Review: Murder on an Irish Farm

 Murder on an Irish Farm

Carlene O'Connor

It's Siobhán O'Sullivan's wedding day. She and Macdara Flannery are finally ready to tie the knot. But before the ceremony can really get started, it's interrupted by Siobhán's brother James. He's found a body, a skeleton to be more precise, in a barn where he's been working. So, of course, this means the wedding will have to be postponed because Garda O'Sullivan and Detective Sergeant know they will have to investigate.

While at the scene, they are met by an elderly lady Gladys who lives next door to the property. As soon as she gets sight of the skeleton, she knows it's the true love of her life. The man who left her standing at the altar fifty years ago, the man she never forgot, even though she married his best friend. When another body turns up in the same place, O'Sullivan and Flannery know they are not dealing with a cold case. There is a killer still lurking in their midst. Before they can find this killer and get back to their own wedding, they will have to unravel a host of family secrets and decipher old and new clues.

Murder on an Irish Farm is a fun and entertaining story. It's full of twists and turns, comic scenes, and two wonderful main characters who feel like friends. I think the sense of community makes this such a pleasure to read. One feels almost like a village member as we follow O'Sullivan and Flannery in their day-to-day work. O'Connor has created an enticingly cozy atmosphere and a story that is hard to put down. I can't wait to read the next installment.

Thanks to Kensington Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Fatal Roots

 

Fatal Roots

Sheila Connolly

Maura Donovan is busy trying to manage her pub in the Irish village of Leap. Her estranged mother has just returned from Chicago with Maura's half-sister, Susan, in tow. It's the first time Maura and Susan have met, and Maura's hoping Susan will be able to spend some time in the pub while her mother tends to her business dealings in Cork. At the same time, three graduate students arrive at Maura's cottage, looking for fairy forts. Maura doesn't know anything about these prehistoric sites, but it appears she owns the land where at least one fort exists. When one of the students disappears without a trace, Maura and her friend Mick decide to take a look around the fort. That's when they find a decade's old body, which might hold some clues to Maura's past.

Although I felt this one started a bit slowly, it did get better the further I got into the story. The best thing about Connolly's writing is that she can make the reader feel like they are just as much a part of the community in her book as the characters she creates. This is a cozy and charming mystery. Fans of this series will feel like they've returned home to reconnect with old friends.

This review was written by me for City Book Review.