The O'Sullivan clan of County Cork, Ireland, are thrilled to be catering the matrimonial affairs of a celebrity couple--until a cunning killer turns an Irish wedding into an Irish wake . . . Any wedding is a big deal in the small village of Kilbane--even more so when the bride is a famous fashion model. It's also good for business. Not only has customer traffic picked up at Naomi's Bistro, Siobhan's O'Sullivan and her five siblings have a full plate catering for the three-day affair. And Siobhan's own beau, local garda Macdara Flannery, gladly steps in as best man after the groom's first choice makes a drunken arse out of himself. Even if he hadn't been disinvited to the wedding, the original best man wouldn't have been able to show. He's been found murdered in the woods, casting a pall over the nuptials. And when a second member of the wedding party is poisoned by a champagne flute engraved with Macdara's name, the garda goes from being best man to prime suspect. With a killer at large and a string of robberies plaguing Kilbane, Siobhan's feels more than a little protective of her village. She vows to clear Macdara's name, but the suspect list is as long as the guest list. Like the bride walking down the aisle, Siobhan's needs to watch her step. For as she gets closer to unveiling the truth, the murderer is planning a very chilly reception for her . . .
I received this for fee at Bouchercon, and I'm pretty sure I met and liked the author. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the book.
It's the second in the series, and I've not read the first, so maybe there's some second book syndrome at play here, but mostly, it was the MC I just didn't click with. At all. She's pushy, nosey and for someone who claims to not being a liar, lies an awful lot, be in a lie of omission, misrepresentation, or blatant untruth. Some writers can take a character like this and make them likeable, or grudgingly admirable, but that failed to happen with Siobhán. She just appeared incredibly immature. How she maintains any relationship with her love interest, a member of the local garda, when she's so blatantly disrespectful of him and his responsibilities is a wonder.
What I did like was the setting: a small Irish village, one of the few remaining that are walled. Some of the secondary characters were charming, and the mystery plot had a lot of potential. Actually, the mystery plot was pretty good; I didn't guess the murderer at all, so the author completely fooled me. I also appreciate that the author does the 'right thing' at the end of the book: Siobhán signs up for the garda (or, presumably, enrols in the proper training course). Maturity seems to be arriving in book three, though I'll just have to take the ending of this one at face value. My TBR is too high to take chances on reading another.
Reading updates
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8 October, 2018:
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8 October, 2018:
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