Declan's Cross

Written by Carla Neggers

Narrated by Carol Monda

For marine biologist Julianne Maroney, two weeks in tiny Declan's Cross on the south Irish coast is a chance to heal her broken heart. She doesn't expect to attract the attention of FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, who are in Ireland for their own personal retreat. Ten years ago, art was stolen from a mansion in Declan's Cross, but it has never been recovered and the elusive thief never caught. Now, from the moment Julianne sets foot on Irish soil, everything goes wrong. The well-connected American diver who invited her to Ireland has disappeared. And now Emma and Colin are asking questions. As a dark conspiracy unfolds amid the breathtaking scenery of Declan's Cross, the race is on to stop a ruthless killer.and the stakes have never been more personal for Emma and Colin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781501992476

Carla Neggers

Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sharpe and Donovan series featuring Boston-based FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan and the Swift River Valley series set in small-town New England. With many bestsellers to her credit, Carla and her husband divide their time between their hilltop home in Vermont, their kids' places in Boston and various inns, hotels and hideaways on their travels, frequently to Ireland. Learn more at CarlaNeggers.com.

Reviews for Declan's Cross

[sharonr53 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book number three in the Sharpe/ Donovan series continues the complicated relationship between FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan. Ever since they met, they have danced around their feelings and what the future holds for them both. Colin is recuperating from an undercover assignment gone horribly wrong by going to Ireland and Emma has flown out to be with him. Added to the mix is another friend, Julianne Maroney, coming to Declan’s Cross to meet with a young woman about working at a marine station and to get away from her failed relationship with Andy Donovan. Everyone ends up in the small village and when there is a murder, all kinds of secrets are laid bare. Emma’s family has a history with the village as important art was stolen 10 years ago and the Sharpe family firm investigated the theft. Local Garda member Sean Murphy helps out as much as he can but he was romantically revolved with the owner of the building where the theft occurred and that theft may or may not be tied to the murder.There is a lot going on in this book. There are so many characters and so many subplots that it is hard to see who is doing what but it all comes together in a plausible way. Hovering in the background is Mike Yankowski, the man who recruited Emma into the FBI and who runs the unit that Colin is in. Father Fin also has a role in this book as Declan’s Cross is near the area where he lived in Ireland before he came to the US. The relationship between Emma and Colin is secondary to the murder mystery in the book but still an important part. Ms. Neggers promises us more books in the series and I am looking forward to reading them and seeing how the partnership between Emma and Colin continues to develop.

[beckyhaase · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Declan’s Cross by Carla NeggersPart mystery, part romance, part Irish travelogue, Declan’s Cross is a satisfying mix. A decade old art heist keeps Emma Sharpe involved, while a new murder keeps Colin Donovan busy. Joining Sharpe and Donovan are Julianne, the other Donovan brothers, an Irish priest, a sheep farmer and assorted denizens of the village of Declan’s Cross. After a slow start, necessary to introduce the several characters and puzzles, the story is engaging and full of twists and turns. The romance travels by fits and starts but is ultimately satisfying. The plot is solid with enough mystery left to encourage a wait for the next book in this series.

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed DECLAN'S CROSS which was my first Sharpe & Donovan novel. I loved the Irish setting and was interested in both the current crime and the crime of ten years past that had not yet been solved. Julianne Maroney, marine biologist, snapped at the chance to go to Declan's Cross to help set up a marine research station. She was eager to get away from Andy Donovan since their relationship broke up. She knew going into it that it was unlikely to succeed but that didn't stop her heart from breaking. She is supposed to meet chance-met acquaintance Lindsey Hargreaves at the airport. But when she arrives, Lindsey isn't there. She makes her way on her own to Declan's Cross where Lindsey's colleagues say that she is just that absent minded that she could have forgotten to pick Julianne up.Meanwhile, Colin Donovan and Emma Sharpe, both FBI agents, are vacationing in Ireland too. Colin in trying to decide, after nearly being killed on his last undercover assignment, whether or not he wants to continue with the FBI. When they are informed that Julianne is coming and going to a village where their was a famous art theft that Emma's family had investigated, they decide to check out Declan's Cross and Julianne's situation.Julianne is renting a cottage from Sean Murphy who is working on the farm for a while getting over injuries sustained when he encountered smugglers in his job as gardai. Colin and Emma are staying in the inn made from the house where the art theft occurred. The inn is now being run by the niece of the man who owned the missing art. Things get even more twisty when Julianne's body turns up. Is her death linked to that long ago crime? Besides the two mysteries there are at least three relationships being worked on in this novel. I thought that the number of relationships and the number of crimes made the focus of the novel rather scattered. I didn't feel like I knew enough about each character to know who to care about. And I was disappointed that only one of the mystery plots was resolved in this story.I will say that this book has really made me want to read the other books in the Sharpe & Donovan series so that I can fill in some of the backstory that I feel was missing for my complete enjoyment of this book. Fans of the series will want to read this title. New readers might want to start at the beginning.

[celticlady53 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love a good mystery story and the fact that it takes place in Ireland is even better. Declan's Cross is the third in the Sharpe and Donovan series by Carla Neggers and the first that I have read by this author. Even though I had not read the first two books in the series, I found that I was able to figure out who was who and the relationships the characters shared. This story has to do with an art theft that happened ten years previous and what the connection could be to the death of a woman who was planning on opening a marine research center in the quaint village of Declan's Cross. What is the connection between the two, was the woman murdered and if so who did it and why?? All these questions are answered in this plot and character driven story. I highly recommend this suspenseful and wonderfully told book by a talented author. I will certainly be reading more by Ms.Neggers.

