Christmas Cocoa Murder

It's nearly Christmas in Kilbane, County Cork, but Siobhan O'Sullivan is thinking about the New Year. That's when she officially becomes Garda O'Sullivan. The only thing dampening her enthusiasm is Macdara Flannery still living in Dublin.

In Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Connor, the author is joined by Maddie Day, author of Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse, and Alex Erickson, author of Death by Hot Cocoa. All three stories almost put you off your nightly cocoa, but they are charmingly entertaining. 

In Christmas Cocoa Murder, Siobhan is heading for her family's pub, near the town square and cannot believe her eyes. A dunk tank filled with hot cocoa is proudly standing in the middle of the square. She wonders what Paddy O'Shea, the town Santy, is up to now. She knew there was a rivalry with Mr. and Mrs. Claus from Charlesville, but this was ridiculous.  

While the villagers are watching the panto, the dunk tank rolls out of his shed prematurely with Paddy lying on the board extended over the cocoa. Before long, 

Santa's put-upon elf Cormac Dooley picks up a snowball and aims for the target. Bull's eye, Santy gets dunked. As they struggle to roll the tank back into the shed, Siobhan hopes this craziness will die down, but suddenly the dunk tank rolls out of the shed again and this time Santy is floating face down in the cocoa. 

Siobhan has her hands full with kidnapped dogs, stolen family items and a prize winning nutcracker. 

In Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day, Robbie Jordan finds herself in the middle of a murder. When Jed Greenburg is found dead outside the library with a chocolate lab whimpering over the body, the police look to Abe's father Howard as a suspect.

It seems Jed had been stealing from a joint business venture involving Howard, making him him look suspicious. The police also focus on Robbie's shop because Howard gave Jed some of Robbie's special Christmas cocoa. Nothing kills a restaurant's reputation faster than being accused of poisoning someone with food or drink. 

Robbie knows she needs to solve the murder and save her restaurant and her soon-to-be father-in-law.

In Death by Hot Cocoa by Alex Erickson, Krissy Hancock and her best friend Rita Jablonski set out to attend a Christmas-themed escape room, they never expect to find a dead body. Eight people are scheduled to participate in Lewis Coates' escape room, They each enter a room and are locked in. It is their job to figure out how to open the door to the main room. 

When they all escape into the main room, they find Lewis dead with cocoa spilled around his chair. Now, not only are they trapped in a room until they can figure out the next set of  clues, they have a body to contend with. 

Three entertaining mysteries with unique Christmas-themed puzzles to solve. The ideal stocking stuffer. 


Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher. 

Murder in an Irish Pub

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A poker tournament comes to Kilbane, but where there are poker players there are sharks. In Murder in an Irish Pub by Carlene O'Connor, Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan isn't feeling like a poker tournament in town isn't such a good idea. She keeps that feeling to herself and heads to Rory's Pub where it is being held.

Three of the most famous poker players are in town: Eamon Foley, the Octopus; Clementine Hart, the Queen of Hearts; and Shane Ross, the Shane of Spades. They beginn playing a few hands when suddenly Eamon finds himself holding the famous "Dead Man's Hand"- black aces and black eights.  Legend has it Wild Bill Hickok was holding that exact hand when he was murdered.

As Eamon leaps to his feet another deck of cards is found on his seat and everyone begins arguing. Nathan Doyle, the poker official, says he will review the video and make a decision about disqualifying Eamon the next day. There's a quarter of a million Euros at stake, so the decision is important.

When Eamon is found hanging in the bar’s storeroom the next morning, it’s thought to be a suicide, but  Siobhan thinks it was murder. Eamon's wife Rose was about to have a baby and Siobhan doesn't believe he would kill himself. The difficult with proving it was murder was the locked storeroom. As she and MacDara Flannery investigate, she begins to find clues that make it ore likely to have been murder.

Another entertaining entry into the Irish Village Mystery series

Murder in an Irish Churchyard

New graduate Siobhan O'Sullivan has the job of her dreams as a member of  the Irish Gardai Siochana. In Murder in an Irish Churchyard by Carlene O'Connor, it's Siobhan's first day on the job. But before she even clocks in Father Kearney appears at her door in the middle of the night.

He tells her he heard a gunshot and found a dead man in the churchyard. Siobhan knows she should call in the crime, but Father Kearney convinces her she needs to see the body first to know what she is calling in. Not the best idea for a new garda.

When Siobhan arrives at the churchyard, she finds the body lying on his side with his right arm extended toward the toward that reads "John Mallon." As it begins to snow, Siobhan hurriedly calls in the death so the snow doesn't cover evidence.

Chastised by her superior for not making the call earlier, Siobhan is further embarrassed when her former boyfriend MacDara Flannery arrives from Dublin to take over the case. The victim is American Peter Mallon who is on a quest with his family to find his roots. His wife, son, daughter, brother and a documentary film maker are all in Kilbane, County Cork searching for the ancestors. Someone one was overheard saying the group was here to "Right a Wrong", but the witness thinks it was a young person's voice, not Peter Mallon. Siobhan and MacDara join forces to find the killer.

Family rivalries, reputations and inheritance get in the way, but soon Siobhan and MacDara discover the truth is always stranger than fiction.

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