IRISH COFFEE MURDER by LESLIE MEIER
Part-time reporter Lucy Stone is writing a piece for the Courier about four Irish step dancing students from Tinker’s Cove on the cusp of making it big. But the story becomes headline news for all the wrong reasons when one girl’s mother is found dead in her bathtub. Did a stage mom take rivalry too far, or is some other motive at play?
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DEATH OF AN IRISH COFFEE DRINKER by LEE HOLLIS
As owner of Bar Harbor’s hottest new restaurant, Hayley Powell offers to cater the after-party for popular comedian Jefferson O’Keefe, who’s playing his old hometown for St. Patrick’s Day. But it’s no laughing matter when Jefferson keels over after gulping down his post-show Irish coffee, leaving Hayley to figure out who decided this joker had gone too far . . .
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PERKED UP by BARBARA ROSS
It’s a snowy St. Patrick’s Day in Busman’s Harbor. But when the power goes out, what better way for Julia Snowden to spend the evening than sharing local ghost stories—and Irish coffees—with friends and family? By the time the lights come back, they might even have solved the coldest case in town . . .
Release Date: Jan 24, 2023
Publisher:Â Kensington
Imprint:Â KensingtonÂ
Price: $9.99
Irish Coffee Murder is a collection of three novellas, all set around St. Patrick’s Day in Maine, and all using the theme of Irish Coffee. It’s interesting to see how each author uses that theme to create a unique story.
The first novella in the collection is Leslie Meier’s Irish Coffee Murder. The story features the main character from her full-length novels, Lucy Stone. Lucy is a reporter for Tinker Cove’s local newspaper and travels to Portland, Maine, to cover an Irish dance competition. There is plenty of drama between the dance moms throughout the competition, especially after a few too many Irish coffees! A few days later, one of the women is found dead in her home, and Lucy is on the case. This story starts out really good, and I really enjoyed the details about competitive Irish step dancing that are included. Unfortunately, things seem to veer off course instead of focusing on the investigation, and the resolution to the murder comes abruptly, taking away from the story as a whole.
The next novella is Death of An Irish Coffee Drinker by Lee Hollis. The main character is Hayley Powell and her good friend, Liddy, is excited to have booked hometown hero Jefferson O’Keefe for a comedy show on St. Patrick’s Day. Liddy mixes business with pleasure and seems to be rekindling an old romance with Jefferson. Liddy’s happiness is cut short when Jefferson is murdered during the performance, possibly from the Irish coffee he was served. Now it’s up to Hayley to find out who could have killed this up-and-coming star. I don’t care for the self-centered Liddy, whose demanding ways quickly become annoying. Luckily, Hayley’s character is very likable, and I enjoyed seeing how hard she works to find the murderer. I was ultimately surprised when the identity and motive of the killer were revealed. Mixed in with the narrative of the investigation are food blog columns by Hayley that include several tasty-sounding recipes.
The final novella in the book is Perked Up by Barbara Ross. Julia Snowden and her friend Zoey decide to spend a quiet night at home on St. Patrick’s Day. They are soon joined by Julia’s mother and an old family friend, George. There is a power outage, and as the night goes on, more friends and family join the gathering to drink Irish coffees and tell ghost stories. One of the stories is about a murder from 150 years ago, and each person has their own theory about what really happened. After the night comes to an end, Julia can’t let it go and continues to do research about this crime from long ago. It took me a little while to get into this story, but once I did, I was intrigued by this very cold case. When I was finished, I appreciated the author’s clever take on the theme, and this became my favorite story of the collection.
This book is great for fans of each author or as an introduction to the work of unfamiliar authors. Each story has its own strengths and weaknesses but overall is a fast, fun read to get ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
~ Christine
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