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My rating: 4 of 5 starsDeclan's Cross by Carla Neggers is a Harlequin MIRA publication due for release in August 2013.This is the third installment of the Donovan/Sharpe series. Set in Ireland, Colin and Emma are still looking into a decade old art theft, while being on a vacation of sorts. Julianne and Andy Donovan, Colin's brother, went through a bad break-up. Now, Julianne is off to Ireland to Declan's Cross as well. She was to meet up with a new friend of hers named Lindsey, a fellow marine biologist enthusiast. But, when Julianne arrives in Ireland, Lindsey is MIA. When Lindsey's body is found after what looked like a fall from a cliff, Julianne's plans are disrupted. Colin and Emma are there to help Julianne deal with the death of her friend, thank goodness, since it turns out that Lindsey may have been pushed off the cliff. When Lindsey's father shows up, it's discovered that he may have had a connection to the stolen art that Colin and Emma are investigating. Could Lindsey's death have a connection to the stolen art? Meanwhile, there are several romantic entanglements going on. Colin and Emma are still trying to sort out the occupational roadblocks in their relationship, Julianne is suffering terribly from a broken heart, and Andy still loves her even if he thinks they are on two separate paths in life. The owner of the Inn in Declan's cross, Kitty , and Sean, a local policeman and sheep farmer have a history together and may at last have found a way to be together. I have enjoyed this series so far. This is one of Carla's better efforts. I love Ireland and the descriptions of area has me daydreaming of a romantic getaway. Mysteries involving stolen art is also a favorite of mine, and so I was intrigued from the beginning of this one. The story moves at a good pace, no boring lulls. You may have the killer figured out, but you won't put the whole story together. The romance was more about healing broken relationships and making them work than about sexual content. There was a really nice HEA for everyone and the promise of more adventures in the future for the characters in this series. Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for the DRC of this novel. Overall a B+

[rhonda1111 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3 STARSSharpe & Donovan book 3This is I believe the third book in the sharpe and Donovan series. I have enjoyed reading all 3 of them. Wish my memory was like it used to be. The story bounces from Ireland to U.S and back & forth. It covers art theft now and ten years ago, missing person/murder? Lots of secrets.Their are four Donovan brother's from small town in Maine. Colin works for the FBI deep undercover but he tells everyone he works in office. Colin right now went to Ireland to unwind after his last mission. His girl friend Emma Sharpe followed him over.Emma has interesting background. She grew up in Maine about 10 minutes from the Donovan' hometown but they did not meet till the first book Saints Gate. She was almost a nun. She left that and came over to Ireland and worked with her family's business in art recovery. Emma than joined the FBI and works in art crime.Julianne Maroney is from the same hometown as the Donovans. She is trying to get over falling for Andy Donovan. So when she met Lindsey and had the chance to come over to Declan's Cross. She jumped at it. It was a fast decision.Andy emails Colin that Julianne is headed for Declan's Cross and wants to make sure all is okay with her.Julianne was supposed to be met at airport by Lindsey and wasn't. So she decides to rent a car and make her way to Declan's Cross. She is not too happy to be met there by Colin and Emma. But later she is glad that they are their.I admit to being lost a few times in this story. With a art theft ten years in the past, With Emma's family working the case still. To Lindsey being missed. I was never right in my guesses where the story was going. Lots of drama, secrets people are keeping. A few love scenes.I liked it. But I enjoyed the first two of the series better.I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it by Netgalley.08/27/2013 PUB Harlequin Imprint Harlequin MIRA 320 pages ISBN:9780778314639

[shelleyraec · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Declan’s Cross is the third suspense novel featuring FBI Agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan. Set primarily in Ireland, in a village with surprising links to Rock Point, Maine, this mystery involves theft, betrayal, blackmail and murder.There are two primary story arcs in Declan’s Cross that eventually intersect – a murder and an art theft. Emma and Colin’s romantic getaway is interrupted by the death of a young woman in the Irish village of Declan’s Cross. The possibility of a link to a decades old art theft intrigues Emma while the dead woman’s connection to Julianne Maroney, a marine biologist from Colin’s hometown in Maine, and his brother’s ex girlfriend, has Colin on guard.There is history between Emma and Colin that I am not privy to given I haven’t read either the first or second installment though Neggers provides some details of the couple’s past adventures. Their romance is new and Ireland is a chance for both to spend some time together away from the pressures of their job. Emma and Colin’s relationship is just one of the three romantic subplots that are part of this story – Julianne has recently had her heart broken by Andy Donovan, while Irish farmer/garda, Sean, and O’Byrne House Hotel owner, Kitty, have a long history of love/hate.The plot isn’t terribly complicated though it does seem so at times given the the large cast of characters, their various relationships, and the shifts of setting between Ireland and Maine. The only real issue I had with the story is the pacing. It seems to take a long time for anything to actually happen, and there is some repetitiveness to elements of the story. Distracted by the elusive art thief that continues to taunt her grandfather, it is a while before Emma and Colin, with the the help of local man Sean, piece together the motive for Lindsey’s murder, resulting in Julianne being vulnerable to the killer.As a personal aside, Ireland is one of the few places I would one day like to visit and Neggers makes the prospect even more inviting with lovely descriptions of the country’s rolling green farmland, rugged coasts and quaint villages steeped in history.A quick and entertaining read, I think fans of the Sharpe and Donovan series will particularly enjoy Declan’s Cross for its romantic resolutions, but the mysteries should hold the interest of those unfamiliar with the characters.