Book Review: The Many Ghosts of Donahue Byrnes - Laura McLoughlin
About the book
Not all guests know when to check out...
A young waitress at a country hotel finds herself with a decades' old mystery to solve - one she hopes will help rid the hotel of its most troublesome guests. Its ghosts.
When Ballinadrum Hotel's elderly owner Donahue Byrnes dies, twenty-two-year-old Mia Anne Moran discovers the spectral rumours that have long plagued the place are all too true.
Meanwhile, Donahue's son, Cormac, wants to sell up as soon as possible but finds his plans thwarted by the ghostly goings on.
Propelled by the belief that Donahue Byrnes intended to entrust her with the task, Mia strikes a deal with Cormac. She will act as concierge to the dead - keeping the hotel's ghosts in line, as Donahue did previously - and in return, Cormac will sell the business in its entirety, ensuring the future of both the building and its employees.
But what drew Mia's errant charges to Ballinadrum Hotel in the first place? If she can work out that, she might be able to send them on their way at last. Life is rarely straightforward though - especially when it involves the dead - and as Mia tries to solve the hotel's ghostly conundrum, she begins to find hers changed in ways she couldn't have anticipated...
Why we love it
A debut novel by County Armagh-based writer Laura McLoughlin, The Many Ghosts of Donohue Byrnes is an enchanting story set in an old haunted hotel and it's the perfect cosy read for this time of year.
The book tells the story of the staff and guests of the Ballinadrum Hotel and is told from the perspective of Mia Anne Moran, a young waitress who takes on a new and unusual role within the hotel after the death of owner Donahue Byrnes.
Tasked with looking after the ghostly inhabitants of this distinctly unusual establishment, she soon realises that there are hidden secrets waiting to be uncovered within the walls of the hotel she's loved since childhood.
Mia is the most fantastic character and seeing her grow in confidence as the story unfolds, learning to stand up for herself and to accept the things which make her truly happy, adds so much warmth and heart to the book.
There's a real sense of community within the novel too, thanks to a well-rounded cast of characters both from within the hotel and from the small close-knit village it inhabits. Laura McLoughlin writes about this place with so much warmth and compassion that you can't help but love this world she's created. It's not hard to imagine that a place like the Ballinadrum Hotel might really exist in some small untouched corner of the country.
With a spooky (but not scary) mystery to uncover at the heart of it all and perfectly paced story-telling, this was a book I just couldn't put it down once I'd started reading.
Thoroughly recommended!
