To Paula McLoughlin, thank you for the bed in Dublin and the chats and the mass rock inspiration and the friendship!
In a way, this book is a love letter to Dublin and Ireland, though it’s the twisted kind, where you make terrible things happen in a beloved place. I’m grateful to the city, and to the “families” I was lucky enough to be a part of there. Thank you to the Morehampton House crew and my amazing Rosary Terrace women (those who lived there and those who were just passing through), and my Trinity M.Phil classmates and professors, in particular Thomas Kilroy, who gave me a bit of encouragement at a crucial moment. Thanks also to the Dublin Writer’s Workshop, circa 1994, and to everyone who listened to me read my tentative words in the Hairy Lemon and told me to keep going.
Thanks to the Upper Valley Gaeilgeoiri and most especially Maura Naughton. Irish lessons are one of my favorite parts of my week and I am so grateful to you for your friendship, cups of tea, and for sharing a beautiful language with me. Go raibh míle maith agat, a Mhaura!
My parents, David and Susan Taylor, gave me the gift of unconditional love and support … and lots and lots of books. Thank you, Mom and Dad.
Matt Dunne, thank you for your belief in me, your endless love and support and patience, and for keeping life really interesting.
To Judson, Abe, and Cora: When you were little, you made it hard to write! But having you, raising you, and loving you has opened the lid of a box filled with all of the most beautiful, magical, terrible, weird, and wonderful things in the world. You have given me the gift of making me want desperately to write about it all—and making it possible for me to do it now. Thank you.
ALSO BY SARAH STEWART TAYLOR
Still as Death
Judgment of the Grave
Mansions of the Dead
O’ Artful Death
About the Author
Sarah Stewart Taylor is the author of the Sweeney St. George series. The Mountains Wild is the first in a new series. Taylor grew up on Long Island, was educated at Middlebury College and Trinity College, Dublin, and lived in Dublin, Ireland in the mid-nineties. She now lives with her family on a farm in Vermont, where they raise sheep and grow blueberries. You can visit her online at www.SarahStewartTaylor.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Acknowledgments
Also by Sarah Stewart Taylor
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
THE MOUNTAINS WILD. Copyright © 2020 by Sarah Stewart Taylor. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photographs: woman © Rekha Garton/Arcangel; mountains © Jean Ladzinski/Arcangel; clouds © Mark Owen/Trevillion Images
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-25643-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-75413-4 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250754134
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: 2020
The Mountains Wild Page 33
