Book Review: Irish Soda Bread Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, and Liz Ireland

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Irish Soda Bread Murder   by Carlene O'Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, and Liz Ireland is a collection of three short stories that include Irish Soda Bread Murder by Carlene O'Connor, An Irish Recipe for Murder by Peggy Ehrhart, and Mrs. Claus and the Sinister Soda Bread Man by Liz Ireland. The expected publication date of this book is December 24, 2024, and my overall review of this book is four out of five stars. I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) that I received for free in exchange for my honest review. Irish Soda Bread Murder  by Carlene O'Connor opens with Tara Meehan helping her Uncle Johnny and Aunt Rose with a local bake sale and psychic convention with the proceeds going to charity. When Rose's biggest rival shows up and ends up dying from her soda bread, Tara knows she must step in to help clear her aunt and uncle from the suspect list. I enjoyed this story a lot better than the last one I read in the series. The only complaint I hav...
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Book Review: Christmas Scarf Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Maddie Day, and Peggy Ehrhart

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Christmas Scarf Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Maddie Day, and Peggy Ehrhart is a collection of three novellas with an expected publication date of September 27, 2022.  I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Kensington Books for free in exchange for my honest review.  I was delighted to have been chosen to read and review this collection ahead of publication.

All three stories in this collection had a common thread . . . they all had characters that knitted and a scarf played an important part in each story.  Each story was a continuation of a cozy mystery series.

Christmas Scarf Murder by Carlene O'Connor is about a theft at a local nursing home in Ireland.  When a dead body shows ups at the local tractor parade with the missing scarf around the deceased's neck, Siobhan O’Sullivan must connect all the dots.  This story started off slowly for me, and I found some of the slang difficult to figure out.  With that being said, the premise was skillfully done and reminded me of something Agatha Christie would have written.  Three out of five stars.

Scarfed Down by Maddie Day opens with Robbie Jordan and her employees trying to figure out Christmas specials for her restaurant in Indiana.  When one of her patrons dies while knitting a green scarf, Robbie must proof that her Aunt Adele has nothing to do with the death.  This story was easy to follow and the characters are likable.  I enjoyed the premise of the plot and felt it was well thought out.  However, some of the dialogue was a little over the top to me, and it made the characters seem like they should have been from the South instead of the Midwest.  Three out of five stars.

Death by Christmas Scarf by Peggy Ehrhart opens with a knitting club talking about the death of Carys Walnutt, who was strangled after the local auction for the public library.  Pamela Paterson and her friend try to figure out who murdered the sour lady and exonerate the person who bid on the scarf Carys was found wearing.  I enjoyed that Pamela worked for a magazine and that she had such a close knit circle of friends.  The storyline was enjoyable, but I figured out who the murderer was from the very beginning . . . I just wasn't sure what the motive was behind the killing.  Additionally, I didn't care for the dialogue.  It felt like the author threw in big words when common language would have sufficed.  Three out of five stars.

All in all, I enjoyed all three novellas, and they were quick reads, which was just what I was looking for at the time.  These stories were perfect to put me in the mood for Christmas, despite there being murders in each story.  Thankfully, none of the stories were gory.  Each story was a solid three out of five stars.

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