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 . . .
more
A murder investigation in a posh Irish home in the middle of a raging snowstorm.
O’Connor weaves an entertaining holiday mystery with a charming protagonist and plenty of twists.
A well-conceived ‘locked room’ mystery.
Series: Irish Village Mystery #6
Publication Date: 10/27/20
Number of Pages: 304
Siobhan (shi-vawn) O’Sullivan and her family, known as the O’Sullivan Six, are in action again as they visit a colorful village in West Cork. Christmas is near and they will be spending time with the family of James’ fiancé, Elise. Siobhan is a bit apprehensive about her older brother’s engagement, but the rest of her brood of brothers and sisters, Grainne (Grawn-ya), Ann, Eoin (Owen), and Ciaran (Keeran) seem just fine with it. They are all looking forward to a peaceful Christmas with all of them together just enjoying each other. Of course, wherever Siobhan goes, a dead body soon follows – even at Christmas.
The village is hosting a concert, conducted by Enda Elliott, who is the Conductor for the RTE National Symphony Orchestra. The aging Enda lives in the village and is its most renowned citizen. To say Enda is eccentric would be putting it mildly, but everybody seems to love him – so – imagine the shock when the entire village shows up at the old mill to decorate it for the concert – and they find a very deceased Enda sprawled in the middle of the musicians seating. Oh! My! At first glance, it appears to be an accident, but as a Garda, Siobhan has to secure the scene and await the arrival of the local Garda. It soon becomes evident that it wasn’t an accident. Oh! My!
With suspects galore and red herrings aplenty, you’ll have a time unraveling this mystery right along with Siobhan and her fiancé Detective Sergeant Macdara Flannery. What could the motive be? Who hated Enda enough to murder him? Could it be his son Jason? His second wife Faye? His third, and current, wife Leah? His daughter Moira? One of his grandchildren – Elise, Paul, or Orla? The harpist, Ruth? The artist, Catherine? The artist’s lover, Theodore Baskins? The venue owner? His rival, Harry Williams? Oh! My! Too many suspects to count.
As everyone’s secrets are revealed (including Enda’s) – like peeling an onion – and Siobhan is attacked – the solution is still not evident. Will they find the murderer before another death occurs? You’ll just have to read this delightful story to find out.
This is one of my favorite series and I really love all of the characters. It is well-written, the mystery is well-plotted and well-delivered, the characters are robust, likable, and well developed. I mean – what else could you possibly want. Goodness – there is even an excellent Irish Brown Bread recipe in the back!
I loved the book and can’t wait for the next one.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Family meeting Family at Christmas what can say! Even with a normal family meeting new in laws there can be problems but your talking about the O’Sullivan clan!! fun had by all with a great mystery and shenanigans and you have a fun read ahead of you. So looking forward to more of this series.
Siobhan and the rest of the O’Sullivan family head to West Cork to spend Christmas with her brother James’ fiancée Elise and her family. While there, they’re going to witness a performance from by the famous orchestra conductor Enda Elliot, and a whole orchestra of others including the violin virtuoso Leah Elliott (Enda’s third wife) who will be having a Christmas Eve performance. But when everyone finally is able to get into the locked mill to decorate and practice, they discover the body of Enda Elliot. He’s found underneath a valuable harp and appears to have been there for a while.
While Siobhan secures the scene and the Garda are called in, Siobhan switches from just being James’ sister into Garda O’Sullivan, Garda are never really off duty, are they?
With the list of potential suspects growing by leaps and bounds, Siobhan is frustrated when the local Garda only have eyes for one man. When a mistake is made, luckily Siobhan’s fiancé Macdara happens to be there and can step into the investigation and make sure that all suspects are looked at with a critical eye. With everyone from family members to neighbors lying, there’s no telling who the killer really is.
If you love locked room mysteries, I recommend this story. This is the sixth story in the series, but you don’t have to read the first five to enjoy this one. Good writing, interesting characters, and a snowy Irish setting at Christmas, what more could you ask?
**I received an ARC of this story from Netgalley and the publisher and this is my honest and voluntary review.
Over the years, this series has become one of my favorite cozy mystery series and I look forward to each new book. I love the O’Sullivan siblings and it has been so entertaining watching them each grow into who they will be as an adult. Siobhan has taken on a lot of responsibility in raising her siblings after her parent’s death, but she is starting to make a life separate for herself. I wasn’t sure at first if I would like her becoming a member of the Garda, but I think she has a strong sense of deductive reasoning and she sees things that others miss or may disregard. I think her relationship with Macdara Flannery is progressing nicely and that he treats her as an equal when they are on the case, valuing her thoughts and input.
