After a long streak of avoiding murder investigations, Dublin limo driver Megan Malone thought her life had finally settled . . . but even her Irish luck can't keep her out of trouble forever.
It's been over a year since Megan found herself entangled in a murder--much to everyone's relief, including her girlfriend Jelena and Detective Paul Bourke. So when a body of a young woman quite literally lands in her lap at her favorite Dublin caf�, Megan tries to do the right thing and leave the crime-solving to the police so she can enjoy the St. Patrick's Day weekend. After all, she has no connection to the victim. Or does she?
Megan's latest client, world-renowned romance novelist Claire Woodward, is fascinated by Megan's own history of catching killers. Claire also just happens to be the murder victim's literary mentor. So maybe Megan can just sort of stay on the periphery of the case while trying to help out? Just a wee bit without causing too much fuss? Even Detective Bourke would approve since he has personal reasons not to trust Claire. The investigation leads Megan to the victim's writing group, who think that Claire has plagiarized the poor young lady's work. And when another member of the group is found dead, Megan will have to step up her sleuthing before the killer decides to write her off for good.
This is a pen name for author C.E. Murphy. C.E. Murphy was born and raised in Alaska and has since moved to her ancestral homeland of Ireland. She lives there with her family and writes as much as she can. She also writes "action-adventure romance" novels under the pseudonym Cate Dermody, which was her grandmother's maiden name.
The fourth book in this series but the first for me, so I was meeting Megan Malone, American by birth but living in Dublin, Ireland, for the first time. Megan lives with her Polish girlfriend, Jelena, works as a limo driver, and has a tendency to discover dead bodies.
Her latest one falls out of a cupboard in a coffee shop and lands on top of Megan and some staff. There follows Megan's personal investigation, as well as that of the police, in an effort to find out 'who dunnit.' There are lots of red herrings and a second murder before Megan finds herself in a very dangerous finale.
I enjoyed all the characters although Jelena's constant complaining became tiring. I was also very relieved that, despite the title, the author did not attempt to introduce the Irish accent into the characters' speech. She did explain how a few of the names should be pronounced though which was especially helpful for Blathnaid.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
This one is tough. While I always enjoy reading about Ireland and learning more about the setting, Megan is different in this one. I’m glad she’s found her place in Dublin and has built friendships but her relationship with Yelena ruins this book; Yelena is so controlling and bullying (I get her not wanting Megan to investigate but it goes way too far) that Megan is a shell of her former self. The mystery itself was well written and kept me guessing, but the reveal seemed rushed. This was not my favorite of the series but I will try one more, hoping some of the issues are resolved.
I received a copy from #NetGalley for an honest review.
Megan Malone, driver for Leprechaun Limos, American expat living in Dublin, has gotten an unwelcome nickname: the Murder Driver, because of her involvement in a variety of murders. She swears she has no intention of being involved in these situations, but the book opens when a body falls out of a closet while she's in her favorite coffee shop. The deceased is a young writer who was being mentored by a well-known American author. Who would want to kill her? Was plagiarism involved? And is her mentor a kindly and helpful sort, or a ruthless person who will stop at nothing to get what she wants? Likable characters and the Dublin setting make this an enjoyable cozy series for fans of the genre. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Megan seems to attract murder, and this particular story was quite interesting. I read this book in a few hours and was surprised at the end. I think this is a fun, solid mystery series that I'm really enjoying and I'm happy to recommend it to other readers. #DeathinIrishAccents #NetGalley
I have loved this series since the first one [though I will admit it took me to book 2 to completely acclimate to the series] and this was one book I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately, there is a LOT wrong with this book and it both disappointed me and made me wonder what happened between book three and this, book 4 because it was dramatically different from the previous ones.
* These are NOT cozy mysteries and need to stop being marketed as such. There is too much language and innuendo for it to be a cozy [not to mention the length], and in this book, the language was almost gratuitous; I read a lot of books set in Ireland and Britain and Europe over-all, plus I watch Irish TV and follow several Irish shows on YouTube - I KNOW how they speak [everyone swears. Everyone], so I know what to expect with an Irish book and this was above what I would expect, especially being marketed as a cozy [there were no f-bombs per say, but there was everything else and quite a few "fecks", which is the polite way of dropping the f-bomb]. They need to be re-marketed as plain mysteries.
