Reviews

Murder in an Irish Churchyard by Carlene O'Connor

joliadareads's review

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

4.0

I love this little town and its characters. I read from this series once a year and it's become a nice tradition. Siobhan's family and friends are always nice to see again

nullasalus3's review against another edition

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4.0

Though this book is the third in the series, it was my first exposure to Siobhán O’Sullivan. I really enjoyed how much investigating and theorizing was involved in this book. It’s one of the less fluffy cozy mysteries I’ve read, not that there’s anything wrong with fluff. But I like the procedural part of mysteries, so I appreciated how much legwork Siobhán had to do. The humor is on the dry rather than the silly side, which again is very much to my taste. I thought there was a nice balance between the mystery and Siobhán’s personal life, and I liked her as a main character. I’m looking forward to going back to the first two books and spending more time with Siobhán and the O’Sullivan Six.

hizlay's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ulrikedg's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Oof, the plot holes. First, I've seen a lot of complaints that the author is anti-Americans. Um, she writes a LOT of unlikable characters, and most of them are Irish. The main character, Siobhan O’Sullivan, certainly seems to have a bias against Americans, but subtlety and nuance are not the author's strong suits, and Siobhan dislikes a lot of people, not always for good reason. For example, she hates her brother's Irish girlfriend and isn't even willing to say, "She makes my brother happy, so I'll try to be civil."

Now on to the mystery part. It didn't work for me. I thought it was obvious fairly early that the killer was going to be
a descendant of John Mallon, and not a member of Peter Mallon's immediate family
. There were two plot holes that bothered me: 1) how did John Mallon
get his journal back after being pushed overboard?
and 2) why did sock-guy (I've already forgotten his name) go to the
records office? He already knew who he was related to. He'd been working the blackmail angle for ages before that.


The romance also didn't do anything for me. While Siobhan and Macdara have chemistry, the actual ins-and-outs of their relationship are pretty toxic. Macdara is pissed that she discussed her decision to become a Garda with her family instead of him (they'd been dating for a couple months at that point, IIRC)? So angry, in fact, that he leaves town and cuts ties. And then he comes back years later and doesn't even apologize? It's just her fault for not talking to him. And then he doesn't talk to her, but more and longer. Also, it's a little gross to find out that he'd been attracted to her since she was in high school. And now what?
At the end of the book, they're co-workers, except he out ranks her. They're going to hide a romantic relationship from everyone in their town?


All of Siobhan's problems with her misogynist boss are solved by her male (former?) boyfriend, so that's cool.

Overall, I'm glad I didn't pay for this one (public library FTW!). I listened at 1.2x speed, and the plot dragged in places, especially in the first half, but the pace toward the end was better. 

Audiobook narrator Caroline Lennon definitely improves this one. 5 stars for Lennon.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jillos1's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

cottagecheese's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

incendiofawkes's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

marijaskoog's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

lifeand100books's review against another edition

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4.0

As much as I love this series for the mysteries and the interactions of the O'Sullivan family, I'm also in it for Siobhan and Macdara. This book did not disappoint and gave us so much time with the two of them together. (The scene in the mausoleum was probably my favorite) I felt the ending of their relationship thread in this book could have used a little bit of work. Yes, I know the series continues, but it felt a bit rushed and confusing.

rebeccabadger's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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

4.0