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Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
Star of the County Down by Doc Richter is set in post-COVID times. It follows Sam Miller, a Marine Corps veteran, who returns home from service only to find out that his wife has left him, emptying their bank accounts, leaving no contact, and taking their two kids. It’s hard to find a job at this time, so he starts with an entry-level job at Starbucks to bring in some money. With increasing hardship, he renews his crane operator license and goes to Dublin, Ireland, for a new start in construction. In a pub in Dublin, he meets Hayley McCann, an aspiring singer who is trying to get away from an abusive ex-fiancé. They connect when he intervenes to stop an attack on her. A new relationship is born between the two, but it is fraught with challenges. What does the future hold for them?
Doc Richter’s novel cleverly examines the toll of post-COVID challenges on the characters. The author writes with an economy of words, offering vivid descriptions while exploring the psyches of the characters and their emotional states. Sam is depicted as a broken man, crushed by a divorce he never saw coming and crippled financially, but he doesn’t give up fighting. His grit is one of the elements of characterization that stands out in an inspiring way. Hayley is also a well-developed character, suffering from an abusive relationship. The suspense in Star of the County Down is built around what happens next to these two characters. This is a well-plotted, emotionally engaging, and entertaining tale of how two people from two different backgrounds find an anchor and hope in each other in a time of growing uncertainty.
