Murder at an Irish Wedding (An Irish Village Mystery)

Murder at an Irish Wedding by Carlene O'Connor is the second book in An Irish Village Mystery series. Siobhan O'Sullivan is called to bring brown bread up to the Kilbane Castle for a wedding party. Her families' café, Noami's Bistro is catering the meals for the wedding group. Fashion model Alice Cahill is marrying Paul Donnelly on Saturday. The female members of the wedding party are outside waiting for the guys to show up to take a group picture (they are all in matching blue tracksuits). The men slowly show up, but one member is still at large. Kevin Gallagher, the best man, has not been seen. They soon hear a scream, and Chef Antoine runs out of the woods. He states there is a dead body in the woods. Garda Macdara Flannery is among the wedding guests and he takes off to check out the chef's story. Siobhan, of course, is not about to be left behind. The dead man is face down so they cannot confirm his identity. Siobhan does notice that Macdara's garda cap is under the man's arm. Instead of investigating the crime, Macdara ends up at the top of the suspect list. Siobhan feels compelled to investigate the murder (she feels it is her calling). She starts questioning the wedding guests while they are awaiting for the investigators. The bride's father, Colm Cahill is glad there is a reason to call off the wedding. Siobhan, though, offers to help Alice find an alternate location. Colm feels Alice is marrying beneath her. Alice is determined to have her wedding day and marry the love of her life. The local garda do not appreciate Siobhan's assistance with the case, but that does not deter her. When a second victim turns up dead, Siobhan hatches a plan to catch the killer.

I found Murder at an Irish Wedding to be easy to read and has a lovely setting. I have always wanted to visit Ireland. Murder at an Irish Wedding is not my type of cozy mystery. I found it a little far-fetched and over-the-top. Each member of the wedding party is worse than the next (of course). They all have issues. Siobhan is a very unpleasant character. Her idea of an investigation is to run around annoying people with her questions and badgering them for answers. I have no idea why anyone outside of her village would answer her questions. Siobhan steals evidence and withholds it from the police (unless it suits her). She then badgers the investigator in charge with her theories (which they do not appreciate). Many times, Siobhan passes herself off as an officer of the law (she is dating an officer which is close to the truth according to her). Then, all of the sudden, the police allow Siobhan to help (it makes no sense). Siobhan believes herself to be the best investigator in the town (which is mentioned more than once). The book is packed full of action. It is one silly thing after another. I give Murder at an Irish Wedding 2 out of 5 stars (just too ridiculous). The best part of the book is the mystery. If you are an avid mystery reader, you should be able to identify the killer before the reveal (this is why I gave it 2 stars). The author used many clichés in this novel. I also found three different words for garda. We have garda, guard, and gardai (which one is it). At the wedding the author trotted out numerous old Irish wedding traditions (the bride wearing blue, Irish lace, burying a Child of Prague statue, etc.). Can you imagine a bride going down the aisle carrying a horseshoe in one hand and a bell in the other? The romance between Siobhan and Macdara seems forced. There is no chemistry between them. I will not be continuing with An Irish Village Mystery series. It is just not the right type of book for me.