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Murder on Lough Derg
All journalist Jack Myers wants is a relaxing Irish holiday. Retreating from his demanding job as a foreign correspondent, he thinks he's found the perfect escape – the stately St Peter's Manor, perched on the edge of Lough Derg in County Tipperary, just in time for Ireland's longest heatwave.
But when a mysterious drowning occurs during the annual Midsummer Ball, Jack's instincts tell him something isn't quite right.
Asking questions politely but persistently, he uncovers intriguing whispers: a commodore who vanished a decade earlier, a tight-knit group of childhood friends harbouring old secrets, and motives as tangled as the lakeside reeds.
As an unprecedented heatwave presses down on this tranquil corner of Ireland, tensions rise, and Jack's summer escape has become a deadly puzzle. In a small village where everyone has something to hide, the truth may be the most dangerous discovery of all.
A bold new cosy crime mystery from debut author Cormac Quinn, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janice Hallett and Graham Norton.
But when a mysterious drowning occurs during the annual Midsummer Ball, Jack's instincts tell him something isn't quite right.
Asking questions politely but persistently, he uncovers intriguing whispers: a commodore who vanished a decade earlier, a tight-knit group of childhood friends harbouring old secrets, and motives as tangled as the lakeside reeds.
As an unprecedented heatwave presses down on this tranquil corner of Ireland, tensions rise, and Jack's summer escape has become a deadly puzzle. In a small village where everyone has something to hide, the truth may be the most dangerous discovery of all.
A bold new cosy crime mystery from debut author Cormac Quinn, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janice Hallett and Graham Norton.
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 23, 2026
This is a book for fans of an old fashioned whodunit. I suppose like an Agatha Christie book. It’s not very twisty. It’s a lot of talk and interviews with small town characters. There’s a ball and people in tuxes and gowns, lots of cocktails drinking and so forth. I think people who vibe with that will enjoy it. If you like a simple, quiet, no dark violence cozy mystery this is for you. I enjoyed the setting of an Irish lake.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Net Galley for the eARC for honest review.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Net Galley for the eARC for honest review.
May 6, 2026
A debut novel that glances up against Big Little Lies, flirts with Thursday Murder Club and dabbles in a lot of Agatha Christie but unfortunately, it just never truly taps into the opportunities those predecessors managed to do so.
I’m finding myself back in that territory I was in with Sourwood in reviewing this novel. I never want to be writing any sort of a teardown and in particular with a debut novel I don’t want to contribute to a negative beginning to what will hopefully be a promosing career. However, like Sourwood before, Murder On Lough Derg unfortunately has given me enough reasons to cite some shortcomings and overall, I think this was a novel in need of more depth and a further revision.
Murder On Lough Derg follows journalist Jack Myers who is trying to Poirot his way through the suspects surrounding a murder related to a highfalutin yacht club on the shores of Lough Derg. As mentioned earlier, whether intentional or not, this is a book that flies pretty close to some other works. The well-to-do types of the yacht club will certainly make you think Big Little Lies whilst the sleepy rural Ireland side of things might give you at least a hint of Thursday Murder Club and neither of those are bad company to keep. The issue for me is that neither are actually leaned into enough. There’s a very surface level bit of devotion given to letting you know that there’s lots of entitlement floating about the place but so much of it is just put out there with little context given.
There’s also very little done with the setting too. I’ve spent a lot of my time on the Shannon and in the surrounding areas and there’s ample material there for conjuring up some intrigue and mood, which this book does touch on to a small degree, but for the most part it goes untapped. These number my two biggest issues with the overall structure and setting of the story but the biggest issue for me lies with character. Namely our lead character. Jack Myers slowly morphs from exasperated overseas journalist to amateur detective through the course of the story but in my opinion there’s not nearly enough attention given to either of those character details. Similar to what I mentioned about privilege earlier, those details are just there and that’s that.
