Review of Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

Murder in an Irish Village, published in 2016, is the first book in the Irish Village Mystery series.  The book introduces us to Siobhan O’Sullivan, who runs Naomi’s Bistro with her five siblings in small-town Kilbane in County Cork, Ireland.

Side note:  I know I crammed a lot of prepositional phrases in there, but now you know the setting.  The setting of a cozy mystery is super important to me.  If I don’t like the setting of a cozy mystery, I won’t want to read it.

We now return to Murder in an Irish Village.  Just a year prior to the start of the book, Siobhan’s parents were killed in a drunk driving accident.  The drunk driver, Billy Murphy, is currently in jail for the killing.  Billy’s brother Niall claims to have proof that someone else caused the accident.  But Niall will only reveal the identity of the true culprit if Siobhan pays him $10,000 Euro.  As if Siobhan and her family have $10,000 Euro.

Niall ends up stabbed to death in Naomi’s Bistro, and Siobhan’s older brother James is eventually arrested for Niall’s murder.  Not believing James is guilty, Siobhan and her other four siblings prepare a list of possible suspects and try to inconspicuously check alibis.  Everyone in town is fully aware of what the O’Sullivans are doing and readily give up any information they think might be useful.

Like any good police officer, Garda Macdara Flannery warns Siobhan against investigating on her own.  Like any good amateur sleuth, Siobhan doesn’t listen.  That is, until someone else is murdered.  By then it’s too late, though.  The killer is after trying to shut her and her family up.

Like any good cozy mystery, there is a love story.  Siobhan has a growing attraction to Macdara.  The two aren’t yet a couple, and they only kiss one time in the book.  However, their brewing attraction is much more romantic and passionate than is typical in most cozy mysteries, which I liked a whole bunch.  I also liked the comedic effect of the entire town knowing about Siobhan’s investigation and commenting on it whenever she came around.  However, I thought it was a little unbelievable that Niall’s mother knew who caused the accident and didn’t go to the police with the information so Billy could get out of jail.  Instead, she tried to sell the information to various people in the village, which forced the killer to kill again.  Even with that said, I’d still like to read the second book.