Review: Dead in Dublin by Catie Murphy

Kerry Hammond is here with her review of a new cozy series set in Ireland.

Dead in Dublin by Catie Murphy is the first book in the author’s new series, which features Megan Malone, a limo driver whose American heritage gives her a unique take on Ireland. The book was published on December 31, 2019, in Mass Market Paperback, by Kensington Books. The second in the series, Death on the Green, is due out this September.

I’m always in search of a good cozy mystery series and this one rates high on my scale of worthy contenders. A good cozy mystery is heavy on character development, but if you have a boring plot you won’t get the book off the ground. In Dead in Dublin, I first fell in love with the characters. Murphy does a great job of writing interesting characters, making them both vivid and three dimensional. But it doesn’t stop there, the author has created not only an interesting mystery, but managed to take me on a journey of confusion as I followed along, trying to solve the puzzle.

I didn’t solve the mystery, and that suits me just fine. I love a good surprise ending and I got just that; it was a plausible and satisfying end to a great story. As an added bonus, the author takes you on a fun trip to Ireland. If you’ve never visited, you get to enjoy a few bits and pieces of local culture and color. If you have visited, you are reminded of some of the interesting qualities you experienced on your trip, from the pronunciation of words to the fun quirks of the Irish. It’s armchair traveling at its best.

If you’re a cozy mystery fan, this is a great read. I’m glad that I got in on the ground floor, starting at book one. It’s always fun to read series books in order so that you can get to know the characters as they change and grow. I will definitely continue reading this series!

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review was fair and completely independent.

You can always find Mystery Playground on Twitter @mysteryplaygrnd and on Facebook. You can also follow the blog by clicking the link on the upper right-hand corner of this webpage.