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morelikeaflower's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a bit of a slow burner. It takes a while for the “mystery” to kick in, and I wouldn’t say that the story every really gets too raucous. There are a lot of “almost, but not quite” moments in this one. The premise is compelling, but it takes a bit too long to launch and it’s drawn out a bit too long; the interpersonal connections seem to be getting more complicated, but not enough that anything truly shocking happens; a mystery mostly happens, but it’s resolution isn’t especially satisfying.
TL;DR: I don’t feel like this was a waste of time, but it’s not my favorite in the series.
TL;DR: I don’t feel like this was a waste of time, but it’s not my favorite in the series.
morticia32's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book a lot. I felt like Sheila Connolly was finally hitting her stride with this series, fleshing out the characters a bit more. And then, she blew it at the very end of the book.
Out of the four books I read in the last week, three of them had love triangles. I thought this book was going to be different until the end and there it was, the Maura-Mick-Sean triangle.
I like romance stories and I like mysteries and I don't mind a little romance in my mysteries and vice-versa. But this formulaic love triangle nonsense is starting to get old.
If your mystery isn't strong enough to stand on its own, don't try and distract me with a "Who will she pick?" plot. It's getting old, obvious and very annoying. The sad thing is, I was enjoying this book all on its own without the need for this kind of slight of hand nonsense.
I've now found my breaking point, haha. From now on, I am going to down-rate every book I read with a love triangle.
Out of the four books I read in the last week, three of them had love triangles. I thought this book was going to be different until the end and there it was, the Maura-Mick-Sean triangle.
I like romance stories and I like mysteries and I don't mind a little romance in my mysteries and vice-versa. But this formulaic love triangle nonsense is starting to get old.
If your mystery isn't strong enough to stand on its own, don't try and distract me with a "Who will she pick?" plot. It's getting old, obvious and very annoying. The sad thing is, I was enjoying this book all on its own without the need for this kind of slight of hand nonsense.
I've now found my breaking point, haha. From now on, I am going to down-rate every book I read with a love triangle.
sigo's review against another edition
3.0
Similar to the first two books in the series. I enjoy the setting and the supporting characters but I still dislike a lot about the main character. Fun novel to pretend I'm at an Irish pub
justasking27's review against another edition
4.0
A well-done cozy set in an Irish pub, run by a recently-transplanted American. A fast-paced, well-written story with interesting characters and a plot which is -hooray!- not driven by bad decisions. Both the mystery and the solution happen with very minimal interference from the main character, which is a huge plus in my book. Would definitely read others in this series.
angrygreycatreads's review against another edition
4.0
This is the third in the County Cork Mystery series by Sheila Connolly. In this series, Maura is a novice pub owner and an American ex-pat, who inherited a pub in Ireland. This series does a great job at immersing the reader in the setting, developing a great sense of place. The mystery in this book revolves around Irish music and musicians and the importance of it in Irish culture. The recurring characters of Bridget, Billy, Mick, Rose, and Sean are all here again and are becoming more fully developed as the series progresses. There is the start of romantic developments in this book as well as the murder mystery and the Irish music storyline. The storylines work well together and make this a very satisfying read. This is truly a series that gets better and better!
hezann73's review against another edition
3.0
Less about the mystery and more about moving the storyline forward.
mystereity's review against another edition
3.0
An Early Wake is the third installment of the County Cork mystery series. Although enjoyable, there were aspects I didn't care for and I was a little disappointed.
There wasn't much of a plot with this one. College kid comes to town wanting to know about local music. Suddenly, a concert happens. Someone dies. Someone is eventually apprehended, although we're just given theories about the murder and motive. No messy confession to bog things down.
As with the other books in the series, Maura worries. A lot. This hasn't bothered me in the previous books, but this one, it was a little much. She spends most of the book worrying about whether she should offer live music at Sullivans. Really? Let me get this straight: you're making money hand over fist because a few musicians showed up and you're agonizing over whether it's a good idea? WTF?
Also, deducted half a star because there's a god damn love triangle birthed at the end of the book.
Overall, not the best in the series but not terrible. I look forward to the next in the series.
There wasn't much of a plot with this one. College kid comes to town wanting to know about local music. Suddenly, a concert happens. Someone dies. Someone is eventually apprehended, although we're just given theories about the murder and motive. No messy confession to bog things down.
As with the other books in the series, Maura worries. A lot. This hasn't bothered me in the previous books, but this one, it was a little much. She spends most of the book worrying about whether she should offer live music at Sullivans. Really? Let me get this straight: you're making money hand over fist because a few musicians showed up and you're agonizing over whether it's a good idea? WTF?
Also, deducted half a star because there's a god damn love triangle birthed at the end of the book.
Overall, not the best in the series but not terrible. I look forward to the next in the series.
dollycas's review against another edition
4.0
Dollycas’s Thoughts
With this 3rd installment Maura realizes she has just been going through the motions of owning her pub. She doesn’t know if she is going to be able to keep it open now that the tourists are gone. She voices her concerns to her friend Bridget who assures her things will work out. When a college student comes around telling her the pub was a place musicians used to come just to “jam” she is totally taken by surprise. But Billy, resident historian and storyteller confirms it to be true and even gets word out that musicians are again welcome and they really start to show up she realizes Bridget was right. Then one of the musicians dead in the back room. Maura realizes the music may have died with him.
The author took a different approach to this mystery. There was so much discussion and build up of the music and musicians from years gone by that I suddenly realized that I was 100 pages into the story and we didn’t have a murder yet. I was caught up in the history so that wasn’t a bad thing, just unusual for a cozy mystery. In fact I was prepared for the murder to be more of a subplot which I feel it turned out to be. Maura’s journey was the main plot, life running the pub she inherited, her relationships with Billy, Mick, Rose, Bridget, Jimmy and Sean. Is there more romance ahead? and with who?, and realizing she is starting to finally be accepted by the people of Leap. I enjoyed this.
There was the drama of the dead musician and finding out why he died and excitement as things played out but to me it wrapped up pretty quickly.
I do love these characters and was quite surprised by the direction the author is taking some of them. I am sad that I have to wait a year to find out what happens. She teases us nicely at the end so wait we will, until out next trip to County Cork.
jenndian's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book! It's great when you can get lost in the pages of a good book! The new characters are interesting and there were som good plot twists! It's always good to escape to Cork County. I wish there was a playlist of music that inspired Ms. Connolly while writing this book.
missmarketpaperback's review
3.0
So the mystery was a little disappointing, in that the murderer ended up being a total stranger. The growing romance is pretty good. I liked the setting a lot and I found it a comforting read. I'd read more in this series.