Death in Irish Accents

⭐⭐⭐

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.

ARC Via NetGalley