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nathalieisg's review
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I liked the lighthearted writing style as well as the fact that the author went against the grain and didn't use the typical female detective tropes that come with murder mysteries. There is a lot of conversation and 'thinking out loud' passages that start to feel longwinded but the setting and characters felt very original to me and was like a breath of much needed fresh air!
kcherry's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
princesspumpkinhead10's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
hilaryanne's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kitchenkoala's review
5.0
4.5 stars
An enjoyable read. It was not easy to guess the ending/whodunnit, so that's a nice change from the types of cozy mysteries I have been reading. I'm not sure if the writer plans on continuing this series or not, but I think I am done with this series. The way it ended seemed like a nice closing out of one chapter for the O'Sullivan family, so I'm happy to leave off here.
An enjoyable read. It was not easy to guess the ending/whodunnit, so that's a nice change from the types of cozy mysteries I have been reading. I'm not sure if the writer plans on continuing this series or not, but I think I am done with this series. The way it ended seemed like a nice closing out of one chapter for the O'Sullivan family, so I'm happy to leave off here.
annarella's review
4.0
I like this series and this is another good addition. It's an entertaining and compelling mystery that kept me reading.
I was glad to catch up with the characters, and the solid plot kept me guessing as there's plenty of suspects.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I was glad to catch up with the characters, and the solid plot kept me guessing as there's plenty of suspects.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
tamsterdam_reads's review
4.0
Although I own two books in this cozy mystery series prior to Murder on an Irish Farm, I was able to enjoy this book despite not knowing all of the past history and happenings in the previous seven novels.
This book was smartly written by O’Connor. It was well paced and because the protagonist is a Garda, Siobhán was able to circumvent the obstacles a typical amateur sleuth wouldn’t be able to do such as directly asking suspects questions such as their alibis. The red herrings were intertwined and had me guessing right close to the grand reveal of who dun it.
What I especially enjoyed was the family aspect, which helped provide the story a little more meaningful depth and I can tell the family is the main thread connecting all the series’ books.
Overall, this was a great cozy mystery if you’re looking for a little bit more realism in catching the killer.
Thank you Kensington Books for the arc. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This book was smartly written by O’Connor. It was well paced and because the protagonist is a Garda, Siobhán was able to circumvent the obstacles a typical amateur sleuth wouldn’t be able to do such as directly asking suspects questions such as their alibis. The red herrings were intertwined and had me guessing right close to the grand reveal of who dun it.
What I especially enjoyed was the family aspect, which helped provide the story a little more meaningful depth and I can tell the family is the main thread connecting all the series’ books.
Overall, this was a great cozy mystery if you’re looking for a little bit more realism in catching the killer.
Thank you Kensington Books for the arc. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
memull17's review
4.0
They say rain is bad luck on your wedding day but how about bones in a slurry pit at your new farmhouse that’s supposed to be a surprise? That’s exactly what happened to Siobhan on her wedding day to Macdara. With a postponed wedding, they two of them must solve the mystery of the bones before they can finally get married and start wedded life.
This is my first book in the series (this is book #8) and I’m definitely going to go back and read all the books. I liked both Siobhan and Macdara and felt like they really complimented each other professionally and personally. This is definitely a book you read curled up on the couch with a blanket to enjoy the Irish setting and the family commendatory of the O’Sullivan clan.
Thank you @bibliolifestyle @kensingtonbooks @writergirlchi for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest feedback.
This is my first book in the series (this is book #8) and I’m definitely going to go back and read all the books. I liked both Siobhan and Macdara and felt like they really complimented each other professionally and personally. This is definitely a book you read curled up on the couch with a blanket to enjoy the Irish setting and the family commendatory of the O’Sullivan clan.
Thank you @bibliolifestyle @kensingtonbooks @writergirlchi for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest feedback.
sreddous's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Generally, books that I want to rate 3 stars have a decent premise but then the characters/writing/etc. have things that took me out of the experience. This one's a bit different -- for me, personally, this book's characters and writing style and such are solid enough, but I just...could not. get over. the framing.
