants his life back. The former police detective is now stuck apprehending errant sheep in Ballybeg — population 3968, pubs 35. After months of frustration, he’s finally on the scent of a real case. When he’s sidelined into playing bodyguard for his nemesis, talk show hostess Helen Havelin, he’s pissed. And when his gorgeous one-night stand turns out to be Helen’s daughter, Clio, pissed turns to horrified.