Five Cozy Mystery Stars

I'm super glad I'm getting in at the start of the Mercy McCarthy Mystery series! I am already looking forward to Death by the Book later this year!

Mercy (a mystery author) and her twin sister, Lizzie, have just found out that their grandfather left them his cottage...IN IRELAND! This is the perfect escape for the sisters as they're both mourning the loss of their mother and Lizzie has just also lost her fiance and his daughter. A new country, new home, new bookstore to run, it's all going to be great helping them move on and learn how to live life now. Just a couple minor murders to throw a wrench in those plans. First up is the judge, a man who infuriated the town at large with his bad moods. Unfortunately for Mercy the detective on the case has her in his sights for the murder. Why? Who even knows! Now Mercy needs to use all of her author research to find out who murdered the judge and why.

This book is the definition of Cozy Mystery. I enjoyed it from start to finish and cannot wait to read the next installment of the series. Lucy Connelly did a wonderful job on these characters and Kimberly Wetherell was perfect for bringing them to life through narration. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy a cozy mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this story.

A really cute cozy murder mystery story. Meet the McCarthy twins, Mercy and Lizzie, after a rough time, they relocate from America to Ireland where they’ve inherited their grandfathers cottage and bookshop.
Now would be a good time to tell you I’m literally manifesting the same fate for myself, without the murders please and thank you.

Did you ever love Murder She Wrote? Cabbot Cove. I did, and this gave me those same vibes. Mercy is also a writer, a mystery writer and is now in Shamrock Cove!!

I loved the sisters, I really enjoyed the story and the other characters. I’ll look forward to the next in the series.

The narration, I’m trying so hard to be polite here, I kind of wish the narrator had just stuck to narrating everyone in her own American accent, instead she’s had a mad gallop all throughout Ireland and I think she made a wee stop of in parts of Scotland to narrate the Irish characters, and the accents became so bad they were hilarious and added entirely to the fun of the book.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio via NetGalley for this ELC.

I requested this by accident, thinking it was part of a similarly named series with similar book cover art.

It didn’t take long for me to realize I goofed but since I look cozy mysteries I thought I’d settle in.

I simply can’t read this. The writing makes me itch with all its cliches and cardboard and cartoony characters and dialogue.

Thanks netgalley for my ALC.

A perfect cozy mystery. I am looking forward to the next installment of this series.
I especially enjoyed the heroine of the story and her relationship with her sister. I didn’t enjoy the wrap up of the mystery as much as I would have liked (the motive wasn’t strong enough to be plausible), but overall a great read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audiobook.

Much thanks to Lucy Connelly, Bookouture Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great mystery! I really enjoyed this book, though I've lost count of how many cozies I've read with this same premise (X inherits a house/shop/castle/etc. in Ireland/Scotland from an unknown or estranged relative; they move in and, shit, someone's dead). Mercy and Lizzie were very endearing, and their new Irish neighbors were as well. Liam was adorable, especially at the end. I'm on board with the love interest, and Connelly did an excellent job balancing the emotional lows with the humorous highs.

What knocked a star off was Mercy's occupation as a writer. I've always felt it's cheating for an author to make their MC an author; it requires little research, the character's life and schedule are more flexible, and it's a convenient excuse for them to know random skills and information. Also they're successful, of course, so no money troubles. On top of that, though, Mercy seemed to constantly talk about being a writer, and it became incredibly annoying. She needed to write, she learned this because of writing, she learned that because of writing, she developed this habit because of writing, she developed that habit because of writing, she thinks like this because of writing, she eats like that because of writing, she talks like this because of writing, she does that because of writing. On and on. Toward the end I wanted to scream at her YOU'RE A WRITER, WE GET IT, SHUT UP ABOUT WRITING. It made her feel rather self-involved.

But other than that, it was a great book, and I look forward to the next in the series.

4.5⭐️This was just a delightful cozy mystery!

I am thankful to have gotten the audioARC for free from Netgalley and aBookouture Audio so I can leave my voluntary review.

Usually I listen to audio books at night and early morning but whilst doing a project today I turned this on to see how I would like the narration and next thing I knew, it was done!

I listened to it on 1.5x speed which for me was perfect although the regular recorded rate was fine. I enjoyed the narration by Kimberly Weatherell who seamlessly transitioned from an American accent to an Irish Brogue depending on the character.

This was a first book in a new series where a mystery novelist sticks her nose into. I appreciated that it wasn’t a romance straight off where the FMC doesn’t get all tangled up with the male detective but still leaves it open for that to happen.
While I figured out the culprit it wasnt glaringly obvious which was great.

So if you enjoy cozy mysteries this one is a definite hit!

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding for the genre! Will potentially circle back and read again as well as recommend it to others.

