Updated 12/25/2025 Sigh. This honestly will always be one of my favorite books in the series. I don’t think Taylor ever did another ghost/horror story before and to set it on Christmas was definitely a great idea. Initially I didn’t think it would work, but it does. I really do wish that had more POVs starring Kinky and her gift. I think about how the series ended and get sad all over again. I have to say though, this and the first few books in the series were really fantastic. I know a lot of readers didn’t like this departure from following Doctor Fingal O’Reilly and Doctor Barry Laverty, but I honestly enjoyed it and it made sense to finally get into Kinky’s past before she came to Ballybucklebo.
An Irish Country Girl follows Kinky Kinkaid, housekeeper to Doctor O’Reilly and now Barry Laverty too. She invites the local children in and begins to tell them a ghost story (yeah, I have no idea why one would do this on Christmas, but just roll with it). Kinky begins to tell the children a story (and I imagine she didn’t tell them everything we readers here because that would be unhinged and who would talk to a bunch of children about her monthly courses) of a time when she was a little girl and it snowed on Christmas Day and the story of Connor MacTaggart and the Sidthe and how the fairies cursed Connor. The story jumps back and forth between the present and past and then eventually we just have Kinky remembering and not finishing the tale for the children. It’s definitely a sad and haunting tale. And I honestly thought it was a good one since it didn’t end on a happy note.
This book takes place directly after “An Irish Country Christmas” with Kinky waiting at home for her doctor and Barry Laverty to return home from celebrating the Marquis Christmas Day party. Kinky is getting their dinner ready (and I am still flabbergasted at how much these people eat) while also providing treats to the local village children. Kinky takes them upstairs to get warm in the upstairs sitting room (parlor) and begins a ghost tale that took place back in 1922 (on Christmas Day) and then we have her remembering the events decades later with the children.
Taylor does a great job with Kinky’s voice in this book. I got a great sense of her as a young girl (going by Maureen) who all she wanted in life was to be a school teacher.
Her older sister (Fidelma) starts courting a local young man (Conner) the whole family knew who was about to have something terrible happen to him due to his thumbing his nose about cutting down a Blackthorn tree which angers something called the Doov Shee in Ireland.
Who knew you could combine a somewhat scary ghost story with Christmas? It should not work, but ultimately does.
Besides the ghost story aspect, we also have some romance between Maureen and who readers know that one day a young man who will become her husband.
The contrast between Ballybucklebo and where Mrs. Kincaid grew up was nicely done. And I as a long term reader was very surprised about how smart she was and how much she really wanted to be a teacher. I thought it was great also to see a feminist bent to Maureen at her age and her not understanding why she could not have her teaching as well as a marriage.
The book flows seamlessly back and forth between Mrs. Kincaid story and then her later on reminiscing about the events that took place. We know that Barry had some interaction with Mrs. Kincaid and her ability to “see.” I remember thinking that it was just something she said, but you find out in this book, Mrs. Kincaid, her mother, and other female family members have this gift as well. Maureen is able to see into the future sometimes and unfortunately cannot do anything to change what is coming.
I have to say the ending totally took me by surprise and I wanted to keep reading even after I finished the last page. This is one book that would do well with illustrations included one day I think. I could picture certain scenes in my head. But I think it would give certain parts of the story a darker bent if we could see actual pictures of things that are going on at the same time we are reading them.
