Monday, January 9, 2023

Murder, She Wrote: Death on the Emerald Isle - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Murder, She Wrote: Death on the Emerald Isle by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran

Rating:  Liked It (3.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Jessica Fletcher is quick to accept an invitation to replace a speaker who couldn’t attend a Book Festival in Belfast, Ireland. When her Cabot Cove neighbor Maeve O'Bannon hears about the trip, she asks Jessica to deliver some paintings to her family in the village of Bushmills. Happy to extend her travels and see more of the Irish countryside, Jessica agrees.

The festival goes off without a hitch, and it seems like Jessica is in for a relaxing vacation. But then Maeve’s cousin Michael is discovered dead under suspicious circumstances. Jessica finds herself once again in the midst of a murder investigation, and she’ll have to dig into the O'Bannon family’s secrets to unmask the killer.
Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  This series is such comfort reading that I have to pick up the latest book.

My Impression:  This series is definitely good comfort reading.  Jessica Fletcher is one of my favorite fictional sleuths and while Seth is all the way across the Atlantic for the bulk of the book he does show up in phone conversations to weigh in on the investigation.  

I really enjoyed the Northern Ireland setting both in Belfast and in the countryside. The O'Bannon family has some serious issues and the only thing that's surprising is that it took so long for someone to murder one of them.  Besides the family there's a whole list of suspects including a very shady loan shark and some very sketchy business practices.  

While this was an enjoyable read and I'm always happy to see Jessica Fletcher solving murder it did get a bit over detailed.  While I enjoyed the descriptions of the landscape there were times the details got a bit overdone.  For example, I didn't really need to know Jessica's instructions to the laundry service at the hotel.

This was a fun and entertaining read with likable familiar characters.  While this is book 56 in the series as long as you are vaguely familiar with the setup of the television series you can jump in anywhere.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Of course!  This is always such a  good cozy series to read.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you like a good cozy mystery read this is a reliable enjoyable series.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

8 comments:

  1. I never watched the show and haven't read the series, after reading your review I may check the book out, I'm a fan of Ireland.

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  2. Looks good. I've read a few books in this series and always enjoy them.

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  3. I loved the show but haven't read these. This is the type of cozy mystery I like, more in the Agatha Christie mode of observation and clever deduction than the quirky ridiculous some cozy mysteries have.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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  4. I loved that old show! I haven't read any of the books, I should!

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  5. Wow, 56 books! I absolutely loved watching the TV series when I was a teen, though I haven't read any of the books yet. I had to giggle at the laundry service instructions!

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  6. A cozy read that is a comfort is always a plus. Pity about the too many details, sometimes I wonder are they there to fulfil a word count. It does often spoil the book.

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  7. I probably wouldn't be interested in the details either but it sounds like a fun series overall.

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