Unexpectedly, Mercy and her twin sister Lizzie have inherited a bookstore and home from an Irish Grandfather they never knew. This is perfect timing as Lizzie needed a fresh start and Mercy is an author that can write anywhere. They arrive in Shamrock Cove, the tiny Irish village by the sea and things don't go as planned.

One the first night at their welcome party, the town's Judge ends up dying. She found him grabbing his chest and she started CRP until paramedics arrived. His last words seem to accuse Mercy of murder.

Mercy and Lizzie work together to figure out who would have killed this neighbor and why. This is a tight knit community where everyone knows each other. Homes in the village are passed down to family members or by a lottery.

During their investigation clues are pointing towards the sisters but they have just arrived, with no motive to kill anyone. It doesn't help when someone else suddenly dies and Mercy is the one to find them, again.


I loved this book. It was fast paced and a great who-done-it! The different characters had so much depth I could picture everything. The sweet village, beautiful floral back gardens and old bookshop. I found myself being suspicious of everyone! Each person, being lovely, all had reasons to benefit from the Judge no longer being with them. The narrator did a great job. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

A cute start to a new series. I enjoyed the quirks of each twin. I can't wait to see where this series goes. Maybe a little romance for each woman as well. The narrator was a pleasure to listen to.

Cozy mysteries set in Ireland are one of my absolute favorite things to read. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even finish this book. The narration was good but that’s about it. It was poorly researched. A serving spoon in the mouth of someone having a seizure? It hasn’t been common practice to do something like that in over 20 years. The wording of some things was very confusing. I’m not sure if the detective works for the Garda or an imaginary police force. I can’t keep track of whether the sisters are suspects or not. The setting seemed like the author took the quintessential English village and threw in some caricature of the Irish. The only thing missing was a leprechaun.

"An Irish Bookshop Murder (Mercy McCarthy Mystery #1)" by Lucy Connelly is the first book in a bookshop themed cozy mystery series. Well bookshop and book writer themed. Mercy McCarthy and her twin sister, Lizzie, move to Ireland after inheriting their previously unknown grandfather's cottage and a series of tragic events back in Texas. Mercy is a successful mystery writer and Lizzie ran a successful lavender ranch. Now Mercy will work from her home office in the cottage and Lizzie will run their grandfather's bookshop.

After their welcoming party they find their neighbor having a health emergency. Mercy, who is well versed in CPR, tries to save him. However, she's unsuccessful. Due to the low rate of crime before their arrival and a few other clues hinting their way, Mercy takes on investigating what happened.

I found this mystery very entertaining. I did have one person that I kept coming back to as a suspect. It also had the typical detective who gets a bit of tunnel vision. There may be a bit of a love hate troupe going on between him and Mercy.

The narrator of the audiobook version did a great job with the various characters. Each one was unique. Since this is a book set in Ireland they also had to do an Irish accent. That was well done as well.

I loved the relationship between the sisters in this book. These twins find out about a grandfather and he has left them his home in Ireland. They decide their lives are in a place where they should move there and start over. On their first night there, a grouchy old man, a judge, suddenly dies and they are questioned about the death. One sister is an author and starts investigating the death and weird things start happening. The neighborhood they live in is full of Irish characters who seem to take care of each other but the fear is that there is a murderer in their midst. I can see this series becoming a much loved series for me. Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced audiobook.

Lucy Connelly is quickly becomming one of my favorite cozy mystery writers. I love her Scottish Isle series and now I get to love this new series as well! This was such a great series debut! 📚

A cozy murder mystery; a murder victim disliked by everyone, locked-door Agatha Christie style. Generally pretty wholesome, no violence, S M U T or gore. I listened to the audiobook, well acted. I can listen to American accents at 2x speed but I slow down British/Irish accents. The narrator slipped flawlessly from the Irish characters to the Americans. The main characters are from Texas and they inherit a house in a gated community, Shamrock Cove, from the grandfather they never knew. This is the first in a series, I will read the rest.

I found the ending unsatisfying, the murderer's motivation was odd and honestly I didn't really buy it.

I really liked the main character, Mercy and her twin sister Lizzie. There is a still a lot about their family history we don't know that can be revealed in further books. Their neighbors are all characters and sometimes suspects- next door neighbors Rob and Scott, husbands who have lived in Shamrock Cove for 10 years, are great characters. They are also willed a quaint bookshop, with customers and a setting you are sure to get lost in. I look forward to reading more about Mercy McCarthy.

thank you to @netgalley and @Bookouture Audio for the ARC. Book to be released August 22, 2024.

Newly arrived in an idyllic Irish village, Mercy and her sister become embroiled in a murder mystery when their dying neighbor points an accusing finger at Mercy. She sets out to clear her name and uncover the secrets lurking beneath the town’s charming facade before she becomes the next victim.

This fast-paced mystery is well-written and kept me guessing. I prefer a little more humor and emotion than this book offered. Also, the character backgrounds are a little darker than I expect for a cozy mystery, including a child death. I enjoyed the side characters and the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.