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 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.

32 of 32 people found this review helpful

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.

98 of 101 people found this review helpful

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!

122 of 127 people found this review helpful

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.

46 of 48 people found this review helpful

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?

14 of 14 people found this review helpful

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.

62 of 67 people found this review helpful

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.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

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.

28 of 30 people found this review helpful

Awesome book

The settings and characters were described superbly Having an authentic Irish narrator brought it all together Looking forward to the next installment.

18 of 19 people found this review 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.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

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!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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.

Boring ,

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

0 of 2 people found this review helpful