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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
We are back in Ireland at the McGrath Castle with Rayne and Ciara. They are trying to save their castle by adding a wedding to help pay the bills. Rayne's wealthy wedding dress client moves up her wedding and wants to have a secret wedding. With a bridezilla and a lot of family drama. Rayne hopes they can get this wedding completed. Then a dead body is found and chaos ensues.
This was an interesting mystery. I wasn't sure whodunnit. I wasn't a big fan of any of the wedding guests. They were all spoiled and mean. So finding the culprit seemed unimportant.
Blarney the dog is definitely my favorite character. I loved the Irish setting.
This was an interesting mystery. I wasn't sure whodunnit. I wasn't a big fan of any of the wedding guests. They were all spoiled and mean. So finding the culprit seemed unimportant.
Blarney the dog is definitely my favorite character. I loved the Irish setting.
I enjoyed reading a cozy mystery set in an Irish castle. The drama was fantastic, and the setting was beautiful. At first, there were a lot of characters to keep track of, but as the story unfolded, you got to know more about them.
Thank you, Crooked Lane Books for sharing the book through @netgalley all opinions are my own.
Thank you, Crooked Lane Books for sharing the book through @netgalley all opinions are my own.
I couldn't connect with the characters or the writing style.
The 2nd in the Irish Castle Mysteries continues to follow Rayne McGrath after her LA life was upended and now she owns an old Irish castle following the death of her Uncle. Leaving LA behind was a tough choice but she has been able to restart her wedding dress design business and expand into hosting weddings, with the help of the Castle staff and her surprise cousin, Ciara. Her Uncle’s will outlined that Rayne and Ciara must work together to turn a profit within a year and they have found a way to coexist and work towards a common goal. Unfortunately, the first wedding they are hosting brings with it Hollywood actors and business moguls and lots of drama. When one of the guests is found dead, Rayne must keep the wedding plans going to make a profit and keep the castle. Everyone has their own agenda and it is hard to piece out who is for the wedding and who is against it. To create more intrigue, Rayne has to deal with upset villagers who do not want her business and the castle to do well AND her ex-boyfriend/partner and his crimes. The intertwining cases make things difficult for Rayne even with the help of her loyal Irish Setter, Blarney. This book had me guessing who did what to whom and why until the very end.
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a competently-written mass market murder mystery for readers who enjoy drama and watching rich and famous people behave badly.
In the second installment of the Irish Castle Mystery series, Rayne has inherited her father’s family’s castle, and, along with her cousin Ciara, is tasked with making it profitable in a year’s time or losing it. They’ve converted the castle into an exclusive wedding venue and are hosting their first wedding party – dashing actor Jake and hotel heiress Tori – along with select friends, family and employees. At first the guests are happy and things seem to be going well, but then the heiress reveals secret information to Rayne that throws wedding preparations into chaos. Locked rooms also mysteriously end up unlocked and tampered with, and then, finally, a member of the party is found dead. As they rocket closer and closer to the wedding that must be a success for the sake of saving the castle, Rayne must deal with the increasingly suspicious – and dangerous – odd occurrences happening all around her while the police hit roadblock after roadblock in explaining the death that hangs over them all.
While I don’t think this book particularly stands out from the hoards of mass market murder mysteries that are published each year, I don’t think it intends to. I believe it’s goal is to provide a fun, easy-to-read, quick, engaging read, and it does that well. The book kept me interested, wondering who was responsible for the wrong-doing happening in the castle, as well as what secret dynamic between the members of the wedding party would be revealed next. I also give it credit for tricking me into incorrectly guessing “who dun’ it.” I was totally sure that I had the scenario figured out, and I was miles from the mark.
I also thought the “big reveal” moment at the end, when the characters were gathered together to determine the identity of the murdered, was well done. It was full of drama between the characters and unexpected revelations about relationships. I was taken on a ride as the scene seemed to summarily suggest and then reject characters as the culprit.
My biggest frustration with the book, however, is that it was difficult to keep the characters straight. There are a lot of characters – the wedding party of eight, the castle staff, people who live in the town, etc. – and many of them are introduced in close succession. This meant that early on I was frequently having to flip back to earlier pages to figure out who was who. Even as I felt more confident in my knowledge of the members of the wedding party later on, I sometimes still struggled with less-involved characters.
I also felt that the sub-plot involving the main character’s ex-boyfriend ended unsatisfactorily. It was built up to be a major point or tension but then resolved in just a couple lines, leaving me feeling like I had been cheated.
Overall, the book was a fun way to spend a few hours, and I really appreciate it for that.
Thanks to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy
It’s so nice having Rayne and Ciara get along much better in this book! That’s what I was hoping for when I read the first book, so I really enjoyed how well they work together now. I like the overarching set up of these two cousins needing to get the castle (and town) making a profit by the end of the first year. Makes me invested in the rest of the town, especially the other people who live in and work at the castle like Aine and Meave.
I didn’t really click with the rest of the writing, unfortunately. Rayne doesn’t really do a lot of sleuthing, instead it’s a lot of wondering “who could have done [thing]” and “why would someone do [thing]?” Then telling other characters about what she overheard/saw and the other person wondering “who could it have been??”
Overall this wasn’t for me, but if you like the Irish setting, or messy rich people drama I think this could be a fun series.
I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I didn’t really click with the rest of the writing, unfortunately. Rayne doesn’t really do a lot of sleuthing, instead it’s a lot of wondering “who could have done [thing]” and “why would someone do [thing]?” Then telling other characters about what she overheard/saw and the other person wondering “who could it have been??”
Overall this wasn’t for me, but if you like the Irish setting, or messy rich people drama I think this could be a fun series.
I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.