There is good here, there’s a creativity and a want to twist and turn the narrative. I’ve been a little more negative here than I expected but it should be noted that stems mainly from the fact that I could see the novel this could be whilst reading it. I’d be extremely keen to read the next in the series but my hope is that it might build upon some of the points I have raised here. It’s rare I want a film or novel to run longer but this is one of those rare instances. More fleshing out, more depth and in general a higher investment in characters and setting and I reckon we’d have something well worth your time.
I’m finding myself back in that territory I was in with Sourwood in reviewing this novel. I never want to be writing any sort of a teardown and in particular with a debut novel I don’t want to contribute to a negative beginning to what will hopefully be a promosing career. However, like Sourwood before, Murder On Lough Derg unfortunately has given me enough reasons to cite some shortcomings and overall, I think this was a novel in need of more depth and a further revision.
Murder On Lough Derg follows journalist Jack Myers who is trying to Poirot his way through the suspects surrounding a murder related to a highfalutin yacht club on the shores of Lough Derg. As mentioned earlier, whether intentional or not, this is a book that flies pretty close to some other works. The well-to-do types of the yacht club will certainly make you think Big Little Lies whilst the sleepy rural Ireland side of things might give you at least a hint of Thursday Murder Club and neither of those are bad company to keep. The issue for me is that neither are actually leaned into enough. There’s a very surface level bit of devotion given to letting you know that there’s lots of entitlement floating about the place but so much of it is just put out there with little context given.
There’s also very little done with the setting too. I’ve spent a lot of my time on the Shannon and in the surrounding areas and there’s ample material there for conjuring up some intrigue and mood, which this book does touch on to a small degree, but for the most part it goes untapped. These number my two biggest issues with the overall structure and setting of the story but the biggest issue for me lies with character. Namely our lead character. Jack Myers slowly morphs from exasperated overseas journalist to amateur detective through the course of the story but in my opinion there’s not nearly enough attention given to either of those character details. Similar to what I mentioned about privilege earlier, those details are just there and that’s that.
There is good here, there’s a creativity and a want to twist and turn the narrative. I’ve been a little more negative here than I expected but it should be noted that stems mainly from the fact that I could see the novel this could be whilst reading it. I’d be extremely keen to read the next in the series but my hope is that it might build upon some of the points I have raised here. It’s rare I want a film or novel to run longer but this is one of those rare instances. More fleshing out, more depth and in general a higher investment in characters and setting and I reckon we’d have something well worth your time.
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May 3, 2026Very drawn out but some fabulous descriptive writing. The key event happens around page 100 after much descriptive writing based on the characters and locations in the book. The imagery-rich scenic writing is done so well I feel I can envisage every setting despite never visiting the locations mentioned. However I feel that there is sometimes too much focus on the locations and back stories of the characters which had me skimming pages in the hope of getting to something more interesting.
The huge cast of characters makes it feel as if it's been written with a view of making it into a tv drama. I do not believe how the ending would have come about from what we are told about Jack Myers (main character, an investigative journalist). As Frank Connolly said in the final pages, he "has a taste for theatrics". This plus the revelation that he left out key facts regarding the previous Commodore's murder while hosting the "Whodunnit" style lunch doesn't gel (for me) with the seemingly straight and hard facts style character he had been portrayed as up until this point.
Separately, why would those involved in this murder risk getting caught by the tenants for watering his grave which would most assuredly draw anyone's attention during a national hosepipe ban? How did they get away with burying him there in the first place? Surely a watery grave either like Orla's or leaving the body in Lough Derg would have been more likely - in my opinion. The ending does not give the elusive Evan Cawley a chance to explain his point of view either - did covering up the murder really eat him up as much as they thought? When did he get back to Ireland from Singapore? Where was he staying? There are many unanswered questions there.
I also have some questions about who edited the book (which isn't mentioned at all in the edition I purchased). Whiskey is spelled both "whiskey" and "whisky" in the same sentence, there's a line without any spaces between words and numerous instances of missing punctuation which makes the whole thing seem less professional. These are small and infrequent but also jarring.
