Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
Today, I am featuring Murder at an Irish Castle (An Irish Castle Mysteries) by Ellie Brannigan. It’s a book/series I have wanted to read for a long time. The March prompt for my Alphabet Soup Mini Reading Challenge was to read a book with the word IRISH or something Irish in the Title, so I was delighted to queue up this book on my Kindle.
Murder at an Irish Castle (Irish Castle Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Ireland
Publisher : Crooked Lane Books
Publication date : February 7, 2023
Print length : 320 pages
Paperback
ISBN-10 : 1639102582
ISBN-13 : 978-1639102587
Kindle
ISBN-13 : 978-1639102594
ASIN : B0B5YZSNBL
COZY MYSTERY DEBUT: Twisty family drama, shocking reveals, and intoxicating Irish charm will captivate fans of Sheila Connolly, Hannah Dennison and Carlene O’Connor!
Determined to save her family’s crumbling Irish castle, a couture bridal designer teams up with her prickly cousin to uncover the true cause of her uncle’s death.
Rodeo Drive bridalwear designer Rayne McGrath expected her 30th birthday to start with a power lunch and end with champagne, lobster, and a diamond engagement ring from her fiancé. Instead, flat-broke and busted, she’s on a plane to Ireland where she discovers that she’s inherited a run-down family castle. Uncle Nevin’s will contains a few caveats—for example, if Rayne doesn’t turn McGrath Castle around within a year, the entire village will be financially destroyed.
With the fate of the town in her hands, and rumors that Rayne’s uncle’s death wasn’t actually an accident, she can’t possibly go back to her old life in L.A. As the devastating truth about her uncle dawns on Rayne, it’s not just her reputation that’s on the line, it’s her life.
Featuring a sharp and endearing protagonist, a colorful and quirky locale, and replete with twists and turns befitting an old Irish village, the first in Brannigan’s mystery series transports us to a milieu as romantic as it is deadly.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
It’s Rayne McGrath’s birthday, and the bridalwear designer is ready to take her Rodeo Drive business global. What could be a better way to say “Good-bye, miserable twenties” and say “Hello, success and happiness”? Maybe her boyfriend, Landon, will propose too.
Her plans go seriously awry when she learns Landon is gone and he took all her money and all her dresses. Then she receives a call from Ireland telling her that her Uncle Nevin has passed away, and she needs to come immediately for the reading of the will. How can she go to Ireland when she has to clean up this mess in the States? She needs to find Landon and get her money and dresses back. Without them, her clients will be furious; brides who have trusted her to make their dreams come true will be devastated.
With the police searching for Landon, Rayne takes off for Ireland, hoping for a quick trip. Instead, her dear uncle had other plans. He left her the family castle with the caveat that she live there for 1 year and make the relic profitable again to save the entire village. No small task. Plus, she learns her uncle’s death may not have been an accident, and investigating it may put a target on her, too.
With the weight of saving Grathton Village and McGrath Castle on her shoulders, she knows she can’t return to L.A. Can she save her business, the castle, and the town? Can she find out what really happened to her Uncle Nevin? Or will she die trying to do it all?
The last time Rayne visited her father’s family home was when she was just 11 years old. Now both her father and his brother have passed, and she sees the castle with adult eyes. She sees that the place is deteriorating, and has so many questions. Upon arrival, she meets her cousin Ciara, a woman she didn’t know existed. A woman with a huge chip on her shoulder, upset that her newly found father didn’t leave the castle to her. Ciara knows how to manage the estate, including the animals. Rayne knows business and may have fresh ideas. I love the analogy Rayne used. Rayne is the city mouse, and Ciara is the country mouse. Both are strong women with different skills who must learn to work together.
It is Ciara who believes her father was killed. Others accept it was an accident. Ciara pushes the local garda to investigate. Soon, Rayne is on board, trying to find more evidence to present. When the Garda Williams makes a discovery that clearly points to murder, Rayne realizes everyone in and around the castle is a suspect. With so many things on her plate, Rayne can’t just focus on her uncle’s murder. She has to find a way to fulfill the commitments she made to the brides in L.A., go over the castle’s books, and come up with a way to save the town. She also has to stay in touch with her mom back home, so she knows what is happening with her case and Landon. I will say, I was totally entertained following her around through it all.
Now, when it came to nailing down the killer, Rayne did some sleuthing, shared some theories, and found a string of clues that blew the whole case open. Ciara was ready for a confrontation; Rayne couldn’t let her go alone. I was gobsmacked when all was revealed.
As a person with Irish heritage, there was so much to enjoy within these pages. The castle, the village, the traditions, and the people all pulled me into the story. I wish I could have jumped into the book when Rayne visited a fabric shop in Dublin to smell and feel the variety of fabrics, laces, and notions. I will always be a seamstress/crafter at heart, even though my disability took that joy away from me. Now, I read books about the things I used to love and took for granted.
Murder at an Irish Castle is a delightful cozy with an engaging protagonist, colorful supporting characters, and a keen mystery, all set in a charming locale. I am excited to continue with this series to see what happens next at McGrath Castle with the city mouse and the country mouse.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
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About the Author
Ellie Brannigan is the author of the Irish Castle Mystery series. She loves the ocean and any food dish with shrimp. When she’s not creating new fictional worlds, she reads and travels…and eats. She has lived in South Florida for the last twenty years.
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