Very disappointed. This was very lightweight. No real depth to the characters. We really enjoyed No Strangers Here and were hoping for another like that. This was not as good at capturing our attention or getting us involved with the characters. We were glad when it finished. ( )

I listened to the audiobook and had trouble following it because there were a lot of characters and none of them were particularly interesting. I like to listen to books when I'm walking for fitness and this one was a bore. Even the main character (who was great in the first book) was not likeable in this one. Didn't finish it. I'll be going back to her other series which I love with Sioban and McDarra. ( )

Murder in Connemara by Carlene O’Connor is the 2nd A Home to Ireland Mystery. It can be read as a standalone, but I believe readers will have a better understanding of Tara if they read Murder in Galway first. I enjoyed the beautiful descriptions of Ireland, the architecture, and the items in Tara’s shop. The author really brought the Irish countryside to life for me. Tara Meehan is a character that I am not sure that I like yet. Tara’s behavior and attitude bothered me at times. I really did not like her thoughts about the Garda (she thinks they are stupid). Tara is one of those people who will do what they want even if it gets in the way of others completing their job. The mystery has quite a few suspects. The author tried to the whodunit complicated, but the resolution was easy to suss out. The apparent clues made it a cinch to solve. The why is also not a challenge to figure out. I did not like Tara mucking up crime scenes (she is giving amateur sleuths a bad name). I got fed up with suspects arguing (I ended up skimming through some areas). Tara tended to go off on tangents at times that took her away from her goal. There are some quirky characters in this series including Tara’s uncle and the psychic, Rose. I loved little Savage with this adorable collar. I wanted to like Murder in Connemara, but I just did not find it that appealing. Murder in Connemara transports readers to Ireland in this cozy mystery with the sweet Savage, amends gone awry, a prophetic psychic, a forceful woman, business license tribulations, and a problematic photo. ( )

** 3.5 Stars **

I thoroughly enjoy this author’s Irish Village Mystery series and was very happy to find she had started a new mystery series also based in Ireland. This time, the lead character is a transplanted American interior designer whose family roots are in the Galway area of Ireland.

Tara Meehan is anxiously awaiting her business license in order to open her architectural salvage shop, Renewals, in downtown Galway. While she’s waiting, she is getting the shop set up and preparing for her grand opening. She is absolutely beyond excited. As a top interior designer in New York, she never expected to give it all up and move to Ireland, but here she is and she loves Ireland already. She has come to love the uncle she never knew she had (Murder In Galway), and then, there is Danny O’Donnell… Danny is more than a friend, but perhaps less than a boyfriend – Tara just isn’t sure what their relationship is aside from being occasional bed partners.

Tara found a flyer, on her shop’s front door, listing an old stone cottage for sale. With all the nervous energy she’s built up awaiting her license, she decides to go check out the cottage. She is absolutely entranced with the location and the crumbling cottage – until she discovers a tiny abandoned pug named Savage, and a dead body with no identification on it. Uh-Oh – another adventure begins.

A force of nature, in the form of Veronica O’Farrell, bursts into Tara’s yet-to-open shop and demands to be able to use the shop as the venue for her ‘Amends’ party. Veronica, along with her butler/lawyer Bartley, and driver Andy totally ignore Tara and her protestations that she could NOT allow the party to take place in her shop because she couldn’t open for business without her license. Since the fee Veronica is offering is exceptional and she wants additional tasks done, Tara manages to figure out a way to accommodate Veronica without losing the commission. It won’t take long for her to be very sorry about that decision – because Veronica is soon found murdered – and the murder weapon is one Tara had posted a selfie with – and the hashtag #KillerBrooch.

The overall mystery was a good one, but there were entirely too many people and suspects involved. We kept going off on tangents and it just bogged the story down. Then, there is Tara’s attitude. I haven’t yet managed to get to like her and a lot of that is her attitude – especially about the Garda. She just goes about doing her own thing whether it interferes with their investigation or not. I don’t know – I think it is her Holier-Than-Thou attitude that just rubs me the wrong way and she seems to think the Garda are stupid. Frankly, I wouldn’t blame Danny for walking away from her because she certainly doesn’t seem to give him any consideration either.

I’m certainly on the fence about this one. Once I’d waded through all of the extraneous chaff, the underlying mystery and motivation of the murderer were compelling and interesting. The suspects - John and Sheila Murphy, Elaine Burke, Mimi Griffin, Eddie O'Farrell, Cassidy Hughes, and Iona Kelly – are on Veronica’s ‘Amends’ list, but they spend almost all of their time loudly arguing and blaming each other for the murders. All of that just slows the pace of the story and bogs it all down. None of it adds to the mystery and a lot of it just doesn’t make much sense.

I am giving the book a 3.5-star rating (rounded to 3), so I guess that boils down to a conditional recommendation. The mystery really is a good one even though it is paced too slowly and has scenes that either doesn’t move the mystery along or could easily be condensed to speed up the pace a bit. My bottom line is – I will read the next book to see if Tara (and Danny because I didn’t like him in this book) grows on me. If I don’t like her better by the end of the third book, I’ll discontinue reading the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

ara Meehan moved to Galway, Ireland after her mother's death. It was her mother's homeland, and she had her reasons for coming. But now she's found an uncle, and she's part-owner in an architectural salvage business, and has decided to open a shop in town called Renewals. One day when she's preparing for her grand opening, a woman, larger than life, blows in through the door and announces she wants to hold a small party here for the guests she's invited to celebrate her sobriety. Stunned, Tara is also taken by the beautiful brooch the woman is wearing. Veronica O'Farrell turns out to be an heiress and invites Tara to wear it and take a picture. Tara posts it online, and when Veronica leaves thinks nothing of it. But when Veronica is later found murdered with that same brooch, Tara is now a suspect. Trying to clear her name might not be easy, but if she can figure out which one of the guests actually killed the woman, her worries will be over. Unfortunately, they might also be over if the killer finds her first...

This is the second book in the series and I have to say that I utterly enjoyed it as much as the first. I like all of the characters in this book, although I will admit I am a bit on the fence about Tara's maybe-boyfriend, Danny. Time will tell, I suppose. But I do like Uncle Johnny, Breanna, and Detective Gable. He treats Tara like a person, not an annoying gnat.

What I didn't care for in the book (and the loss of one star, unfortunately), was the fact that Tara would just walk up to people and start asking them questions like she was a garda herself, without even an introduction or why she was asking. It was a tad uncomfortable, and I would have told her to bugger off. Surely there are better ways to get answers than putting someone on the defensive immediately. But I did like the fact that both Danny and Johnny had her back, and that showed that they cared about her.

Other than that, the plot was very good, and there were questions throughout that get you wondering how certain things were done. Even looking for clues was a bit difficult, but it really didn't matter, as the ending was worth the wait. Speaking of that, it was definitely unexpected and came out of nowhere, but please do not peek to see who the murderer is! You will have more fun reading this book if you just wait, and it will all be revealed in time. The reason for the murder is rather sad, but who knows what goes on in the mind of the deranged? I do look forward to the next in this series. Recommended. ( )