“If Janet Evanovich and Maeve Binchy wrote a book together, [this] would be the result . . . Siobhán O’Sullivan is a character to savor.”—Laurien Berenson, author of Game of Dog Bones In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Naomi’s Bistro has always been a warm and welcoming spot to visit with neighbors, enjoy some brown bread and tea, and get the local gossip. Nowadays … and get the local gossip. Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhán O’Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago.
It’s been a rough year for the O’Sullivans, but it’s about to get rougher. One morning, as they’re opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table, dressed in a suit as if for his own funeral, a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest.
With the local garda suspecting the O’Sullivans and their business in danger of being shunned—murder tends to spoil the appetite—it’s up to feisty redheaded Siobhán to solve the crime and save her beloved brood.
“Kicks off a new series in splendid fashion! If you love cozy mysteries and traveling, then give Murder in an Irish Village a try. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped into Ireland as you turn the pages.”—Fresh Fiction
“A smart whodunnit in an idyllic locale. I dare you not to be charmed by sleuth Siobhán and her siblings, the O’Sullivan Six.”—Barbara Ross, author of A Maine Clambake Mystery Series
“A delightful, funny, fast-paced romp of a book.”—Isis Crawford, author of A Mystery with Recipes Series
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Love this series! Like the building romance as well as the mystery
I wouldn’t give it half a star. Unfortunately I couldn’t finish this book. The characters were lifeless the “drama” of the family over done and repetitive. I rarely abandon books so it’s a very sad day when I do, and I did on this one sorry
This was the first book of the series that I read. I have to say I could not have guessed the ending and while almost everyone seemed suspicious, I felt that in a few places, it was a little too drawn out. Nevertheless I enjoyed it and was truly surprised that the one person she trusted was guilty.
I read this book 4/9-4/11/19.
Trying to catch up on previous reads with reviews….
I thoroughly enjoyed this first installment of this series. I love the homey feel of Kilbane and through the author’s descriptions, I felt as if I was actually there.
I love Siobhan and feel that she is an honest, normal, and intelligent character. She reminds me a little of myself (a decade ago of course lol).
I enjoyed the murder /mystery plot and I also enjoyed the cast of characters in the town and as part of her family.
This is truly a great series. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do.
I’m so glad I took a chance on this book. Usually I don’t read books that are set in another country being worried I won’t fully understand it. I did find this slow when I started reading so decided to give the audiobook a try. It was amazing! It was wonderful hearing the narrator’s accent while listening. I definitely recommend this book. If your standoffish like me, try the audiobook!
A thoroughly enjoyable cozy mystery with likable characters that I intend to follow through more adventures in the series!
Cosy mystery – quick read
This is a series book that will keep you wanting to know what comes next. The main character was an unsuspecting young lady from America, who inherited an Irish pub and a house. She is the one the storyline is centered around. Trouble seems to find her at every turn which makes her story full of suspense, drama and adventure.
A delightful visit to a small Irish town.
The author manages to give the linguistic cadences and such without bogging down the story line.
Very believable characters and situations.
I’d like her brown bread recipe!
The narrator, Caroline Lennon, makes this audiobook an absolute delight to listen to. Her enchanting Irish lilt draws you into the story and makes you feel as if you are right there in Kilbane chatting with and listening to the citizens. I tried to look up Lennon’s biography to see if she was truly Irish or if her affectation of the Irish lilt was just very believable, but I couldn’t find anything much on her. Her pacing is perfect and you can hear all of the emotions – fear, concern, love, etc. in her voice. I’ll definitely look for more books narrated by Caroline Lennon.
Carlene O’Connor is a new-to-me author, but I’ll definitely look for more from her. Since her great-grandmother emigrated to the US from Ireland and the author herself splits her time between the US and Ireland, her representations of Ireland should be spot-on. The story is well-plotted, excellently written and the characters are lovely to meet. The prose is so descriptive that you can see the beauty of the Emerald Isle and commiserate with Kilbane’s inhabitants over the frequent rains.
Siobhan (shi-vawn) O’Sullivan and her family, known as the O’Sullivan Six, have had a very, very, very bad year. Almost exactly a year ago her parents were killed in a car accident, she had to give up her college plans and now, she’s responsible for running the family Bistro and caring for her four younger siblings – Grainne (Grawn-ya) who is sixteen, Ann, Eoin (Owen) and Ciaran (Keeran) as well as her older, by two years, brother James who had taken to drinking.
The anniversary of her parent’s deaths is just a few days away when the nasty brother of the man who was convicted in the drunk-driving accident. That stirs up all of Kilbane, but especially the O’Sullivans and James in particular. James has been alcohol-free for six months, but the appearance of Niall Murphy sends him out on a temper-fueled bender. The next morning, when Niall is found in the bistro, stabbed through the heart with a pair of scissors, James is the Gardai’s (police) prime suspect. When James cannot remember any of the events from the previous evening and splatters of Niall’s blood are found on James’ clothing, he is arrested.
Siobhan believes that the Gardai, including their local Garda, Macdara Flannery have focused on James and aren’t looking any further, so it is up to her to find the real killer. She starts awkwardly questioning her friends and neighbors and ends up with most of the village angry with her. That doesn’t stop her though, she has to save James. Garda Macdara, who is sweet on her, keeps asking her to back off and let the Gardai handle it, but she doesn’t trust them to really look for anyone else.
There are red herrings galore, but I was pretty sure I knew who the villain was from the first or second time he/she was mentioned. It was fun to read and find out if I was right or not! Add in an American visitor to put a wrench in the budding romance and you have an interesting read!
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I really loved how I could feel the small village character just from the way this book was written. I hope to find more books by this author. The mystery was not easy to guess and that is always a plus for me. I also liked how the O’Sullivan’s interact with each other.
Read about a third and gave it up. Just couldn’t get interested in the story or the characters.
Really liked this the characters were well developed and the plot was interesting. The setting was also a plus and I could see there were more stories to tell
Interesting characters, Irish vocabulary,
Fun, easy read that has some unexpected turns and was pleasant to read. There were a few times the book got a bit bogged down and tedious with the main character “over thinking” or suspecting too many people yet again (got a bit tedious this). The ending was a bit abrupt; the book quickly ended after catching the killer and really didn’t leaving me wanting more (i.e. to immediately read the next book in the series) . It was because of this that I gave this 3 stars instead of 4. Overall an enjoyable read and a book I’d recommend.
Is there anything as intriguing as an Irish tale? Her parents were killed in an accident involving a local drunk driver. Now that driver’s in jail and his brother is back in town and found stabbed in her bistro. Will anything ever be normal again?