Book Review: The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange

 

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange is an incredibly moving novel that revolves around themes of family, loyalty, and sacrifice. At the center of the story is thirty-year-old Tara Connelly, who at the beginning of the story is being released after serving an eighteen-month sentence for drug trafficking. Tara is the youngest of three siblings, who lost their mother when they were young and were subsequently abandoned by their father, leaving their oldest sister oldest sister Geraldine then a teenager responsible for Tar and her brother Eddie. Eddie, the father of ten-year-old Connor, suffers from debilitating migraines - the aftereffect of a traumatic brain injury sustained as a child. Geraldine is prone to anxiety and set in her ways and is struggling with added responsibility given to her at her workplace, a fact she hides from her siblings. Tara, once an art teacher, is aware that her recent stint in prison will adversely impact her job prospects. She does land a graphic illustrator position with a start-up headed by two young, enthusiastic and inexperienced entrepreneurs and tries to get her life back on track but the two police officers who arrested Tara have conflicted viewpoints on Tara’s involvement with a local drug dealer who was originally their primary target. Tara’s lack of cooperation and refusal to talk or share any information about him during interrogation landed her in prison. The police are quite done with her and trouble seems to follow all three of the siblings as they go about their lives. All three siblings are struggling and hiding secrets from one another – secrets that could tear their family apart. There are moments of frustration, anger and tension between the siblings but ultimately they are very close, exhibit much love and loyalty toward one another and are capable of tremendous sacrifice – a fact that becomes more evident as the narrative progresses.

I wasn’t quite taken with Tracey Lange’s debut novel We Are the Brennans but I truly enjoyed reading her sophomore novel with its crisp writing and minimal melodrama, well-fleshed-out characters and fluid narrative. The characters are flawed and realistic and their struggles and their dynamic was real and relatable. I loved Tara’s bond with her nephew Connor and thought Connor’s presence in their lives and their love for him strengthened the bond between the Connelly siblings. The romance track did feel a tad rushed and is probably the only part of the narrative that I found a bit unrealistic but overall, I found this to be a well-written story that I would not hesitate to recommend to readers who enjoy character-driven fiction that revolve around sibling relationships.

I paired my reading with the audio narration by Barrie Kreinik who does a wonderful job of voicing the characters and breathing life into this story.

Many thanks to Celadon Books, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the digital review copy and the ALC of The Connellys of County Down. The book and audiobook are due to be released on August 1, 2023.