Staff Review: THE CONNELLYS OF COUNTY DOWN (6/13/23)

THE CONNELLYS OF COUNTY DOWN by Tracey Lange
9781250865373
8/1/23
Celadon Books

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by July 1st.

Tara Connelly is having a hard time. At 30 years old, she has just been released from prison after serving 18 months for transporting drugs illegally. She decides that moving back in with her once tight-knit siblings is the best choice. This may not be the most comfortable option, but she has no other choice given that she has no money and no job. Visits from her siblings trickled out over the last chunk of her imprisonment, and she’s nervous to see how things will go when she finally sees them again.

Enter, the officer who put Tara behind bars. He still feels guilty about the actions he took to convict Tara, and he wants to offer an explanation for the choices he made. He tells himself it’ll just be this one time–he’ll offer her a well-thought-out excuse and then clear his conscience and be out of her life forever. But he can’t seem to stay away. He keeps showing up out of nowhere and checking on Tara.

In addition to this, Tara’s future is threatened when long-held family secrets about her parents come to light, and she realizes her siblings have been dealing with their own demons that she was never aware of. She also sees that her time away put more strain on her family than she thought, and she must find a way to come to terms with this. The three Connelly siblings used to be close, and they may be able to get back to that if they can just figure out a way to work through their difficult pasts and lean on each other in the process.

This heartwarming, thought-provoking novel will leave you wanting more from Tracey Lange, especially if you enjoyed her first novel, WE ARE THE BRENNANS. The characters are richly developed, and the conflicts they face will have you invested from the start. Although the Connellys face plenty of strife and struggle, there are glimmers of hope along the way, which is what makes this book such an enjoyable read. Lange addresses issues such as rebuilding your life after incarceration, single parenthood, damage caused by abandonment, coping with traumatic brain injury, and more. I especially enjoyed the intertwining of mystery, romance, and drama. I will never get enough of Lange’s beautiful, life-affirming family sagas.

Michelle

More praise for THE CONNELLYS OF COUNTY DOWN:

“This emotionally charged story delivers the goods.” Publishers Weekly

“A compassionate look at family dynamics and a reminder that it’s never too late to heal.”–Kirkus Reviews