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

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NetGalley ARC Cozy Mystery Book Review of Irish Soda Bread Murder
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 have is that it was really hard for me to keep the characters straight. However, I loved the fact that the storyline involved a psychic convention. There have been many times I have had a palm reading or a tarot card reading when I've visited Salem, so reading about a convention that offers such a thing was a lot of fun. The author did a great job of throwing suspicion on various characters. I rated this short story four out of five stars.

An Irish Recipe for Murder by Peggy Ehrhart opens with the local Arborville, New Jersey newspaper Advocate hosting an Irish Soda Bread competition for St. Patrick's Day. But when the judge, a local council man, dies while tasting the entries, Bettina and Pamela know they must team up once again to find the culprit.

This short story was one that I wasn't crazy about. There were many times that I had to reread what I had just read because the transitions were a little clumsy at times, which kept me from fully enjoying the story. The author did throw in a few good clues as to who the culprit might be. I gave this short story three out of five stars.

Mrs. Claus and the Sinister Soda Bread Man by Liz Ireland opens with April Claus arriving in Cloudberry Bay, Oregon with Juniper, Jingles, and Butterbean to check on her flooded inn. One of April's worries is that her three friends will accidentally reveal that they're elves that work for her husband Nick, who just happens to be Santa Claus! Her worries start adding up when she finds stolen exotic cats in her attic, a dead person in her entryway, and a brick thrown through her window. Will April be able to find out who the culprit is with the help of the elves?

I am so glad that I was able to give Liz Ireland a second chance with this series. I ended up enjoying this most recent story immensely. I did figure out who was responsible for the brick through the window and had my suspicion as to who the culprit was for the remaining crimes. It seemed to be a bit more mature than the last one I read by the same author, and I'm looking forward to reading more stories in her Mrs. Claus series. Four out of five stars is what I gave this short story.


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