This mystery is centered around the murder of Elise’s grandfather at Christmas time. There is a lot going on in this book and the author does a good job of trying to convince the reader that the killer is a specific character. However, readers need to look beyond the red herrings laid down in the story to the clues sprinkled throughout. I was surprised by the reveal but thought it was well done and made a lot of sense.
I will definitely be returning for more books in the future. I voluntarily read a digital advanced reader copy provided to me by the publisher, Kensington, through Netgalley.
law-enforcement, murder-investigation, music, family-dynamics, friendship, Ireland, Christmas
This Christmas the O’Sullivan siblings have left Naomi’s Bistro in Kilbane to share instead with brother James’s fiancée Elise’s family which includes a famous orchestral conductor and his much younger wife who is an incredibly gifted violinist. Siobhan is in awe of the man and his wife but things go off to a bad start at once because the man is found in an open space below a broken railing and is dead under a beautiful harp. Siobhan is Garda, but this is not her patch and her partner/fiance won’t be with her for a day or two. Trying to balance her cop’s mind with her compassion for the family and the peculiar clues that keep coming up is hard enough, bit it’s Christmas! There a lots of suspects, plot twists, and red herrings. The mystery is handled brilliantly and the characters are wonderful. I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Murder at an Irish Christmas by Carlene O’Connor is the 6th book in the amazing Irish Village Mystery series (not including a novella included in the equally amazing book containing a trio of novellas, Christmas Cocoa Murder 2019).
I have to admit that this is one of my favorite series, and I have read every book by Ms. O’Connor, so I was so delighted to know that I could visit the wonderful O’Sullivan six (but really is it six anymore with the wonderful additions to the family?) again in County Cork.
This time instead of the story being placed in their quaint, quirky, and endearing small village of Kilbane, this festive novel takes the family to the far west of Ireland to a remote, coastal villiage that is where Elise (James’s betrothed) and her family live. And boy does she have a family. Of course, it cannot be a simple Christmas gathering, family introductions, and a symphony of epic proportions, but a fabulous murder/mystery of Elise’s grandfather, a famous composer, and the whole complicated family is ensnared. There are suspects galore, everywhere a new twist pops up, everyone has a secret to hide, and it is up to Siobhan and her wonderful soon to be other half Detective Sergeant Macdara Flannery to infiltrate this mayhem and web of mystique to find who has been naughty and who has been nice.
I loved the new location, the entire character cter cast, the intricate and entertaining plot, the mysteries kept me guessing clear until the end, and I love, love, love Sionhan and Dara. They are great people and make a great team.
This is a great addition to one of my favorite series. I cannot wait to read what happens next.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
another Great Mystery!!
Carlene O’Connor managed again to put together a great story.
Siobhán siblings are getting older and that brings up a new set of concerns. She has a bit of a problem warming up to James fiancée and vice versa. Elise feels James should side with her instead of his sister and Siobhán is a bit overprotective. She also has a future Mother In-law to deal with who isn’t exactly a big fan of Siobhán. On top of it we are having the next sibling starting to notice the male sex.
Add the death of Elise’s grandfather (Accident, homicide or suicide?) a bunch of musicians, local law enforcements who have their own ideas on how to proceed and we are celebrating Christmas.
It’s an interesting and fun read which keeps you guessing.
This is the 6th book in the series and it can be read as a standalone. I love Siobhan and her family and really who doesn’t love the idea of Christmas in Ireland. This is a well written cozy that has plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.
I truly enjoy this series. Carlene O’Connor is a great cozy mystery writer. I enjoy her description of Ireland and Irishisms too.
One of a series about an Irish family getting involved in mysterious deaths.
Hard to get into, but once you did, not bad.
Good book, love the whole series….
I really hope James and Elise don’t actually get married. I personally don’t like her and her family has some huge issues. I kind of hoped she was the killer but nope. I had a couple of bits figured out but the killer eluded me. I Always love books by this author and even though it’s almost St. Pats I still think its okay to read a Christmas story.
Too wordsy about the families.
