... razor-sharp ... uses the evocative background of Ireland to further explore its characters who share the Emerald Isle’s remoteness, mystique and complicated past ... smoothly alternates between 2016 and 1993 ... In addition to her intelligent characters, Taylor has sculpted The Mountains Wild as a valentine to Ireland, delving into its beauty, history and varied landscape — all of which lead to 'a warm, homecoming sort of feeling' ... We may not be able to travel to Ireland right now, but Taylor has brought the country to us. The Mountains Wild is a terrific series launch. Readers will relish spending more time with Taylor’s storytelling and her smart characters.
... a bubbling broth of a book. It’s a paean to Ireland. It’s a love letter to its inhabitants in all their multifaceted splendor. It made me homesick for Dublin ... Taylor skillfully switches time periods from 1993 to 2016 in this splendid, atmospheric mystery that artfully blends the history and romance of Ireland with a contemporary police investigation. The Irish setting is so vividly evoked that you can practically hear that dulcet brogue, taste the Guinness and smell the peat fires. The Mountains Wild is a beautifully plotted novel that builds to a stunning, unforgettable conclusion.
Far beyond a simple mystery, The Mountains Wild is a gorgeous rendering on paper of Ireland in all its beauty. Sarah Stewart Taylor captures the moodiness of the Irish mist, the bustle of Dublin’s streets, and the crisp bite of the morning air. You can hear the Irish brogue in the pubs, smell the Guinness in the pint glasses, and feel the warmth of the peat fire after stepping in from the cold. Taylor has a lyrical style to her writing that makes every sentence a pleasure to read, and every pleasurable sentence brings readers closer to answering the crucial question: What happened to Erin? This is a five-star read.