* I do not like books that seem to promote bullying. Jalena is a bully, plain and simple. She is mean [to the point of being cruel], mean-spirited, non-accepting of her girlfriend and who she is [Meghan is nosy, curious, with a deep-seated desire to help people], even though she KNEW about her and how she was going into the relationship [is Meghan perfect? No, but she is who she is and in no way is it okay to try and bully someone into changing into something that fits your narrative] and VERY passive-aggressive. V E R Y.
* AND...because of said bullying, the MC [Meghan] has become a shadow of her former glorious self. Gone is the independence and love for life. Gone is the fun-loving Meghan. What we are left with is a girl who is cowed by her girlfriend, says "she's sorry" more times that I could even count [seriously, I wanted to throw the book after awhile; if it was a drinking game, EVERYONE would be wasted by chapter 4] and becomes someone I didn't really like anymore, but really wanted to help [get out of her toxic and potentially dangerous relationship].
* Did I mention the gratuitous language?
* While I didn't know who the killer was until close to the reveal, the reveal itself was SO. FREAKING. LAME. Seriously. Having had several severe concussions, I am not really sure that Meghan would have been able to do what she did. And WHEN ever does a bad person leave the person they want to kill alone so they could go take a shower [Meghan may or may not have puked all over them <--THIS part was both awesome and completely accurate for someone with a concussion]??? N E V E R. Geesh. It was a pretty lame ending that is for sure.
I will say that minus the whole bullying thing, this was a really decent mystery and I was surprised several times. Unfortunately, it is completely overshadowed by the bullying and Meghan becoming this weak, groveling human being, so sorry that she has, once again, displeased her girlfriend, and that is such a shame. This could have been so much more.
Thank you to NetGalley, Catie Murphy, and Kensington Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
American Army veteran Megan Malone is a limo driver in Dublin, working for Leprechaun Limousine Service. Death in Irish Accents is my third read in this series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was able to keep up with characters and events, but I would have preferred to have started from the first novel for continuity reasons so I will be catching up with the series début (Dead In Dublin) as soon as I can. The Dublin setting was great and I loved the morsels of information about the area and culture that were scattered about. I enjoyed all of the interactions between the different characters and the hilarity. Protagonist Megan's job as a limo driver is unique for a cozy mystery and she is gutsy, independent, and witty. The mystery itself was great; it had me nonplussed though I settled on a culprit, but couldn’t pinpoint the motive. The fun-filled and intriguing story held my interest to the end and I didn't want to put down my Kindle. I am eagerly anticipating meeting up with Megan in book 5.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
Megan is back in her role as "Murder Driver" and it might just lead to the death of her relationship if she survives the latest nefarious killer at all! I absolutely love this series! The author has crafted a diverse cast of unique characters that are not only well developed, but very likable and relatable to a wider audience. Set in Ireland, Dublin predominately, there is a fun landscape to set the exploits up in. Add in a well crafted murder or two and you are left untangling the web as Megan does the same. I love that you don't always immediately know who the guilty party is and the mystery stays that way a bit longer than average in the cozy mystery genre. Yet, once it unfolds, you see it completely! I absolutely can't wait for the next murder driver book to come out!!
Death in Irish Accents is the fourth book in the “Dublin Driver Mysteries” series. I can’t say that I liked this book. I felt it was disjointed, and there were simply too many distractions. I enjoy being introduced to new characters in a series and reintroduced to old ones, but the character of Jelena was not likable, and I didn’t care what her problems were or why she was so nasty to Megan. Megan’s personality seemed to change completely in this book, which I did not find attractive. Add in a romance writer that everyone suspects have plagiarized an unknown and soon-to-be murder victim’s work, and it all felt a bit too hard to take in or believe.
Megan literally has the body of a young aspiring writer fall in her lap. But when a famous romance writer is believed to be involved in the girl’s death and accused of having plagiarized her newest book, Megan has an excuse to investigate. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of suspects, and those that come to light have somewhat of a motive but nothing solid. The evidence is hard to piece together, and the entire story doesn’t have the feel of the first few books in the series. I did not find it fun, and even the location was starting to rub me the wrong way. There are many beautiful places in Ireland, yet Megan never seems to go anywhere other than a few miles from the city.