I chose this author because I had not yet read any of her stories. I am about 1/3 of the way through this book and am struggling to much to continue reading it. I am finding that the flow of the story is not there and the introduction of the characters is not strong enough for me to be able to follow along. I know that there has been a murder but so many of these characters have a relationship to the deceased and in so many different ways that I am totally confused by who is who.
I always promise myself that at some time in the future I will again try and read this story and see if it is any clearer but for this reading I am giving up with a headache. Maybe I will try one of her earlier books and see if I can understand that one and build up.
Murder at an Irish Christmas is the sixth book in Irish author Carlene O’Conner’s Irish Village Mystery series, featuring Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan and Detective Sergeant Macdara Flannery. As Siobhan and her five siblings arrive to meet brother James’s fiancé’s family in a small village in West County Cork. Elise is the granddaughter of renowned conductor Enda Elliott who is set to perform a special Christmas Eve concert in an old whiskey mill said to have perfect acoustics and is close to the Elliot family compound.
Crowds have gathered at the mill on the morning of Siobhan’s arrival all awaiting the arrival of the famous conductor and orchestra to set up and rehearse. However, when the mill is entered and the lights turned on it is to find the body of Enda lying in the spotlight with a harp settled atop him. There are more questions than answers when he is found wearing a trench coat over his pajamas.
All are questioned but it would appear that local guard Cooley seems to have decided upon the guilty party with no actual evidence. This does not set well with Siobhan, nor with her partner and fiancé Detective Sergeant Macdara Flannery when she relays what is happening. As it is Christmas, Siobhan is in West Cork with her siblings while Macdara is spending Christmas with his mother before traveling to spend New Years with Siobhan, but when he learns of the murder he convinces his mother to join them all in West Cork for the concert and so he can help.
This is a well written mystery with many twists before the final chapters and the unexpected outcome. This is the first of the series I have read but it definitely stood on its own merit with enough background information included for the new reader but not so much as to bore the series veteran. I did enjoy this book and will look for this author in the future. I do recommend this book.
Murder at an Irish Christmas is a wonderfully creative holiday cozy. Siobhán is a magnificent character. Having taken care of her siblings since their parents died has been an undertaking and altered her life. Sometimes she harkens back to the days when she had dreams of going off, attending university, and building her own life. All of that came to an end with her parent’s sudden passing. At times, she regrets the choices she had to make, but she wouldn’t change a thing most of the time. This year, many things have or are about to change, but the love she has for her family isn’t one of them. Christmas time reminds her of everything and everyone she loves, and she will do whatever it takes to keep them safe and happy.
While visiting James’ fiances family during the Christmas holiday, a brutal murder takes place. It’s difficult for Siobhán to sit back and keep her nose out of the investigation. Before long, however, she realizes that if she doesn’t do something, an innocent man may go to prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Very quickly, suspects are uncovered; the killer could be anyone in the victim’s family, including an ex-wife, a current wife, several children, an entire orchestra, or anyone living in the Irish countryside near Elise’s grandfather’s home. It takes Siobhán a while to start eliminating suspects and track down evidence. While she is doing all of this, she tries to keep the local garda from arresting someone who may be innocent but whom everyone thinks is guilty.
There are plenty of red herrings for readers to figure out, more twists and turns than expected, and a few surprises thrown in that make Siobhán grateful and worried at the same time. Murder at an Irish Christmas flows nicely, is a quick read, and has readers savoring the descriptions and pictures of the lovely Irish countryside during the Christmas holidays. This is a cozy book readers will want to spend time with and enjoy every moment.
Irish garda (policewoman) Siobhan O’Sullivan and her siblings are celebrating the Christmas holiday in West Cork with the family of oldest Sullivan brother James’s fiancee, Elise Elliot. The most notable member of Elise’s family is her internationally famous grandfather, orchestra conductor Enda Elliot. Everyone is looking forward to a grand concert to be conducted by the venerable conductor on Christmas Eve featuring Enda’s latest wife, Leah, a well-known classical violinist. When Enda is found murdered before the concert, Siobhan finds that her celebration of Christmas has changed from wrapping presents for her family to trapping a very clever killer. “Murder at an Irish Christmas” is a delightful addition to Carlene O’Connor’s consistently enjoyable series. I love all the characters, the witty dialogue, and the fast-moving plots.