Murder in an Irish Village

By: Carlene O'Connor

Narrated by: Caroline Lennon

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Natalie's Bistro has always been warm and welcoming. Nowadays 22-year-old Siobhan O'Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago. It's been a rough year for the O'Sullivans, but it's about to get rougher.

One morning, as they're opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table with a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest. With the local garda suspecting the O'Sullivans, and their business in danger of being shunned. It's up to feisty redheaded Siobhán to solve the crime and save her beloved brood.

©2016 Carlene O'Connor (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Great Mystery

I picked this book up at the public library not knowing anything about it except it was a mystery. I like mysteries. I started reading it and loved it. I ended up getting the audible version because I had more time to listen to a book than sit and read one. I have since listened to it 3 times. I really like the story. The characters are fun. I can't wait until the next book comes out in Feb.

Wonderful Debut of the feisty O'Sullivan Six!

Where does Murder in an Irish Village rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have a couple hundred audiobooks in my library. I've also listened to hundreds borrowed from my public library for the past 20 years. Murder in an Irish Village ranks in the top 10. The storyline and characters combined with Caroline Lennon's performance made for one of the most entertaining listening experiences I've had by an audiobook. And that's saying something, because I RARELY write reviews!

What did you like best about this story?

I like the close relationship the O'Sullivan Six have with each other. Of course they're siblings and have disagreements and bicker the way brothers and sisters do, especially teenagers, but they always look out for each other. You really care about them and what happens to them. They each have such unique personalities. The interactions with Siobhán and Ciarán/Kieran(spelling?) really cracked me up!

What about Caroline Lennon’s performance did you like?

It was performed flawlessly by Caroline Lennon. There were quite a few characters in the story and I had no trouble discerning who was talking at any given time.
This was the first book I've listened to her narrate. I am so delighted to have discovered her!
Please keep Caroline Lennon for the O'Sullivan series!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were several times. Without giving away spoilers, I'll just mention the O'Sullivan Six and how they cope with the loss of their parents. The way they talk about their Ma and Da make me wish I was in the story and could've met them.

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it! The storyline was unique, realistic and the characters were authentic. Ms. O'Connor, you made me care deeply about the O'Sullivan Six. I loved Siobhán and her sarcastic, witty, feisty personally paired with how close she and her siblings are. There were so many times I laughed out loud throughout the book. It was completely entertaining.
I can say that I am truly looking forward to the next book in this series and hope I don't have to wait long to see what the O'Sullivan Six get into next!
Thank you for writing such a wonderful "cozy" mystery! Please keep them coming!

Great Debut

This was an entertaining new cozy book. I loved the characters and the town. The story was realistic and enjoyable. I look forward to the next book.

Quaint village with all the charm of the Irish

As with similar series, such as Her Royal Spyness, the mystery and story are secondary to the characters and the settings. So if the main characters are lacking in any way, the novel is sure to disappoint. Fortunately O’Connor created charismatic characters in a charming Irish village with just the right amount of humor and conflict.

For a fast read or light listening, you cannot go wrong with this novel.

Great start to a new suspense mystery series!

I was expecting a light cozy mystery and found instead an excellent suspense mystery that is to be considered a cozy mystery. Natalie's Bistro in County Cork, Ireland is owned and operated by the O'Sullivan family. One year ago the two parents were killed in an auto accident leaving six children with the leader being 22 year old Siobhan O'Sullivan who now runs the bistro. One day a dead man, stabbed in the chest with scissors, is found at a table i Natalie's Bistro. Siobhan's brother is arrested and charged with murder.

Murder in an Irish Village features a very strong female protagonist (Siobhan O'Sullivan) who will not give up in her efforts to clear her brother as she continues to run te family business and take care of her younger siblings. This is my first exposure to the narration of Caroline Lennon. Listening to her beautiful narration of this novel was a marvelous treat.

Best Brown Bread

A $3.95 daily deal!!
If you have had the pleasure of visiting Ireland and in a small village, then this mystery will take you back to the good memories you had.
This tale sets you right down in middle of town. The dialogue is spot on so even if you haven’t had a wee trip there, this story will give you a taste of village life, the colorful people and how wonderfully they express themselves is the key enjoyment to this mystery. This is no hard core mystery but it is a journey of solving a crime in the most lyrical terms of Irish dialogue and brogues.
Narrator makes the dialogue jump out of book. Well done!!
Note I do use the new 1.25x speed to match the author’s intent
Hope my comments were helpful?

