Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan’s holiday plans hit a sour note when murder rearranges the yuletide carols into unexpected eulogies . . . This December in Kilbane, if you’re planning to warm up with a cuppa tea at Naomi’s Bistro, you may have a bit of a wait—the entire O’Sullivan brood has gone off to West Cork to spend the holidays with brother James’s fiancée Elise’s family, including her … Elise’s family, including her grandfather, the famous orchestral conductor Enda Elliot. Siobhán is so happy for James and Elise but also quietly disappointed that she must put her own wedding to fellow garda Macdara Flannery on hold. Mac will have to join them later, so he can spend part of the holidays with his mam.
When the O’Sullivans learn everyone will choose a name from a hat to buy a music-related Christmas gift for someone else at the gathering, it seems like their greatest concern—until the cantankerous conductor is discovered crushed under a ninety-pound harp in a local concert hall.
With the extended family—including Enda’s much-younger new wife Leah, a virtuoso violinist—suspected in his murder, it’s up to Siobhán to ensure the guilty party faces the music. But as a snowstorm strands both families in a lavish farmhouse on a cliff, Siobhán had better pick up the tempo—before the killer orchestrates another untimely demise . . .
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“Murder at an Irish Christmas” is the 6th instalment in the Irish Village Mystery series by Carlene O’Connor. I love this series and was excited to be able to read an arc of it.
I really enjoyed this story, and it has made me want to catch up on the series. I have several of the earlier books in my TBR pile. I loved visiting West Cork and the remote coastal village where Elise grew up.
The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I loved the characters which are well developed. Getting to know Elise’s family was a challenge as everyone had secrets but in the end you grow to like them.
I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end. I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.
I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Kensington Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Murder at an Irish Christmas by Carlene O’Connor is book six in the Irish Village Mystery series. I have only read one other in the series. I was able to get current quickly.
This easy to read Cozy has likeable characters. You will feel like you are in Ireland. The twists and turns are plenty and just when you think you know who is guilty, you are given an other possibility. There is also humor, romance, and family. This Christmas cozy will have you wanting your Christmas tree and a cup of tea.
I was given an ARC by Kensington and NetGalley for an honest review.
Christmas is coming but a corpse arrives first in this, the 6th delightful mystery featuring the O’Sullivan clan. Siobhan and her siblings are out of town for the holiday, off to a remote Irish village to spend Christmas getting to know her brother James’s future in-laws. That’s always a challenge for any family at the best of times but, with this bunch? Oh, my, it gets complicated fast. The grandfather, a renowned composer, meets his maker when a concert harp becomes a murder weapon, crushing him. And so Siobhan, acting both as a family to be member and Garda, has her very own locked room mystery to solve for they are all forced together in isolation with a murderer in their midst. That’s a rough way to start blending their families.
This is one of my favorite series and it has been wonderful to see how Siobhan and her siblings have grown since the death of their parents. James is engaged and Siobhan has found the love of her life in Macdara Flannery. I can’t wait until the next book, Murder in an Irish Bookshop (2/23/2021) to see how Siobhan and Mac progress to their wedding. I love the complex puzzles Carlene O’Connor has created, full of red herrings and loads of twists and turns, leaving me to guess wrong every time – as it should be.
My thanks to the publisher, Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
This is my first time reading this series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It took a little bit to get into it with the ton of characters and the Irish names. I don’t know how most of them are pronounced so it was a little off-putting for me but hey, that’s why it’s good to read things set in other places, right? The setting of an Irish village at Christmas was great, except for the murder, of course. I loved how the village did so much for Christmas and everyone participated. The characters were good and I enjoyed the banter between them. The mystery was very good with lots of red herrings. Will be adding this series to my pile of books that I want to read in the future.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.
