Category: Mystery

Murder at an Irish Chipper by Carlene O’Connor

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a Series2 Comments

Murder at an Irish Chipper (An Irish Village Mystery)Barbara’s rating: 4.4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Irish Village Mystery #10
Publication Date: 2/20/24
Period: Contemporary Ireland
Number of Pages: 286

Vera Cowley – or Mrs. Chips as everyone in town calls her – has not been having an easy time lately. Sadly, that time has passed, and she’s no longer a part of this world. She was found, murdered, in her fish-and-chips shop. Oh! My! Who could have done such an awful thing? Was it her ex-husband? Perhaps it was her ex-best friend. Or, was it the vegetable oil salesman – or the bakery owner – or the slimy banker – or the fisherwoman – or the food critic? Or is it somebody totally different? Mmmmm – so many suspects – so little time.

Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan and her husband, Detective Sargeant Macdara Flannery, delayed their honeymoon – for a very long time. However, with Siobhan’s brother, Eoin’s, tensions running high and dementing everyone, Macdara thinks taking a belated honeymoon by the sea would be an excellent idea to relieve the tensions and relax a bit. So, the seven of them head off on a holiday trip.

Within a short time of arriving in the lovely seaside village of Lahinch, they were staring at a dead body. OOPS! Can the ever-curious Siobhan let it go and allow the local garda to handle the investigation? Of course not! She sees a loose end and she has to pull on it until it unravels. As she freely admits, she does not know how to Holiday.

With more threats and more bodies turning up, Macdara and Siobhan haven’t any choice but to openly step up and help investigate. Will you solve the case before they do?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book – as I have all of the other books in the series. I have become attached to each member of the family and always look forward to seeing what has happened off-page in their lives. Of course, I love the mysteries they solve as well, and this one was one with lots of twists and lots of suspects.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Random in Death by J.D. Robb

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Futuristic, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

Random in Death (In Death, #58)

Barbara’s rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Series: In Death #58
Publication Date: 1/23/24
Period: Future (2061) New York City
Number of Pages: 362

It is all-hands-on-deck in this exciting, action-packed, edge of your chair, can’t put it down, 58th addition to the In Death series by J.D. Robb. One might think that a series with that many books would begin to drop in quality and excitement – but one would be wrong. This author has the ability to elicit strong emotions and reactions from the reader, yet she also uses bits of humor to dampen down some of those really intense moments. We always come to know both the victim(s) and the villain(s) – sometimes, we admire the victims (as in this book) and sometimes we wonder why someone didn’t kill them earlier. We also always know that whether the victim is admirable or not, Lt. Eve Dallas will give her all to finding who took their lives.

This story’s victims are girls just on the cusp of womanhood – in the 15-16-year-old range. Lovely, happy, young women with their whole lives before them. Yet, that life has come to an abrupt and very painful end. The first victim, Jenna, had a life planned. She knew what she wanted and she had the talent and intelligence to make it happen. Then, she died in her hero’s arms in an alley behind the club where she wanted desperately to get a copy of her demo tape to Jake from the band, Avenue A.

Dallas, Roarke, Peabody, McNab, and the rest of the crew begin their investigation wondering if Jenna was specifically targeted or if she was just a random choice. When there is a second murder – same method, same signature – they become more and more sure the victims are chosen randomly. Evidence is scarce – the villain is extremely intelligent (yet somehow naïve) – and there is no way for Eve and the crew to predict who the next victim might be. They do know there will be a next victim – and soon.

I believe everyone from the ‘Dallas’ ensemble makes an appearance and contributes to either the solution /or consoling the grieving parents. Every small clue adds to what they know – and the villain’s profile emerges – but – who would believe it? Yet, Eve is sure of the profile, she just has to find some clues leading to the identity before yet another young lady is victimized. They’ve weeded through thousands of random clues and have little to go on – until – the right clue at the right time brings it together.

Can they apprehend the villain before he claims another victim? Will he escape capture? You’ll have to read this excellent book to find out.

I have recommended this series to a multitude of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers with whom I’ve chatted, and all of them have tried it – and all of them have loved it. I know it is a long series, but I sincerely recommend reading the books from the first one. The relationships are built and developed from one book to the next, and you can certainly better identify with all of the relationships between the characters – and the characters themselves – much better if you read them in order. I hope you’ll choose to read this book and this series and love it as much as I do.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

View all my reviews