A review by glitterenby
Death at an Irish Wedding by Ellie Brannigan

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

3.5

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.    


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