Category: Contemporary

Murder In Just Cause by Anne Cleeland

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, MysteryLeave a comment

Murder in Just Cause: A Doyle & Acton Mystery (The Doyle & Acton Mystery Series Book 9)Murder in Just Cause: A Doyle & Acton Mystery by Anne Cleeland

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Doyle and Acton Mysteries #9
Publication Date: 2/24/19
Number of Pages: 251

I am always excited when a new addition to the Doyle and Acton Mysteries series is released. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It is well written, well plotted and the characters are complex and interesting. You can read this as a stand-alone book, but to get the real flavor for the characters, you really need to read at least the first couple of books – but why not read them all, they are all good, fun and quirky.

Scotland Yard has been through scandal after scandal over the last several books and many – if not most – of the higher-ups are either jailed or removed from their jobs. They are working short-handed, but hopefully, all of the bad actors and the scandals are behind them so they can concentrate on protecting the citizens and providing justice.

It is Doyle’s first day back from maternity leave and the powers-that-be have decided to ease her back into the routine by having her assist DS Munoz on her cases. They are almost immediately dispatched out to the scene of a dead body that they assume is an overdose. It is in the slum area that is riddled with drugs, so the assumption is a reasonable one. However, when they arrive, they discover that it is not self-induced – not accidentally nor purposefully. They have a murder on their hands.

Acton quickly arrives on the scene because he’s not happy that Doyle has been sent into that neighborhood. To say that Acton is a determinedly protective husband would be putting it very mildly. Not long after he arrives, he realizes that there is more to this scene than meets the eye. He quickly comes to understand that it was a set-up as a way to ambush DS Munoz and the only reason it didn’t go as planned was that Doyle was there also.

We soon learn that the last of the corruption isn’t yet out of Scotland Yard and that if things aren’t handled with finesse, there will be yet another scandal. As usual – Acton is behind the scenes manipulating things to work out the way he wants – and he keeps poor Doyle in the dark. Doesn’t matter, she always figures him out and calls him out on it.

This is a lovely, fun, quirky, and interesting read

Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Contemporary, MysteryLeave a comment

Murder in an Irish Village (Irish Village Mystery, #1)Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Irish Village Mystery #1
Publication Date: 2/23/16
Audiobook Format

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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