I did not care for Claire, the romance writer. I didn’t like her mainly because as soon as she entered the story, I had a feeling that her personality was all fake and for show. If she actually plagiarized the victim’s material, then there isn’t a writer out there who wouldn’t be up in arms and clamoring for her head on a pike. Finding the killer is the best part of this book; for most readers, it will come as a surprise, but once you wrap your head around it, it makes perfect sense. Although this book didn’t keep me interested and I had issues with it, many fans will love it.
Quello che mi piace di questa serie è che descrive bene Dublino e mi fa venire voglia di tornarci. Mi piace anche il cast di personaggi ricorrenti e le storie non sono male. Spero che la serie continui a lungo. Qui non avevo proprio capito chi fosse il colpevole e non avevo neanche una vaga idea di chi considerare come possibile assassino.
Death in Irish Accents Earns 5/5 Limos … Engaging Gem!
Starting Catie Murphy’s Dublin Driver Mystery series with the fourth book, “Death in Irish Accents,” didn’t put me at a disadvantage. There was plenty of background and insights offered to get me up to speed on characters and their connections. Megan Malone is an entertaining, strong, ex-pat living in Dublin (Oh, I’d love that!) driving for Leprechaun Limos popular with many Americans due to her familiar accent. I was hooked by the first line in the book! “A body fell out…” It was an innocent coffee date at the Accents Café with her girlfriend Jelena when a murder literally fell into Megan’s lap, and although she’s not a novice when it comes to bodies popping up, she’s still strongly encouraged to stay out of it by her friend and her friendly neighborhood detective. She’s greatly challenged to follow their advice when Claire Woodward, her new client and a famous and wealthy writer, asks to be driven to the same café to meet with a writer’s group, and one of them, one to which Claire had been a mentor, is the same one who Megan knows is dead. You really can’t expect her to sit this mystery out, do you? She needs to live up to her moniker, “the murder driver.”
Cathie Murphy’s writing was very entertaining with a descriptive style to immerse readers into Dublin and the surrounding areas including the people, places, and Irish history for wonderful flavor. The well-written mystery, with an additional shocking murder thrown in to complicate the investigation, slowly reveals details of the victim and various suspects with interesting motives for this arm-chair detective to ponder: professional jealousy, literary shenanigans, greed, and fear of exposure. Adding to the drama, Megan is dealing with a different detective since Detective Bourke had to recuse himself, yet he always seems to be there. It gets cozily intense when our protagonist finds herself in peril (ouch!) as she finally learns the identity of the killer with a nice wrap up, rescue, and arrest. The personal relationship were well depicted as healthy and loving, even realistic with Jelena being the nagging voice of reason, and animal lovers will enjoy some fur friend antics. Entertaining. Exciting. I’m a fan!
Disclosure: I received an ARC from the publisher Kensington thru NetGalley. My review is voluntary with honest insights and comments.
It’s the Patrick’s Day Weekend in Dublin. Megan Malone, a limo driver, and her girlfriend Jelena have stopped by a coffee shop called Accents Café for coffee after their morning workout when one of the baristas discovers the body of a dead girl stashed in the closet in the cafe.
Anie the barista was trying to get supplies out of the closet when the body tumbled right out and landed on Megan’s lap.
Anie who discovered the body recognizes the dead young woman as Bláthnaid, a writer and regular patron. How did her body get stashed in a cupboard?
Megan immediately calls Detective Paul Bourke to report the incident.
Later Megan gets a call from her boss Orla at Leprechaun Limos informing her of a rich writer who wants to hire Megan for the afternoon.
When Megan picks up her newest client Claire Woodward, Claire tells her she’s in Ireland to do some research for her historical romance novel. Claire’s also hoping to meet with Bláthnaid—whom she’s been mentoring over the internet—during her visit.
As Detective Bourke digs deeper, he learns Bláthnaid had a history of plagiarizing her fellow writers' work and even plagiarized Claire’s book. Or is it the other way around?