The whole time as I read this, I was SEETHING over the logistics of a cancelled wedding. They cancel this entire ceremony with catering and rented venues and friends who surely flew in from out of town to spend time with the couple ONLY because they saw James look disheveled. They had no reason yet to believe (without spoiling too much) that we needed to take cover immediately because people are in danger as an emergency -- James just looked scared and dirty. They called the wedding off BEFORE asking him what was up. Unfortunately, in my opinion, that threw off my ability to tell which things are high-stakes and what things aren't for the rest of the book. This case wasn't an emergency, nobody knew yet how it'd escalate, and yet THIS nuclear response is what they had... so I spent the rest of the book rolling my eyes when the family was sitting together eating at their bistro, having picnics, taking their time. Where's that urgency from before that made cancelling the wedding worth it? I couldn't ever trust anyone's responses to high-stakes issues.
I think the reason why this bugs me so much, why I didn't just get over it and get into the meat of the story, is because the characters often revisit the wedding stuff too in, somehow, at the same time, constantly-nagging and yet deeply-underplayed ways. I can't tell what we're going for here -- is it that Siobhan was second-guessing whether she wanted to be married? Did she simply not want a ceremony anyway? The thing is, I actually really LIKE the way that Siobhan watches the elderly couple bicker and it causes her to question what the definition of marriage will be for her. This is a super interesting thing for her character. But there wasn't much -before- they just up and cancelled everything that showed she wasn't confident in being married. It's just...all really hard to follow, and makes me question what these characters are learning/growing from.
I think this might simply not be for me... it's hard, because there ARE a lot of great things about this book. I love learning about Irish culture and these characters' personalities are fun. The descriptive writing is nice and there's some really clever dialogue such as "putting out to pasture" in reference to the dairy farm that made me chuckle out loud. I would definitely recommend this to anyone with a different level of suspension of disbelief than I have, but for me personally, man, I was so distracted the whole time and couldn't get into the stuff that SHOULD matter most: the mystery and the connecting themes.
The whole time as I read this, I was SEETHING over the logistics of a cancelled wedding. They cancel this entire ceremony with catering and rented venues and friends who surely flew in from out of town to spend time with the couple ONLY because they saw James look disheveled. They had no reason yet to believe (without spoiling too much) that we needed to take cover immediately because people are in danger as an emergency -- James just looked scared and dirty. They called the wedding off BEFORE asking him what was up. Unfortunately, in my opinion, that threw off my ability to tell which things are high-stakes and what things aren't for the rest of the book. This case wasn't an emergency, nobody knew yet how it'd escalate, and yet THIS nuclear response is what they had... so I spent the rest of the book rolling my eyes when the family was sitting together eating at their bistro, having picnics, taking their time. Where's that urgency from before that made cancelling the wedding worth it? I couldn't ever trust anyone's responses to high-stakes issues.
I think the reason why this bugs me so much, why I didn't just get over it and get into the meat of the story, is because the characters often revisit the wedding stuff too in, somehow, at the same time, constantly-nagging and yet deeply-underplayed ways. I can't tell what we're going for here -- is it that Siobhan was second-guessing whether she wanted to be married? Did she simply not want a ceremony anyway? The thing is, I actually really LIKE the way that Siobhan watches the elderly couple bicker and it causes her to question what the definition of marriage will be for her. This is a super interesting thing for her character. But there wasn't much -before- they just up and cancelled everything that showed she wasn't confident in being married. It's just...all really hard to follow, and makes me question what these characters are learning/growing from.
I think this might simply not be for me... it's hard, because there ARE a lot of great things about this book. I love learning about Irish culture and these characters' personalities are fun. The descriptive writing is nice and there's some really clever dialogue such as "putting out to pasture" in reference to the dairy farm that made me chuckle out loud. I would definitely recommend this to anyone with a different level of suspension of disbelief than I have, but for me personally, man, I was so distracted the whole time and couldn't get into the stuff that SHOULD matter most: the mystery and the connecting themes.