Murder at an Irish Christmas by Carlene O’Connor finds the O’Sullivan Six in a small village in West Cork, preparing to spend Christmas with James’ new in-laws and see a concert conducted by Enda Elliot featuring his wife, Leah who was a world-famous violinist. Elliot was the grandfather of James’ fiancée, Elise, but sadly on the morning of their arrival, he was found dead at the old whiskey mill, which was to be the venue for the Christmas concert. She had promised her younger siblings that this was a vacation, all about fun. Would she be able to keep that promise? She had not authority here, after all, and it had not been established as a murder, yet.
Boy, your own family can be complicated, but add another family into the mix and life got out of control fast. Siobhan was naturally curious and a garda at heart so she couldn’t help herself. She had to ask questions and observe. When her fiancé, Macdara Flannery and his mother showed up, it got worse, as now there were two of them. Enda’s daughter, Moira, was the father of Elise as well as Paul and Orla. Moira was the daughter of Enda’s deceased first wife and behaved in every sense like the family matriarch. She had been worried about her father as he was showing signs of dementia. She is just the beginning of this convoluted family. This was quite a good mystery with all kinds of red herrings and dead ends. Once again, Siobhan proved herself to be a canny detective who was able to suss out the murderer while following all the rules. She noticed everything, even the lies. Quite a satisfying mystery with a little Irish and a little Christmas to boot. I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Murder at an Irish Christmas by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #murderatanirishchristmas
Siobhán and her siblings are looking forward to spending time together for Christmas. Unfortunately, murder decides they don’t need that holiday. It’ll take all of Siobhán’s (and her fiance Macdara’s) sleuthing skills to solve this mystery.
Excellent book and series. I love Siobhán and her siblings. The storyline was interesting and the mystery intriguing. Plus it’s set in Ireland – a place I’ve always wanted to visit.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
The Irish Village Mysteries has become one of my favorite cozy series. I love spending time with the O’Sullivan clan and this latest installment is no different. This series is fun, engaging, and always a good mystery to solve. And it’s always nice to take a trip to Ireland through the pages. (Note: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
This is a great cozy mystery with wonderful Christmas accents. Great way to get in the mood for the holidays-even if there is a murder!
I’ve not read earlier books in this series (this is the sixth) but other than being slightly confused at the beginning on the O’Sullivan family structure, it was completely fine as a standalone. But it was such an enjoyable story, I’ve already got the first two books on hold at the library.
Our protagonist, Siobhan O’Sullivan is a garda (police officer in the Republic of Ireland) but she is with her family (she’s the oldest of six and responsible for her family since their parents’ death) celebrating Christmas with her brother James’ fiancee’s family. Her grandfather, Enda Elliott, is a famous conductor and the town is holding a private holiday concert in his honor.
When they and the orchestra as well as the Elliott family arrive to decorate the mill where the concert is to be held, they discover Enda’s body which appears to have fallen off the second story with a harp.
Although Siobhan is a garda, she had promised her siblings a nonworking holiday and is also told by the local garda not to get involved. But she does, and there appear to be many folks who could have wished Enda Elliott ill. There are a lot of red herrings and I didn’t have a clue until almost the end of the book.
I also enjoyed the dynamics of the O’Sullivan family and the way they make the best of not being in familiar surroundings for Christmas-some of them are still quite young.
I received an ARC from Kensington via NetGalley however, the opinion expressed is my own.
All Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan wants if for her and her siblings to enjoy a happy Christmas together when they leave their home to spend the holiday with her brother James’ fiancee Elisa’s family. There they expect to meet Elise’s grandfather Enda Elliot who is a famous orchestra conductor. But everything changes when Enda Elliot is found dead under an expensive harp. As Siobhan tries to help out the Garda in the district it seems that more than one person had a reason to want Enda dead. Can she find the killer or killers before someone else loses their life? This was another enjoyable book about the O’Sullivan clan. It is easily read as a standalone even though Carlene O’Connor has written several other books in this series. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a mystery. Thank you Net Galley for the chance to read this e-book in exchange for an honest review.