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Book Review
Reviewed: 27 February 2025

Murder in an Irish Garden

by: Carlene O'Connor

An Irish Village Mystery - Book 11

  • Rating: full starfull starfull starfull starstar outline (4/5)

Beware of the dangers of gardening contests

This series gets better and better. I was so excited to see that there was a new one coming out and aghast that I had not yet read book 10. So I read that one and immediately rolled into this one. Siobhán and Macdara have been married for a little bit now and survived a few obstacles impacting their wedding and honeymoon (book 9 is their wedding and book 10 is their honeymoon, both are really great reads). The new family farm-to-table restaurant, The O’Sullivan Six (The Six for short), run by Eoin is about to have its grand opening.  Siobhán and Macdara and butting heads as Siobhán studies for the Detective Sargent exam. 

Competition is high for the local gardening contest. Before judging can begin, two contestants are missing. Vandalism and a fair number of suspects keep the sleuthing couple on their toes. A spunky interviewer, Garda Areta, and of course the O'Sullivan clan keep this mystery moving as digging is done in to the murder. As I read this book, it reminded me of an Agatha Christie story, I won't mention which one as not to spoil things.

Reading these books is fun and listening to them is even better with the Irish Lilt. 

Thank you to #NetGalley and #KensingtonCozies for the opportunity to do an early read and share my thoughts on the story. 

Happy Reading!

Release Date: 25-February-2025
Cozy Mystery, NetGalley, Female-Led, Irish

Plot Summary

Everything’s coming up roses for garda Siobhán and the rest of O’Sullivan family in quaint Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland—until a murder investigation blooms out of a deadly gardening competition. 

While Siobhán studies for her Detective Sargeant exams, her brother, Eoin, prepares for the grand opening of his new restaurant, The O’Sullivan Six, and concocts a plan to enter Kilbane’s Top Garden Contest to boost business. But trouble brews when Eoin hires a mercurial landscape designer known for her killer designs. His new partner’s unflattering reputation and questionable practices nearly eclipse her talents—and plunge the prestigious competition into chaos.

A lush and intricate winning garden emerges from the controversy, with a spectacular golden statue in the center of the display. But in a devastating twist, the work of art leads to the shocking discovery of a bold and brutal work of murder.

Everyone in town has an opinion about who committed the crime and planted the evidence, from easily bribed sponsors to green-with-envy gardeners. And with another golden statue found in Eoin’s garden display, rumors about his involvement intensify. As local gossip buzzes and a list of suspects grows, it’s up to quick-witted Siobhán and her husband, Macdara, to suss out the guilty culprit’s identity . . . before the competition buries another victim.