I enjoy this series ( )

When a snow storm arrives in the area Maura Donovan plays host to a variety of people in her pub, one of which was a suspect in a murder twenty years previously. So to keep the customers occupied while they are snowed in, the murder is discussed looking for a motive and the real killer.
This is the first in the series that I have read, I don't think it is necessary to have read the previous books.
I found the telling to be too long winded and slow, with a repetition of information. Also Maura seemed to be totally unprepared for winter and a running a pub, and I didn't find the characters that plausible. I can't imagine that I will be reading any of the other books.
A NetGalley Book ( )

This is one of my favorite cozy series as Sheila Connolly brings all my imaginations to life of visiting a pub in a small town in Ireland. Maura Donovan has been in Ireland for less than a year and so she's not sure what to expect when there's talk of a major snowstorm in an area where snowfall is rare. It's all hands-on-deck for the employees and the guest list seems unpredictable. Will it be like the snowstorms she was familiar with in Boston or something completely different? How should she prepare O'Sullivan's pub to care for her employees and pub guests especially when the pub doesn't serve food? What will Maura do to keep everyone comfortable when she realizes one of her guests is a long-standing suspect of an unsolved murder that all the locals are well aware?

It's always easy to curl up with a mystery by Sheila Connolly but be sure to curl up with blankets and nourishment for this winter treat! The cold air is swirling snowflakes with no end in sight and there's a different twist for a murder investigation long after the crime. I can hear Maura saying, "Only at O'Sullivan's would this be possible!" ( )

I've enjoyed this series since the first installment and have been patiently awaiting each new arrival. I like that Maura is an American finding her way in a new country and finding out a little about herself and her family along the way. The author's description of the pub and Maura's co-workers is in-depth and shows how she is forging new relationships in her new home. The mystery in this one intrigued me, as I have always loved the idea of an unsolved mystery coming to light after so many years. I think the concept of the group solving the murder in one night while being snowed in at the pub was maybe a little implausible, but that can be forgiven as it's a cozy mystery and needn't be 100% accurate to still be enjoyable. I would still love to see Maura taking more responsibility for her situations in life (the running of the pub, finances, etc.) It seems as if she still hasn't grown much as a person in the 9 months she's been in West Cork. How could she be running a business and still not know anything about the taxes, her payments to her employees, or even where the fuel is kept for the heating? In 9 months she hasn't once thought that these things might be important? How? Also, I would love to see more of the surrounding area used in the books. There is so much history and beautiful landscapes in the area and yet the author never allows Maura to leave her pub. As an American, I would be so curious about everything around me as a visitor to a new country. I would want to take in as much as possible, but Maura seems to be disinterested by it all. It seems like a passed up opportunity.

Netgalley and the publisher provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

A blizzard is about to hit the village of Leap and Maura is at odds and ends getting supplies ready. A group of people seek shelter in her pub along with a stranger who was accused of murder 20 years ago but there was never enough evidence to arrest her. As the lights go out, gets colder and everyone crowds around the fire, they decide to figure out what happened by listening to the different remembrances of the patrons. Started out okay but dragged on and on. ( )