Overall - some beautiful descriptive writing but overly drawn out and too far fetched for my personal taste. Should state also that I received this book on the 1st of May after preordering from an online bookshop.
The huge cast of characters makes it feel as if it's been written with a view of making it into a tv drama. I do not believe how the ending would have come about from what we are told about Jack Myers (main character, an investigative journalist). As Frank Connolly said in the final pages, he "has a taste for theatrics". This plus the revelation that he left out key facts regarding the previous Commodore's murder while hosting the "Whodunnit" style lunch doesn't gel (for me) with the seemingly straight and hard facts style character he had been portrayed as up until this point.
Separately, why would those involved in this murder risk getting caught by the tenants for watering his grave which would most assuredly draw anyone's attention during a national hosepipe ban? How did they get away with burying him there in the first place? Surely a watery grave either like Orla's or leaving the body in Lough Derg would have been more likely - in my opinion. The ending does not give the elusive Evan Cawley a chance to explain his point of view either - did covering up the murder really eat him up as much as they thought? When did he get back to Ireland from Singapore? Where was he staying? There are many unanswered questions there.
I also have some questions about who edited the book (which isn't mentioned at all in the edition I purchased). Whiskey is spelled both "whiskey" and "whisky" in the same sentence, there's a line without any spaces between words and numerous instances of missing punctuation which makes the whole thing seem less professional. These are small and infrequent but also jarring.
Overall - some beautiful descriptive writing but overly drawn out and too far fetched for my personal taste. Should state also that I received this book on the 1st of May after preordering from an online bookshop.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2026
I was intrigued by this read initially because I just don't tend to see too many murder mysteries set in the beautiful Ireland and with this being a debut novel, I wanted to discover another new author in my favourite genre.
Now, this was certainly quite different to my usual mystery thrillers which I love the quick pace, exciting starts and twisty endings of.
This was a much slower paced read for me and as such, I struggled a little to really get going with it.
However, on finishing and looking back, I really loved the way this leans into the investigation that journalist Jack Myers gets sucked into whisky on holiday with his family.
Staying in a rented house together on the banks of Lough Derg he thought he could escape his job for a while, but when a body is found in the water after a yacht club ball, he just can't help himself.
This was a really well worked through case and I was kept guessing and unsure who to trust - but the nature of the community and the clique of the sailing club made this feel very insular and untrustworthy.
With the Irish summer heatwave adding extra pressure, I actually felt quite uncomfortable.
The descriptive writing really did draw me in and immerse me within this beautiful landscape and (what I would find) hideous weather.
Overall, I think this was a great read, if you like the more relaxed pace reads over the more showy faster paced.
Now, this was certainly quite different to my usual mystery thrillers which I love the quick pace, exciting starts and twisty endings of.
This was a much slower paced read for me and as such, I struggled a little to really get going with it.
However, on finishing and looking back, I really loved the way this leans into the investigation that journalist Jack Myers gets sucked into whisky on holiday with his family.
Staying in a rented house together on the banks of Lough Derg he thought he could escape his job for a while, but when a body is found in the water after a yacht club ball, he just can't help himself.
This was a really well worked through case and I was kept guessing and unsure who to trust - but the nature of the community and the clique of the sailing club made this feel very insular and untrustworthy.
With the Irish summer heatwave adding extra pressure, I actually felt quite uncomfortable.
The descriptive writing really did draw me in and immerse me within this beautiful landscape and (what I would find) hideous weather.
Overall, I think this was a great read, if you like the more relaxed pace reads over the more showy faster paced.
May 7, 2026
Investigative journalist Jack Myers finds himself having to leave Libya quickly for his own safety, and joining his sister and her family on holiday at a rented house on the shore of Lough Derg seems like the perfect escape.
That is until a very unpopular resident is found in the water at the Sailing Club Ball, and Jack's investigative instincts kick in. His incessant need for answers brings up links to the past, a previous death in the area and questions around the house his family are staying in.