Corny and obvious

I struggled to finish this book because the killer was obvious half way through. Also, if you're going to locate a book in a specific part of Ireland, please use a voice actor from that area. The actor tried, but no way sounded like a Corkonian. I had to grit my teeth when she mispronounced Charleville. And "ye" is used to address more than one person. Singular is "you." At least in Cork.

A great start to a new series hopefully.

This is a perfect example of what a cozy mystery should be. Excellent characters, just the right storyline pacing, and an dash of romance. If you are a picky reader like I am, this book will leave you hoping for more books with these wonderful people to show up over and over again.

Delightfull

The setting for the story is Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland. Our protagonist is Siobhan O’Sullivan. Siobhan was about to leave Kilbane to attend university in Dublin when her parents were killed in an auto accident. She is the oldest of six children so she stayed to take care of her siblings. The next oldest is James, but he is an alcoholic. They all work in the family bistro called Naomi’s Bistro. One morning on opening the café they discover a murdered man sitting at a table. James is arrested for the murder and Siobhan is off to solve the crime.

This is a new author and narrator for me. I believe the story is what is being called a cozy murder. The book is well written and most engaging. This is a charming story set in a quaint village that adds charm to the story along with some interesting characters. My only complaint is some information was repeated during the story. A good editor should have cleaned that up.

It is the narrator, Caroline Lennon, that makes this book such a pleasure to listen too. This is a book that should only be read as an audiobook to fully enjoy the story. Her lilting Irish brogue was a delight to listen too. The book is about ten hours long. I am going to be looking for books narrated by Caroline Lennon; she is a great narrator.

Should be marketed as YA book

The O'Sullivan Six are the Boxcar Children of the 21st century. Orphaned when their parents die in a car accident, the oldest child, James and our heroine, Siobahn, are guardians for the four younger children. Are we really supposed to accept that a group of children and young adults, the youngest a ten-year-old and the oldest (James) with a serious alcohol problem are surviving on their own and running a bistro. Our heroine, Siobahn, (who is 18 I think because she wanted to go to university) apparently makes the best brown bread in town (as we are told over and over and over) is never in the kitchen, and we never see her make even a small loaf. The 10 year old has to wash dishes while the others wait tables and apparently make food. The younger ones seem to run the bistro with no assistance while Siobahn is out tracking down criminals. And they never go to school. I wonder what social services would have to say about that. Okay, you can tell the whole setup annoyed me.

So then there is the murder, which starts out to be interesting but devolves into Siobahn going down a list of possible suspects she made with her younger siblings accusing each one in turn of committing the murder, without even considering if anyone has an alibi. And not to reveal a spoiler but naturally she thinks it could be anyone except the person who actually did it. In the end, she ends up forcing people to reveal personal issues they are having that are unrelated to the crime. She withholds information from the main law enforcement officer, who she has a serious crush on, she puts her younger siblings in danger, and over time, she becomes unlikable.

I don't understand why this book is marketed as an adult mystery. It would be more appropriate in the YA category. Young people take on the adult world and succeed. Sort of.

Well written beautifully read!

I was looking for a new author and this was just what I was looking for.
Gripping, funny emotional everything in the right proportion. Good and long to get lots of time for detail, lots of good characters. I kept on trying to figure out who done it but I was wrong right until the end. Super story. I am going to read it all again now. To catch up with the clues I didn't notice the first read. I loved the whole thing. Gold Star for effort!

Easy listening [murder!] mystery

Gave up early on the first time around, as I don't think I was in the right frame of mind. The second time was started on a long car journey and was much better - I wanted to know what happened next and kept listening to it once I arrived.
I like the way you slowly got to know the characters. Yes, some were Irish archetypes and situations, but you'd feel diddled if the village priest, the Irish bar (open all hours), the town drunk, the rendition of The Irish Rover, and the chap playing the spoons were not included.
I bought the second innthe series straight after.

Fantastic Book Series

I mentioned in another review of the book series that Carlene O'Connor is my new favourite author. With the perfect pairing of Caroline Lennon as the narrator. I love the characters the family dynamics are wonderful, I want to be a member of the family! The story was excellent with an enjoyable conclusion. I can't wait to listen to more of the books.

Really enjoyable listen.

A book to listen to whilst pottering about.
Kept me guessing almost to the end.

Tough going.

Not really my cup of tea. I struggled to get to the end of this book. Glad that I have finished so I can move onto something more enjoyable.

Boring ,

couldn't even finish, so boring , she said he said ad infinitum.
the one grace ? it made me fall asleep zzzzzzzzzzzz