Soon after, Claire’s body is found dead apparently from alcohol poisoning; and a suicide note is later found on her laptop.
Even though Detective Paul has warned Megan to stay off the case, Megan does a little sleuthing of her own hoping to find the killer.
A well-written mystery with likable characters. Would recommend
Thank you to Catie Murphy, NetGalley, and Kensington for the arc of this book
When an American writer comes to Dublin and specifically asks for “The Murder Driver” to driver her, Megan is tempted to say no. But Orla can be persuasive and Megan agrees. If only it yet another body literally falling into Megan’s lap as well, maybe she could have kept her promise to Jelena to stay out of investigations.
Try as she might, Megan can’t help but be caught up in the goings on and the latest murder. Is Megan driving a murrderer, or is the woman being falsely accused? It’s a tough one when yet another dead body is found and neither the police nor Megan are any closer to finding a killer. Will this be the end of the Murder driver’s days or will the killer get away with murder?
Another great entry in this series. An American in Dublin and all the good, bad and crazy of living in Dublin where dead bodies literally seem to fall upon her. A solid mystery with a strong protagonist and well developed characters makes for a good read each and every time.
This is the 4th release in the "Dublin Driver Mystery Series." I enjoy this eries for the atmospheric setting of Ireland, the culture and the wonderful charcters. Megan Malone is a limo driver in Dublin and has a talent for solving mysteries and running into dead bodies one after another which has made her unpopular . After a difficult time when she moved to Dublin she now has called Dublin home and has a group of friends she enjoys.
Megan has a new client who is proving difficult. The famous author is fascinated by Megan's abilities to solve murders and wants to spend time with Megan andi have her in her book group. When a murder occurs then a second murder Megan is on the case to solve complex clues and find the right suspect.
I enjoy this atmospheric fun series for the culture, charcters and sleuth. I look forward to the next in series and more adventures of Megan.
It’s been over a year since Megan found herself entangled in a murder—much to everyone’s relief, including her girlfriend Jelena and Detective Paul Bourke. So when a body of a young woman quite literally lands in her lap at her favorite Dublin café, Megan tries to do the right thing and leave the crime-solving to the police so she can enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. After all, she has no connection to the victim. Or does she? I love Megan she is down to earth and easy to relate to. I love the setting and the mystery. #DeathinIrishAccents #NetGalley
The newest Irish driver mystery finds Megan investigating after a body literally falls on in her in her favorite cafe. She soon finds a connection with her current client much to her dismay. Another death occurs and Megan must fine the culprit before she’s next.
Another delightful entry into this series! It’s fun and has good pacing.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy of, Death in Irish Accents, by Catie Murphy, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. A murder in Dublin, beautiful city, but murder can strike anywhere, Megan has a murder to solve, can she solve it? I love Ireland, and this is a good read set in Ireland, but I cant stand swearing.
This is the first book I have read in this series. You can definitely read as a stand alone. This book was ok to me. I loved the Dublin setting and the main character but not so much the other characters. It just couldn't keep my attention.
I enjoy this series. I like the characters and how the MC gets roped into investigating even when she doesn't want to. I like being able to "travel" to Ireland. Someplace I've always wanted to go. I look forward to more in the series.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Megan Malone does NOT wish to be known as the murder driver. Unfortunately for her, it seems bodies just won’t stop falling in her lap. The body is identified as a young writer, Blathnaid, and later Megan meets her mentor, Claire. Claire is supposedly in Ireland researching a novel, but as Detective Paul Bourke discovers, there is also a chance that she is confronting Blathnaid about plagiarizing her work, or vice versa.
When another member ends up dead, Megan will have to find the killer, or give up for good.
I have not read any of Catie Murphy’s novels prior to this one.
I know a lot of my reviews talk about the characters, and that’s because the reader spends the majority of the book within the mind of one, sometimes multiple characters. It would be impossible to say that I can interact with the novel by ignoring the characters. That in mind, I absolutely did not like Jelena or Paul, and found Megan very aggravating. Jelena seemed very rude and nasty towards her girlfriend about things that weren’t in Megan’s control. I did not like how Jelena and Paul blamed her for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or for the media doing what the media does. However, I also didn’t like how Megan would say “I’m trying!” and say she wasn’t involved, but then in the next breath was being nosy. I find that I like novels where the characters are honest with themselves. If you want to investigate, do it. Don’t lie to yourself or the reader about it.
