Straight off on the heels of 'An Irish Country Doctor' comes 'An Irish Country Village', taking up right where the first book left off. We're in Ballybuckbo, Ireland again, joining Doctors Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly and Barry Laverty in their daily lives both personal and at the "surgery" (Office). Dr. O'Reilly is a bear of a man; short-tempered and roaring, with cauliflower ears and a bent, florid nose that turns alabaster when he's angered. "Never, never, never let the patients get the upper hand" is O'Reilly's motto and advice for young Dr. Laverty. He's unapologetic for his irascible behavior, and his language is hilarious when he gets to name-calling. Dr. Barry Laverty has just finished college, and his position with country doctor O'Reilly is his first.Along with the doctors come the regulars from the first book. There's O'Reilly's capricious housekeeper, Mrs. Kinky Kincaid, originally from Cork, who always adds the word "so" on the end of her sentences. There's old Maggie MacCorkle and her beau Sonny, who've waited over fifteen years to get married (and their wedding is the big event in this Irish installment). There's Councilor Bertie Bishop, who this time has evil plans to close down The Black Swan - Ballybucklebo's main-street pub. Young Patricia Spence has caught Barry's heart, despite how independent and stubborn she is. Patricia is heavily into women's rights, particularly the right to a higher education. And we're introduced to a certain Caitlan "Kitty" O'Hallorhan, an old college acquaintance of Fingal's.In 'Village', Barry misses a diagnosis of old Major Fotheringham's cerebral hemorrhage, and after a stay and release in the hospital, the Major dies at home. Mrs. Fotheringham is devastated, and blames the young doctor for the death. Can Barry survive until the post-mortem comes back from the hospital? Patricia is eagerly awaiting the results of her exam that will get her a scholarship into Cambridge, but also take her further away from Barry. And weaselly Bertie Bishop plots to not renew the lease on The Black Swan, with plans to demolish the old pub and put up a tourist trap instead.Ballybucklebo is described as "A village that seemed divorced from the internecine hatred that flowed under the surface of much of the rest of Ulster" by author Patrick Taylor. This is a good explanation of the village he's created. The novel is about the daily lives of O'Reilly, Barry, Kinky, and the rest, told through the POV of Dr. Barry Laverty. The prose is wonderful, beautiful and smooth, and the characterizations are brilliantly painted. Patrick Taylor's complete "Irish Country" series is a work of art in progress. (The next book is An Irish Country Christmas - don't miss it!) As with the first book, 'An Irish Country Village' has a final note written by Mrs. Kinky Kincaid, in which she shares some of her recipes cooked in the book. There's also a Glossary for the Irish dialect used in the book, and an afterward by the author. Taylor is an artist of the written word, and I can't recommend his books highly enough. 10 Stars to the whole 'Irish Country' series. Enjoy!