Ireland is at the beginning of a heatwave, and you can feel the oppressiveness of the rising temperatures in the writing, and with the neighbours closing ranks against outsiders, there's a claustrophobic feel to the novel.
Jack's need for answers resonated with me, and I had to keep turning the pages as I needed to know too.
I wouldn't say this is a cosy mystery as such - but it's a well written murder mystery that leaves you unsure who to trust. Jack is a sympathetic character and would love to see him again solving further mysteries.
That is until a very unpopular resident is found in the water at the Sailing Club Ball, and Jack's investigative instincts kick in. His incessant need for answers brings up links to the past, a previous death in the area and questions around the house his family are staying in.
Ireland is at the beginning of a heatwave, and you can feel the oppressiveness of the rising temperatures in the writing, and with the neighbours closing ranks against outsiders, there's a claustrophobic feel to the novel.
Jack's need for answers resonated with me, and I had to keep turning the pages as I needed to know too.
I wouldn't say this is a cosy mystery as such - but it's a well written murder mystery that leaves you unsure who to trust. Jack is a sympathetic character and would love to see him again solving further mysteries.
May 10, 2026
An atmospheric mystery that blends old-fashioned whodunit style with a modern investigative edge.
This mystery had the perfect mix. Jack Myers, a journalist escaping danger abroad, joins his family for what should have been a peaceful holiday on the shores of Lough Derg. Instead, the annual Sailing Club Ball ends in tragedy when a disliked local is found dead in the water. From that moment, Jack’s instincts take over, and he begins digging into the secrets of the community.
I really enjoyed how the setting shaped the story. The lake backdrop, combined with the summer heatwave, gave the book a heavy, almost claustrophobic feel.
Jack's persistence and curiosity made him a great lead I liked his determination even when the people around him wanted him to stop asking questions. The mystery itself unfolded in a steady way, with interviews, suspicions, and hidden connections that kept me turning the pages. I liked that it felt like a classic whodunit with plenty of small-town dynamics.
It’s a solid debut, and I’d be happy to see Jack Myers return in another case.
This mystery had the perfect mix. Jack Myers, a journalist escaping danger abroad, joins his family for what should have been a peaceful holiday on the shores of Lough Derg. Instead, the annual Sailing Club Ball ends in tragedy when a disliked local is found dead in the water. From that moment, Jack’s instincts take over, and he begins digging into the secrets of the community.
I really enjoyed how the setting shaped the story. The lake backdrop, combined with the summer heatwave, gave the book a heavy, almost claustrophobic feel.
Jack's persistence and curiosity made him a great lead I liked his determination even when the people around him wanted him to stop asking questions. The mystery itself unfolded in a steady way, with interviews, suspicions, and hidden connections that kept me turning the pages. I liked that it felt like a classic whodunit with plenty of small-town dynamics.
It’s a solid debut, and I’d be happy to see Jack Myers return in another case.
May 7, 2026
Genre: Cosy Crime
Pages: 320
Publisher: Mercier Press Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The rain and temperature fluctuation here in NC makes this a great 'sit on the couch with a comfy blanket' murder mystery read. Jack Myers is a journalist who decides to go on holiday with his sister, brother-in-law, and nephews. What should have been a nice, relaxing time on Lough Derg quickly turns into a who-done-it murder after a drowning takes place during the annual Midsummer Ball. Jack puts his investigation skills to the test and digs deep into the town's roots and the secrets that are kept there. The ended left me speechless, as I did not see that coming. Trust no one. Question everything. What do they have to hide in Lough Derg? I would 100% recommend this to anyone that likes the Sherlock Holmes mystery vibes. Fantastic read!