The mystery and overall plot were the only things that kept me reading. I wanted to know who the killer was, and why they did it. There were so many reasons, and the ‘she-said/she-said’ part of the plagiarism made me want to know the truth. I honestly didn’t know until the very end, so the author did a great job with possibilities.
3.5 stars for this one. The mystery was good, the atmosphere came through vividly, and I like that this cozy mystery series addresses how insane it is for one person to stumble across so many dead bodies. I also like that Meghan's terrible luck and insistence on investigating has "real world" effects for both her and Detective Bourke. In addition, the side characters feel 3D. But it had a few flaws: Jelena is still a problem as a character, Meghan's insistence that she's doing her best got old very fast, and one of the "real world" effects I mentioned makes me wonder how many books the author can justifiably stretch this series out for. Which is a flaw because I like this series and would happily read 20 of them. But of course maybe I just can’t predict where the author is going with it!
This is really the first book in the series where Jelena gets a lot of screen time. Unfortunately, she spends most of it being angry. Her reasons are realistic, but as the reader it was pretty much impossible for me to be on her side. We still really only know three things about her: she's Polish, she hates Meghan sleuthing, and she likes working out. It makes her hard to like. Meghan was also pretty exasperating in this one, to be honest. Characters make requests of her that she insists she really is trying to fulfill, but we all know she isn't actually trying. There's only so many times I want to read her justifications in one novel.
Weirdly, I actually liked and wanted more of Orla in this one, and I never expected to like Orla.
Some people in various places of the internet have criticized this series for having curse words in it. Their pleasure reading revolves around the premise of innocent people being murdered, but they draw the line at swearing? How does that make sense?
I enjoyed the book, overall. I found the plot believable and the mystery solid. The time-lapse between books helps make Megan's unplanned involvement in various murders more believable. (Always a problem with amateur detectives who need to justify their involvement in a murder.)
I enjoyed Megan's attitude--an appealing balance of curiosity, respect for the law and sensibility.
I enjoyed the relationships between Megan, Paul and Niamh. I mostly liked Jelena, but her reaction at the beginning and the end of the book really bothered me and put me off her as a character.
I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. (Even if Megan and Jelena aren't.)
On 2nd reading I'm even more irritated by Jelena. Her attitude and actions toward Megan were really unfair.
I've been a big fan of Catie Murphy's Dublin Driver mysteries from the very beginning, and I can tell you with absolute honesty how much fun this new one was, too...but I also have to honestly admit that I'm not unbiased, this time round. Several months ago, Catie put out a call on Twitter for any fellow authors who wouldn't mind having their names used in her next mystery (and might well end up being murderers in it), I waved my hand...and yup! I was a couple of chapters into this book when I let out a shout of surprised laughter when I saw my name on the page (and then felt a WAVE of irrational guilt, because the American-Irish expat author "Stephanie Burgis" in this book is YEARS late on delivering her final book in a big fat fantasy series and everyone is furious at her for it). (I swear, NONE OF THIS IS TRUE about the American-British expat author Stephanie Burgis in real life. And yet! I still felt a niggle of irrational guilt every time people in this book talked about it. ;p )
So! This mystery is based around a writing group in a Dublin café, the writers are all conspiring and gossiping with and about each other, and both plagiarism and murder quickly become involved. It was 100% enjoyable (at least when I wasn't feeling irrationally guilty about the terrible things "Stephanie Burgis" did in it!), and I had a lot of fun. Hoping for many more books in this series! It is one of my very favorite cozy mystery series (along with Livia Day's Fashionably Late series - they're my Top Two and I'll gobble up anything new in either of them).
I've enjoyed this series so far. However this book, though just as interesting, has some really annoying elements as well. I find the storyline of authors very interesting and the cast of charactes are interesting as well. What really annoyed me was her girlfriend. Meghan spent so much time saying sorry throughout the book that it became really cringe. I don't feel like the girlfriend was abusive but the way Meghan reacts to her, it seems as if she is. It seems like Yellena is just afraid for her and not wanting to be in the spotlight which is understandable. But Meghan acts like a whipped dog asking for permission and apologizing. That draws back from a pretty good story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I really enjoyed the first 3 but I agree with the other reviews that this is not the same character as the last books and don't get me started on the girlfriend - what a bully. The story felt clunky like it didn't really mesh. DNF @ 62% Audiobook.
Look, I have... MIXED... feelings about this book.
On one hand, I've said before that Ms Murphy does some of the best fandom inserts and shoutouts in her books of any author I know, and this book does nothing to dissuade me of my opinion. Of course, in this book, she takes it to the next level by actually including real-world authors (who, by all accounts were remarkably good sports about offering to be included in the story, and whom I now want to read more of).
Plus, there's clear LGBTQ rep, with Megan (and one of the other authors?) being bi, along with the logical consequences of Megan's statistically unlikely propensity to 'be where the bodies are' and inability to keep herself from asking questions - consequences that extend both to her growing unpopularity with the local gardai and to her own relationship with Jelena (which is very much a relationship now - they're living together, rather than just dating).
BUT. While I'm not sure about the many reviewer comments that see Jelena's behaviour as bullying - to me, it just looks like someone who's really worried about the fact that their girlfriend keeps getting caught up in the publicity of murders (not to mention repeatedly getting injured) and keeps investigating them despite promising not to - I *do* agree that Megan is a shadow of her former self in this instalment, and that the relationship with Jelena is just not good for her. I don't think one partner necessarily needs to be bullying the other for the relationship to be unhealthy. When both partners clearly want something different from the relationship, and that manifests as one person being afraid to let the other person be who they are, the relationship is just not going to work. And that's more what I see here.
(Of course, it's also possible that the sheer number of times Megan says 'sorry' along with her constant attempts to appease Jelena and keep her happy despite what Megan herself wants are behaviours that point to offpage bullying that we're not seeing overt signs of. But given that this is written from Megan's POV, I tend to think if that was the case, we'd see the behaviours. And we just... don't.
What we DO see is Megan trying very hard to be someone she's not to make Jelena (and, let's face it, the Gardai as well) happy. And we see Jelena being understandably annoyed and frustrated that her girlfriend keeps getting herself entangled in murders, with all the publicity and life disruption that goes with being 'the Murder Driver'. So yeah... I don't think there's bullying going on, but I DO think there are some 'irreconcilable differences' that mean Megan and Jelena's relationship is going to naturally implode either in the next book or the one after that.)
Still. The overall story was fun and engaging, and I'm now very much looking forward to Book 5.
It has been over a year since Dublin limo driver Megan Malone has been involved in solving a murder much to the relief of both her girlfriend Jelena and her friend Detective Paul Bourke. Megan has promised to spend St. Patrick’s Day weekend with Jelena so when a dead body literally falls into her lap at a local café, Megan swears she will leave the investigating to the police. But when romance novelist Claire Woodward asks Megan to be her driver, Megan soon find herself involved after all – Claire was the murder victim’s mentor. Megan needs to be careful or she may find herself losing Jelena or becoming a victim herself.
“Death In Irish Accents” is the fourth book in Catie Murphy’s The Dublin Driver cozy mystery series and for the most part I really enjoyed it. This is the first book in the series that I have read and I loved the fact that instead of being a love interest, the Detective (and his girlfriend) were friends with Megan and Megan had a girlfriend of her own – very different from what I usually see in cozy mysteries. I also like the Dublin setting, the way Murphy incorporates the way people in Ireland pronounce words, and small things like the Literary Pub Crawl (which also figures heavily into the plot). Speaking of the plot – the book is well plotted with plenty of suspects and a few twists and turns. The one thing I didn’t like about the book was the way Jelena treated Megan at times. I fully understand why she wouldn’t want Megan to be involved in a murder mystery but she was cold at times to Megan, especially one time when Megan could have really used a shoulder to cry on, and it seemed like Megan spent much of the time begging Jelena for forgiveness or doing what Jelena wanted to the point where I found it made her a weaker character.
Death in Irish Accents by Catie Murphy is the fourth installment in the cozy mystery series set in Ireland. The story follows Megan Malone, a limo driver who finds herself caught up in yet another murder investigation, when a young woman’s body lands in her lap at a café. Despite trying to stay out of trouble and leave the case to the police, Megan’s involvement is inevitable due to her connection with her latest client, renowned romance novelist Claire Woodward, who is also the victim’s literary mentor.
While the pacing was good and the mystery well crafted and kept me guessing, this installment fell short compared to previous books due to one major negative: Jelena. Megan’s girlfriend was manipulative ("you better help me at the parade, Megan, or ELSE!") , controlling, and a passive-aggressive bully. I could not stand her at all. And because of Jelena's behavior throughout the book, Megan's character comes across as a shell of how she was portrayed in the previous books. My god, she would constantly apologize to Jelena for things that were not even remotely her fault! In fact, she spends half this book apologizing for who she is, and the other half worrying about how Jelena is going to react. It made me so angry! I hope that this author reevaluates these characters before future installments so we can see more of the strong, independent and fun Megan that we know and love from earlier books.
Overall, while not my favorite book in the series, Death in Irish Accents still remains an enjoyable read with its top-notch writing, well crafted mystery, and charming setting.
Megan Malone moved to Dublin after leaving a twenty year hitch in the Army as a medic. Little did she imagine that this new chapter of her life would earn her the monicker of The Murder Driver. She works as a limo driver and it turns out that she is a magnet for finding dead bodies. Her current client requested her specifically because of that. Being a writer, Claire wanted to know more. Having gone a year without dealing with a death, Megan is for a shock when having coffee at her favorite coffee shop. A cupboard door is opened across from her and a corpse literally falls into her lap. Sort of hard to not get involved with this one. It turns out that the dead woman had a connection to her client, Claire...who becomes the next corpse. Despite the admonitions from friends and police to stay out of it, Megan just can't help doing her own investigation. Agree with her actions or not, it does give the reader an interesting mystery to sort out. Why were the women targeted and who was plagiarising whom. The mystery kept me engaged and the setting of Dublin is one of the reasons I enjoy this series. Megan can be a bit annoying as she ignores the police request to butt out. I let it pass as this is a cozy and most amateur sleuths think they can out investigate the police. My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Ugh I wanted to like this book. Limo driver in Dublin who happens onto murders. Sounds fun right. Well maybe because I read #4 in the series first but I found all the characters insufferable.
So this stars Megan as the Murder Driver. She’s dating Jelena who is all in a tizzy about the St Patrick’s day parade and show and her whole personality is basically Megan can’t miss this weekend and everything should be about her. And that Megan needs to stop investigating murder (she’s says this like 50 times) then there is Paul who is a detective who wants Megan to stop investigating murder and he is married to Nimah who is an actress (cuz that’s believable) and she is pissed for getting passed over for a role.
Then one day at accents coffee shop a dead body literally falls into Megan’s lap and the first thing everyone asks is ‘please don’t get involved again’ not if she is ok or anything. Then her boss calls with a job and her girlfriend gets pissed especially when she finds out her client Claire is connected to the dead body’s writing group. (Again all about Jelena)
For the next 50% of the book it’s a tiny bit of investigating and bunch of going back and forth of “don’t investigate…ok I won’t…but Megan still does”
It’s not until like the last 50 pages is there any investigating. Honestly the plot and concept of the book was great but the characters were awful.
NOTE: PG-14 for Offensive Content. Profanity frequently, cursing frequently, swearing, abuse of alcohol, lesbian couple, gay couple. *This is not a cozy mystery.
Megan drives limousines in Ireland; as you can imagine, she meets all kinds of people. But it was during her time off--at a cafe--that an employee opened a closet door, and a body fell out onto her lap. So solving the crime feels personal to her.
The dead girl was a budding author, possibly lured there, but by whom? There is a large cast to choose from, but most of them hate a lying, conniving, successful author, and don't seem to have a motive for killing the girl.
Suddenly, St. Patrick's Day weekend is upon them, and big surprises await, but they go from bad to worse.
The mystery was fine, but there was a lot of offensive language that ruined the book for me.
2.4/5 Stars
Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the temporary digital preview of this book; any review is voluntary and entirely my own opinion.