“A mélange of clues from classic mysteries plus plenty of Irish charm produce an enjoyable read.” —Kirkus Reviews Join a bestselling author and travel to County Cork in Ireland to solve a bookish mystery full of twists in a cozy whodunit perfect for fans of Sheila Connolly, Kate Carlisle, and Laura Childs! Between training the new town garda and trying to set a wedding date with her fiancé, … garda and trying to set a wedding date with her fiancé, Macdara Flannery, Siobhán O’Sullivan is feeling a bit overwhelmed. She’s looking forward to visiting the new bookshop and curling up with an exciting novel—only to discover the shelves contain nothing but Literature with a capital L. The owner not only refuses to stock romances, mysteries, and science fiction, but won’t even let customers enter his store unless they can quote James Joyce or Sean Hennessey.
Despite the owner deliberately limiting his clientele, he’s hosting a reading and autographing event featuring up and coming Irish writers who will be taking up residency in Kilbane for a month. Among them is indie author Deirdre Walsh, who spends more time complaining about the unfairness of the publishing industry and megastar bestsellers instead of her own creative works, causing a heated debate among the writers. She seems to have a particular distaste for the novels of Nessa Lamb.
Then Deirdre’s body is found the next day in the back of the store—with pages torn from Nessa’s books stuffed in her mouth. Now, Siobhán must uncover which of Kilbane’s literary guests took Deirdre’s criticisms so personally they’d engage in foul play . . .
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Murder in an Irish Bookshop by Carlene O’Connor is the seventh book in the Irish Village Mystery series and a police procedural set in the fictional small community of Kilbane, in County Cork, Ireland. While the vibe is cozy, the detective is actually a member of the Irish garda (state police force of the Irish Republic) and the violence occurs off stage.
Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan is engaged to Detective Sergeant Macdara Flannery. Between training new garda Aretta Dabiri, trying to set a wedding date, and taking care of her siblings, one would think she has enough to do. She is looking forward to buying a romance book to help relax once the new bookstore opens. However, the story isn’t that straight-forward. Most visitors to the bookstore are turned away on grand opening day. What is going on? When this is followed by a death of a visiting indie author, Siobhán has even more on her plate.
I enjoyed getting to know Siobhán. Her character is well-developed and relatable. I felt tense about her predicaments and wanted to help her solve the mystery. The family dynamics with her five siblings added realism to the small town feel of the story. However, the other characters had varying degrees of depth. Perhaps some are explored more in earlier books.
The plot is well done with lots of suspects and unknowns, requiring the protagonist to sift through the misdirection, lies, omissions, and much more to solve this mystery. While I was able to solve the mystery, it was fun working through the clues with Siobhán. The author did a good job of giving this reader a sense of the stores in town and the weather, but I wanted to get a better feel for the rural setting around the town. Perhaps this will be in another book.
Overall, this book was entertaining, non-graphic, twisty, intriguing, and even humorous at times. I don’t usually start a series with number seven. I initially felt a little lost since it seemed that the author assumed readers had read prior books, but as the story progressed information was disseminated and I became totally absorbed in trying to help Siobhan solve the mystery. I am sure that reading the earlier books would provide additional background and add richness to the reading experience, and I want to go back and read them. If you like cozy mysteries set in small towns and filled with lots of misdirection, then I recommend that you check out this series.
I won a digital copy of this book from Kensington Books and the author in a Goodreads Giveaway. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
The small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland is buzzing with excitement over the opening of a new bookstore along with a number of visiting Irish authors. This is their first bookstore and Siobhan O’Sullivan, oldest sibling of the O’Sullivan six, is hoping to encourage her siblings to become readers – and she’d kind of like to kindle a spark for reading within herself as well. Of course, there is a damper on those high spirits when a body is found near the bookshop – and later, a second one inside the bookshop. Oh! My! Goodness! It looks as if Detective Sergeant Macdara Flannery and Gardai Siobhan O’Sullivan will be doing a lot more than training new Gardai Aretta Dabiri.
There are a lot of suspects – The new bookshop owners, Padraig and Oran McCarthy, any of the Irish authors and agent attending the opening, any number of townspeople who had access, or even a mysterious stranger who has been lurking about town. Clues are aplenty, but none seem to lead anywhere except in circles. Everybody seems to be keeping secrets and pointing fingers. With the case awash in red herrings, twists, and turns, the garda definitely has their work cut out for them. I’m sure you’ll figure out the name of the murderous villain before it is revealed – but – the method is totally unique and unexpected.
I have loved this series from the first book, and this is a lovely addition to it. It is so much fun to come to know all of the shops and inhabitants of Kilbane as we have over the last six books. Seeing the growth of Siobhan and her siblings has been particularly delightful, but seeing the relationship between Siobhan and Macdara develop has been heartwarming. The wedding plans are moving along and maybe we’ll have a wedding in the next book.
I can definitely recommend this read and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. The mystery is a good one, the clues are excellently handled, the villain is just dastardly enough to make you thoroughly dislike him/her, and the added romance is lovely. You just can’t go wrong with all of that.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This series are fun to read.
These books can be read as a standalone. I have been reading them out of order but feel you get the most enjoyment if you read them sequentially.
The two main characters Macdara and his fiancée Siobhán are both Garda in a small Irish village. We see the arrival of a new Garda trainee that has a bit of a critical look of her boss and his fiancée relationship in a work environment but is anxious to learn from them and only time will tell how it all works out. Siobhán is a bit stressed feeling Macdara is pushing to firm up the wedding date. Then we have her siblings which add some interesting tidbits. The story is an easy read with plenty of the small village charms and drawbacks. Plenty of clues are given to try to uncover the murderer but you really don’t know for sure till the end. I highly recommend getting your favorite beverage, relax in an easy chair and start reading.
This is a charming cozy series and although this is only the third book I’ve read, I highly recommend it (and have to my friends). I think it would work well as a standalone.
It is springtime in Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland and our protagonist Siobhan O’Sullivan is excited about the opening of a bookstore in town. Unfortunately, the owner is a literary snob and doesn’t stock anything other than literary fiction .and won’t let you into the store unless you quote a few famous Irish poets/playwrights. However, they are hosting an Irish author night featuring a literary agent who will sign a contract with one of them.
On the day of the opening, a neighbor of Siobhan stumbles across the body of an elder townswoman on her way to drop off a welcoming basket to the bookstore. She comes to get Siobhan who is a garda (police officer) in the town. Margaret rarely left her home so they were surprised to find her by the bookstore, but she was elderly so it was no surprise–.but when one of the visiting authors is murdered, they realize there is a connection as well as a second murder.
What follows is a well drawn out mystery with twists and turns that keep you engaged.
I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
I don’t think I have ever started a series at book 7, but this held up perfectly as a standalone. I was never lost or confused, nor felt I needed more background to enjoy the story. So kudos to the author for that. I enjoyed this book a lot. It was well written. I adored the setting. The mystery was well plotted. A lot of twists and red herrings to keep us guessing, and the characters (a plethora of them) were likable. I definitely want to go back and read the first 6 now!
However, there was one minor issue I had. The timeline. A character gets murdered in the new bookshop and they seemingly leave her body there for days?! I skimmed other reviews, and no one seems to have mentioned this, so maybe it was just me. But it threw me out of the story enough that I made a comment on Goodreads and put the book down to tell my husband and daughter.
**ARC Via NetGalley**
I’m sorry to say I don’t like the addition of the new garda. Her personality is not endearing at all and her connection with the other characters is off also. I cannot see how she adds positively to this series.
Loved this whole series of books! Would read again…
Okay so first a bookshop that only sells certain kinds of books is crazy ! The second thing is the reveal was really confusing . I had to read it twice before I finally got the reason why the murders happened. Other than those two things it was a great book! My favorite part was the ending and I am hoping the next book will be the wedding, because let’s face it Dara isn’t the only one tired of waiting.
Siobhán O’Sullivan is helping to train a new garda and anticipating her 29th birthday. There is a new bookshop in the village but as it turns out, the owners have a very limited view of what books to offer and who to let into the shop on opening day. Even so, they are hosting a group of writers for discussions and an autograph session. Things get complicated when a storm knocks out the power and one of the writers is found murdered!
Ms O’Connor has written yet another page turner mystery filled with red herrings to confuse the guards – and sometimes the readers! Siobhán has my favourite line in this book “But I don’t trust writers … They’re too good at making things up.” Too good indeed – but one of these characters did it and she must sort out who’s telling the truth and who’s spinning a tale!
Murder in the Irish Bookshop earns 5/5 Torn Pages…Engaging Fun!
Carlene O’Connor’s seventh Irish Village Mystery is another delightful story no self-respecting coziholic should miss! “Bucket list” worthy setting, diverse characters, fascinating small village dynamic, engaging mystery, and Irish Stew! Life in Kilbane has, of course, progressed nicely with new people moving into the village, career changes from amateur to professional, family highs and lows, and friends turning to fiancés, but newbies need not fear being at a disadvantage since there are plenty of references to make the reading experience complete and enjoyable. Siobhan O’Sullivan has much going on in her job with the Garda and planning her soon wedding, but investigating a murder overloads her already full plate. The owner of the new bookshop has some quirky, and limiting, ideas of what books to sell, but the idea of hosting an event to highlight some up and coming Irish writers is well received…until one author winds up murdered with pages from a rival’s book stuffed in their mouth.