Pages: 320
Publisher: Mercier Press Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The rain and temperature fluctuation here in NC makes this a great 'sit on the couch with a comfy blanket' murder mystery read. Jack Myers is a journalist who decides to go on holiday with his sister, brother-in-law, and nephews. What should have been a nice, relaxing time on Lough Derg quickly turns into a who-done-it murder after a drowning takes place during the annual Midsummer Ball. Jack puts his investigation skills to the test and digs deep into the town's roots and the secrets that are kept there. The ended left me speechless, as I did not see that coming. Trust no one. Question everything. What do they have to hide in Lough Derg? I would 100% recommend this to anyone that likes the Sherlock Holmes mystery vibes. Fantastic read!
May 19, 2026
Jack Myers takes a break from reporting on warzones to vacation with his sister and her family in a small boating community. The beginning of the book has a wonderfully descriptive, cozy, and communal feel that's Alexander McCall-Smith-esque. But it all takes a nosedive after the murder. The victim was one of the most dynamic characters, so losing her lowered the drama level, and the rest of the characters were a bit bland and interchangeable. Jack's investigation is tedious and the Agatha Christie-esque wrap-up of gathering all the suspects in one room and revealing the murderer and their motive stretches to thirty pages, and some of it isn't very believable. The writing was decent so it was a shame Quinn didn't stick with a slice of life story instead of wandering off into mystery territory.
TW:
I got a free copy from NetGalley.
TW:
I got a free copy from NetGalley.
May 11, 2026
Wow! There was a lot going on in this story, and it was awesome! I read it in just a few hours with hardly a break. I had to know what had happened and what was happening in the moment as Jack was investigating. I kept turning the pages until I got to the end and the big reveal. Sooo good! As I had been reading, my opinion on who the killer was kept changing as we got new information. I think accused pretty much everyone except Jack and his family by the time it was all said and done. And while I had been correct 1 time, I was wrong, like, 15 other times. I love a good mystery! 5 out of 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
May 16, 2026
Murder on Lough Derg by Cormac Quinn.
I really enjoyed this book. This is a new author for me. I love discovering new authors. I loved the writing style and the story. It was like I was there. I've never been to Ireland. It sounds so lovely. I read this in two sittings. I couldn't put it down. It reminded me of Agatha Christie. It was definitely different. unique. I can't wait to read more from this author. I do recommend this book.
I really enjoyed this book. This is a new author for me. I love discovering new authors. I loved the writing style and the story. It was like I was there. I've never been to Ireland. It sounds so lovely. I read this in two sittings. I couldn't put it down. It reminded me of Agatha Christie. It was definitely different. unique. I can't wait to read more from this author. I do recommend this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
It was a bit slow and dialogue was awkward at times. Didn’t like Rose lol
May 11, 2026
Read in 2 days, couldn’t put it down
Review of advance copy received from Author
If you like cosy mysteries with quiet small settings then it doesn't get cosier or more small town than Murder On Lough Derg.
After many modes of public transport, finishing with a boat ride, Jack finally arrives on Lough Derg where he is supposed to be having a rest with his sister and her family over the summer.
But Jack, forever the journalist, is restless. He can't sleep and he can't help but talk to the rather interesting locals or lifers as they call themselves. There is evidently something odd going on in this small Irish town. I was intrigued and was trying to solve the puzzle along with Jack.
There are so many quirky characters in the story and with how evasive they are it was clear there were secrets being kept.
I thought the plot was very clever and executed well. It's a slow paced story but held my interest and the conclusion is fantastic.
After many modes of public transport, finishing with a boat ride, Jack finally arrives on Lough Derg where he is supposed to be having a rest with his sister and her family over the summer.
But Jack, forever the journalist, is restless. He can't sleep and he can't help but talk to the rather interesting locals or lifers as they call themselves. There is evidently something odd going on in this small Irish town. I was intrigued and was trying to solve the puzzle along with Jack.
There are so many quirky characters in the story and with how evasive they are it was clear there were secrets being kept.
I thought the plot was very clever and executed well. It's a slow paced story but held my interest and the conclusion is fantastic.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews