The first book in the Mercy McCarthy book series, and is the perfect cozy mystery book. Connelly writes vividly without being wordy. I could picture the court, I could picture the bookshop, and the little town. There is variety in the cast of characters, inclusive of different races and sexual orientation. All of their personalities were different (which can be hard to do with so many characters), and each of the characters brings something to the storyline. This is probably the first time that I’ve read a book with many characters and didn’t struggle to remember who was who.

I loved this book. The setting, the relationships, the plot were all fantastic. The twins are great characters and you feel you are in Ireland solving the crime with their hysterical neighbors right along with them.

The title and cover piqued my interest so had to request it. A cosy crime murder-mystery that was an okay read nothing memorable.

I was hoping for more of a thriller vs. mystery, but over all liked the book. Mercy and her twin sister Lizzie inherit a bookshop in Ireland from a grandfather they have never met. They are enjoying the house, the shop and the community until Mercy finds a neighbour dying in the garden. Mercy becomes the main suspect. As an author of mystery novels she feels that she is well equipped to begin her own investigation. (I thought this was a very interesting and unique play)

The story is very well written with great characters, especially Mercy and Lizzie. I liked the Detective too. The mystery is excellent with a surprising culprit. Very enjoyable altogether and I look forward to reading book two.

This would make a great book club book.

An Irish Bookshop Murder is the first installment in Lucy Connelly's Mercy McCarthy Mystery series. Twin sisters, Mercy and Lizzie, unexpectedly inherit a house in Ireland from a grandfather they never knew existed, just months after losing their mother. Shortly after arriving in Ireland, Mercy finds herself accused of murder.

Connelly does a great job of crafting multidimensional characters, even the recurring ones. The bond between Mercy and Lizzie is one of the highlights, with Mercy being fiercely protective of her sister. However, it seems that Lizzie is stronger than Mercy realizes. The story is filled with enough twists and turns to keep readers fully engaged, and I’m excited to see where the next book in the series takes us.

I Enjoyed this new cozy mystery in the Irish book shop that Mercy and Lizzie inheritance from their grandfather. I ended up loving it more than I thought it would.

This was such a fun, cosy read. It took me a minute to get into and there were definitely some millennial conversations that made me sit and stare for a second haha but once I picked up the pace, it was great!!

Thank you so much to Bookouture, Lizzy Connelly, and NetGalley for the arc ❤︎

This book wasn’t my cup of tea so I didn’t finish it but I appreciate the opportunity to read an early copy, thank you!

I loved this cozy mystery it was so twisty and kept me guessing right up until the end. All the characters were so vivid and I loved the setting. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review..

I absolutely adored this, crime in a small town with mercy and her sister being the new arrivals so obviously the fingers get pointed at them!

Can they prove their innocence before the people who they are hoping will become friends starting pointing the finger in a more serious manner?

This was so good! Intriguing with great characters and stunning storyline. I could not put it down til the end! Another late night! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

Since I am an absolute fan of almost anything that's Irish i wntetd to read this book, and i really enjoyed it! It's an amazing Cozy Crime with my favourit setting. A Bookshop.

Favorite Quotes:

I’d offered to try to learn while we were here, but my sister had tried food I’d prepared and preferred to handle that chore herself. Her exact words had been Mercy, if there is nothing left to eat on the planet, then I’ll be grateful for your cooking. Until then, well, you have many other wonderful qualities.

I snorted. “As if.” “Oh, you if. You if all the time,” she said.

Now, if you’re going to arrest me for stealing evidence, I ask that you give me the courtesy of lunch first. No one wants me hangry in jail.

My Review:

This was a fun and lively read that was wryly humorous, engaging, and easy to follow. I’ve never made a trip to the old sod, but would love to go if I could stay in a quaint little village such as this one. The murder mysteries were well-plotted, well-paced, and unpredictable. I enjoyed getting to know the quirky residents of the exclusive court and look forward to more of their adventures.

I think I’ve found a new favorite cozy mystery series! An Irish Bookshop Murder is the first in a new series by Lucy Connelly and I loved it. I fell in love with the characters and the locale - Connelly provides a terrific sense of place.

Mercy and her sister Lizzie have inherited a home and a bookshop in a small town in western Ireland - from a grandfather they’d never known or even heard of. They’ve both experienced tragedy recently, so they welcome a change of scenery to start over somewhere new. Mercy is a well-known mystery writer so she can work from anywhere and Lizzie’s Texas lavender farm is doing really well, enabling her to leave it in the good hands of her staff. So that’s the set-up.

Shamrock Cove (cute name) is better than they expected, filled with a diverse group of people. Their home (their grandfather’s home) is in a small secluded section of town referred to as “the court” - basically a walled-off section of the village. Of course, since this is a mystery series, someone dies early in their residency. Mercy puts on her sleuthing hat and has some run-ins with the local (handsome, of course!) detective, whose grandmother also lives in the court.

I really enjoyed the two sisters. While twins, their personalities are quite different. Lizzie is trying to recover from multiple shocks and is happy to dive into running the bookshop. She also loves to cook and bake, unlike Mercy who is terrible in the kitchen. She’s also more social than Mercy, who prefers to dress in sweats, avoid people and write all day. She easily loses track of time when she’s writing. Mercy is also much more of a risk taker than her sister.

The mystery was a good one, with the sisters making suspect lists and gradually eliminating people from the list. I did eventually guess the cuprit but I couldn’t fathom the motive, until it was revealed. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, especially since there’s information about their grandfather than they have not yet discovered.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

In this delightful cozy mystery, we meet Mercy McCarthy, a crime writer turned bookshop owner who finds herself thrust into a real-life whodunit when her fresh start in the picturesque village of Shamrock Cove takes an unexpected turn. After inheriting a charming antique bookshop with her twin sister Lizzie, Mercy's dreams of a peaceful coastal life are shattered when she discovers her neighbor, the Judge, dying on his doorstep. His shocking last words accuse her of murder, setting the stage for a compelling investigation where Mercy must clear her name while navigating the complex web of village relationships.

What makes this story particularly engaging is how it captures the vulnerability of being the newcomer in a close-knit community. Connelly masterfully portrays the unsettling experience of having to second-guess every friendly face, as Mercy realizes that her potential new friends could be harboring deadly secrets. The residents of The Court and the local business owners are painted with just enough detail to make them both charming and suspicious, creating a perfect atmosphere for a cozy mystery.

The author's writing style is thoroughly compelling, with a natural flow that makes it nearly impossible to put the book down. While some characters could have benefited from deeper development, this minor shortcoming never detracts from the story's momentum. Connelly demonstrates a remarkable talent for crafting red herrings and planting subtle clues that keep readers guessing until the end.

As someone who enjoys trying to solve mysteries alongside the protagonist, I found myself convinced I had identified the killer, only to question my deductions as new evidence emerged. The author cleverly plays with readers' expectations, weaving false leads and genuine clues together in a way that maintains suspense without feeling manipulative.

Perhaps most impressively, Connelly sticks the landing. With just two chapters remaining, I worried whether the conclusion could live up to the build-up, but she delivers a satisfying resolution that ties everything together while staying true to the story's cozy mystery roots. The finale proves that sometimes the best stories aren't about shocking twists, but about how skillfully the author guides us to the truth.

"An Irish Bookshop Murder" is a promising start to what I hope will be a long-running series. Despite some room for growth in character development, it's an enchanting read that combines the charm of a seaside Irish village with the thrill of amateur sleuthing. The story proves that sometimes the best new beginnings come with a side of murder – as long as you have the wit and determination to solve it.

This is a very chilled murder mystery in a cute little town. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the stories behind each of them. Whilst I did enjoy trying to work out who the killer was, I did find the murder mystery to be very laid back, almost too laid back.

Overall it was a nice easy read and a great pallet cleanser. I would recommend this book as I feel a lot of people would enjoy it, it just didn’t have the adrenaline rush that I love in my usual murder mystery books. Instead it very much had cute and cozy vibes with the occasional murder chucked in!

Thanks to Netgalley for the eBook to review

This book does exactly what it says - there's a cosy (read twee) village setting, a charming bookshop, quirky characters and a mysterious death. Throw into the middle of this two American sisters recently moved to said town and immediately implicated in the suspected murder, and you prety much have the premise of the book.
I wanted light relief and that's what I got!
Mercy and Lizzie are recently bereaved twins who inherit a cottage and bookshop in Shamrock Cove, Ireland, from their estranged grandfather. There are lots of unsaid traditions and rules to living in the Court in Shamrock Cove and they try and navigate these, whilst also trying to clear themselves of any involvement in the Judge's suspicious death.
There was enough to like to keep me reading but a few things that grated. This is a very romanticised/fairytale view of an Irish viillage - but I guess that's the point with cosy mystery settings? Mercy, the lead character wasn't that likeable but her sister Lizzie balanced that out. The Court characters were suitably quirky although I felt like there was some box ticking to shoehorn in enough "diverse" characters.
There was continuous mention of Mercy's experience with stalking, which I would have liked to have explained or resolved more.
In the end I'm not sure I was that bothered who the culprit was but I quite enjoyed the journey and it gave me the light relief I was looking for.

Well done! I was immediately drawn into the lives and story of Mercy and Lizzie's new life in Shamrock Cove, Ireland. The characters and sense of place where so well detailed that the idea of them leaving everything behind in the States to start a new life in their unknown paternal grandfather's home and business was seamless. The Court is full of interesting secondary characters and that keeps the mystery part a bit insular. The Court cottages can only be deeded to relatives, or a lottery ensues as laid out in the HOA-y type rules they have to live by. The crotchety judge who falls over dead makes for a great body--was he kind on the bench, or too harsh? And was he the same in his personal life? I really look forward to another story in this series.

A solid start to a fun series!

I loved the sister vibes, the small Irish town vibes and the mystery weaved in it. As someone who dreams of moving to England / Europe one day and living in my own bookstore cafe, the premise seemed so interesting.

It was darker and gloomier than I expected but I didn’t mind it. The suspense was very intriguing throughout but I felt like the finale was kind of anticlimactic. Still, overall, it was a solid read and I give it a 3.5 overall rating.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

Mercy and Izzy relocate themselves to the Irish village of Shamrock Cove after receiving an inheritance from a grandfather they didn’t know they had. They’ve inherited his house along with his bookshop.

Mercy finds the Judge dying on his front step. She rushes to help him and with his final breath he accuses Mercy. She decides she has no choice but to investigate to clear her name. During her sleuthing she finds that several of the residents have reason to have wanted the Judge dead. Mercy vows to continue to investigate until she finds the killer.

I was enchanted by this cozy mystery from the very beginning. I was able to picture the different rooms in the bookshop as well as the house and would love to be able to curl up and read a book in one of the rooms filled with books. I can’t wait to read the next installment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #AnIrishBookshopMurder