My cozy criteria often includes the need for a foreign setting, and anything in the Great Britain is high on my list. O’Connor brings this Irish village to life with its pubs, its cottages, and its emerald landscape. Next it’s the characters, and with O’Connor she has created a core diverse group that, including a strong family, loving couple, and quirky village residents, reminds me of people in my own life making it fun to follow their exploits. With a lovely setting well described and close-knit characters bantering about, the mystery requires creativity, a bit of complexity, and often involving the core characters as witnesses, suspects, and/or investigator. O’Connor’s mystery has it all with several having a motive and plenty of misdirection gum up the works, then smoothing out into a satisfying conclusion. And last, I need a theme well woven through the drama with insights, tips, and Google-worthy follow-up and at least one recipe that compliments the story. In this book it is the Irish culture, literature, and a recipe for Eoin’s Irish Stew! This is definitely a cozy that checks all of my boxes!
Murder in an Irish Bookshop by Carlene O’Connor is another in O’Connor’s long-running series featuring Siobhan O’Sullivan and Madera Flannery, both Irish grade. Siobhan is so happy that someone is opening a bookshop in Kilbane, until she discovers one needs a password to enter and once inside that it only sells literary fiction: no mysteries, no romances, no children’s books. She is less happy when, at the book signing and her birthday party, there is a murder. She and Dara, and a new garda, Aretta Dabiri, all set about to investigate the remaining two authors and one agent who had been in Kilbane for the grand opening of the bookshop.
Siobhan and Dara are such a good couple. Professional as the day is long at work and part of the larger O’Sullivan family at rest. Well, not much rest is to be had with the O’Sullivans. Siobhan is an excellent investigator, operating as much off her gut as off the evidence. Dara is the essence of patience. Introducing this new garda, Aretta, is going to be a third dimension to their investigations. She fits in perfectly. These are such fun books, and so Irish. She falls asleep with James Joyce, as do I so we have something in common. She is empathetic and she loves her siblings and her life with grand enthusiasm. Siobhan’s traits say it all. She is the heart and lifeblood of the series and makes it worth the read.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Murder in the Irish Bookshop by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #murderinanirishbookshop
Murder in an Irish Bookshop by Carlene O’Connor is book seven in the Irish Murder Series. It can be read as a stand alone.
An elderly resident is found dead in the Irish town of Kilbane, It appears as if it was a natural death. Siobhan isn’t convinced but continues on, The town is excited for the new bookstore to open and the book signing that is scheduled to happen there. Everything seems to be going smoothy even with a storm happening until the lights go out. An author is then found murdered in a back room. Siobhan and her fellow garda has their work cut out for them. Then it’s discovered there is a connection in the two recent deaths. Siobhan is on the path to get answers.
This Cozy has plenty of suspects, twists and turns, a great cast of characters, family, humor, and romance. You will feel as if you are in Ireland.
I was given an ARC from Kensington via NetGalley for an honest review.
In this, the seventh of the series, Siobhan O’Sullivan has a lot on her plate. Plans for her upcoming wedding with fellow Garda Macdara, interviewing a new Garda, helping to keep the family eatery running smoothly and keeping an eye on her various siblings. To get the most out of this series it is best read in order so the full character of Siobhan clear. She may be a Garda now and soon to be married to a wonderful fellow Garda but she has come a long way from raising her younger siblings after the death of their parents and having to keep the roof over their heads. She sees a challenge and she meets it head on.
With all that is going on she is looking forward to the opening of a bookshop in Kilbane. The thought of wandering the shelves and discovering a new mystery or a romance to take home and become lost in sounds like the perfect escape. Much to her dismay, the owner has no intention of allowing such tomes on the shelves and only wants Literary Works to grace them. It isn’t long before friction shows up in town when he hosts a month long writers event for new Irish writers. One of those authors, Deirdre Walsh runs afoul with another author and is found dead but did the other author resort to murder to make her point or did Deidre upset another into committing murder? Siobhan and Macdara are on the case and soon a killer will be revealed.
This series has it all for this reader – a lovely Irish town, great characters that grow with every book so that the reader feels like it’s a letter from home with family updates and a very well constructed puzzle to solve.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Murder in an Irish Bookshop is the eighth book in Carlene O’Connor’s Cozy Irish Murder Mystery series. Although a series, each book stands on its own and fills in any gaps a new reader might find without boring the series regulars.
Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan is quite excited by the opening of a new bookstore in their village. The day before the grand opening, while on her morning run she comes across the lifeless body of village elder Margaret O’Shea. As Ms. O’Shea has barely left home in recent years, to find her near the new bookstore so far from her home is highly unusual, but she is elderly and initially it is ruled to be natural causes.
Along with the opening of the bookstore, there are three independent authors and the literary agent for highly successful Irish author Michael O’Mara giving talks at the new bookstore with one of the new authors to be chosen as a client to be aided in their writing career. When, under strange and public circumstances, one of the authors is murdered, everyone present at the bookstore that evening is seen as a potential suspect.
This is a well woven mystery with many potential outcomes and a long string of clues that will keep even the most seasoned mystery reader guessing. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!
This is a cozy mystery, and this is the 7th book in the Irish Village Mystery series. I am lucky to receive an e-copy of this book from Netgalley. This was my first experience with Carlene O’Connor’s Irish Village Mystery series and I really enjoyed it. I loved the location in Ireland and loved the characters. There are two murders centered around the new bookstore in town and the question becomes are the two somehow related. The author provides the readers with a nice pool of suspects and a lot of clues to sift through. There are plenty of false trails and red herrings as the reader tries to puzzle out exactly what happen why were the two women killed. The reveal has a nice twist that resolved everything very well. Thank you NetGalley.
Siobhan is looking forward to a bookstore coming to her village. In addition to that excitement, there is her birthday, setting a wedding date, and training a new Garda. Whew, is she busy. On the day of the book store opening, she happens upon the body of a local, elderly woman. It appears to be a natural death, but what was she doing out? Her fiance plans a surprise party at the book store for her. The lights go out and when they come back on, one of the new authors is dead. Murdered!
This is a fun mystery. The locale sounds beautiful and Siobhan and her siblings are a hoot. I enjoy the characters and the easy writing style of this author.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and offer my honest opinion.
Siobhan is excited about the opening of a new bookstore in town. She hopes to become a reader. Opening is delayed when the body of an elderly woman is found at a door. Three authors and an agent are in town for the opening creating lots of excitement for a small town. At the opening, a storm goes puts the power out and Siobhan finds a body covered in books.
I enjoyed this mystery. The murderer is not clear until the end. I enjoy these characters and their lives. The O’Sullivan brood can make it hard to follow on your first encounter but as you read more in the series, I enjoy them.
Murder in an Irish Bookshop ” the 7th instalment in the “Irish Village” Mystery series by Carlene O’Connor. This is one of my many favourite cozy series! I loved this story, and I will definitely be adding it to my paperback collection.
I always love visiting the village of Kilbane in County Cork. I like the interaction between the O’Sullivan Six, as it portrays a loving family dynamic, Siobhán is worrying about turning 29 as well as setting a wedding date when a murder occurs at the new bookshop.
The mystery is super interesting and well plotted, and loaded with red herrings. I loved the characters which are well developed, plus the introduction of a few new characters to the village who are extremely quirky. I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end.
I highly recommend this book to all my cozy loving friends.
I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Kensington Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is book seven in one of my favorite cozy mystery series. I love Macdara, Siobhan, the O’Sullivan Six, and all the quirky residents. It’s set in Ireland, which I’ve always wanted to visit. I love all the descriptions of the town they are in. The storyline for this book is very interesting. I loved the twists and turns and all the red herrings. I was glued to the pages and ended up reading into the wee hours just to finish it. I highly recommend.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
Murder in an Irish Bookshop is the 7th book in the Irish Village Mystery series and an excellent addition. Siobhan O’Sullivan is a very enjoyable character. I love how the author has grown her character into the confident Garda she has become. She had a keen eye and a good sense for detail which allows her to logically think through the two murders that occur in the village. One of the things I enjoy most about the series is her relationship with Macdara. He recognizes her abilities as an investigator, which allows them to puzzle out the clues and uncover a murder. All of Siobhan’s siblings are back and I love how they have all grown into themselves and their personalities.
The mystery was well done. There are two murders centered around the new bookstore in town and the question becomes are the two somehow related. The author provides the readers with a nice pool of suspects and a lot of clues to sift through. There are plenty of false trails and red herrings as the reader tries to puzzle out exactly what happen why were the two women killed. The reveal has a nice twist that resolved everything very well.
This is a series I look forward to reading with each new book and I will continue as long as the author continues to write the series.
I voluntarily read a digital advanced reader copy provided to me by the publisher, Kensington, through Netgalley. The thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.