Maeve Conlon

Maeve Conlon is the protagonist of Maggie Barbieri's mystery trilogy, a bar owner and single mother with a darker side hiding beneath her suburban exterior.

Maeve Conlon is a single mother, bar owner, and the central character of Maggie Barbieri’s three-book mystery series. She lives in a small town in Westchester County, north of New York City, where she runs her establishment and raises her daughters. To most people in town, she is exactly what she appears to be: a hardworking widow doing her best.

What makes Maeve unusual as a mystery protagonist is what lies beneath that ordinary surface. She has a capacity for deception and even violence that most characters in her genre do not. Across the trilogy, starting with Once Upon a Lie, Barbieri reveals the lengths Maeve will go to when the people she loves are threatened.

Reading Order

See the complete Maeve Conlon reading order for all books in the series.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Maeve Conlon?

Maeve Conlon is a single mother and bar owner in a small Westchester County town north of New York City. She is the protagonist of Maggie Barbieri’s three-book mystery series, which begins with Once Upon a Lie (2013).

What order should I read the Maeve Conlon books?

Read the series in publication order: Once Upon a Lie (2013), Lies That Bind (2015), and Lie in Plain Sight (2016).

What makes Maeve Conlon different from typical mystery protagonists?

Unlike most cozy mystery heroines, Maeve Conlon is willing to break the law and use violence to protect those she cares about. She presents a normal face to her community, but the series gradually reveals how far she will go when pushed.

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