Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.
Death at an Irish Wedding
An Irish Castle Mystery
Ellie Brannigan
Crooked Lane Books
This is the second book in the Irish Castle Mystery series and every bit as enjoyable as the series starter. I have read mysteries with wedding drama, or upper crust drama, or Hollywood drama, but this is the first time that I have seen all three wrapped up in a single book. This is book two of the Irish Castle Mysteries and the cousins Rayne and Ciara need to make the wedding venue idea work or lose the family estate, which means the town gets annexed into the next town over. A unique aspect of this story is that Rayne is an amazing wedding dress designer who’s boutique catered to the Rodeo Drive crowd until…(read Murder at an Irish Castle). Suffice it to say that she knows a few things about fancy‑shmancy and all things designer, but a working castle with sheep and such, well that is another thing all together. The funny bit about this situation is that Ciara knows the workings of the castle and taking care of what needs to be done but she is as fancy as a bowl of porridge. This is a wedding for the tabloids, that is, it would be if anyone knew it was taking place. Why all the secrecy?
There are some unique characters for suspects including the bride, hotel heiress Tori Montgomery, who doesn’t really seem to like her own movie starlet maid-of- honor, Amy Flores. Animosity amongst the players seems par for course because Amy barely tolerates her own PA (personal assistant), Tiffany Quick. The groom, Hollywood heartthrob, Jake Anderson gets along with everyone, but his brother Josh can be a bit much sometimes and to round out the out of town suspects is Jake’s personal assistant, Ethan Cruz, who keeps reminding Jake that he is supposed to appear available per his Hollywood contract. So why did Tiffany and up dead and could it have been a local? The visitors seem to be completely at odds with each other. Not unlike Rayne being at odds with a few of the locals, like Bran Wilson, plumbing contractor for the estate has been spreading some nasty gossip about the estate and the murder for no good reason, as if he wants to sabotage the girls’ efforts. Gossip doesn’t seem to be the only form of sabotage, when a Swarovski crystal heart disappears from Tori’s wedding dress and Rayne has to do some quick thinking and fast stitching to save the day.
The plot was so well crafted that I
couldn’t put the book down. From the Irish accents of my imagination to the
description of the beyond amazing wedding dress with hand adorned Swarovski crystal
hearts that almost didn’t fit the bride, I felt completely immersed in the
story. I am already invested in Rayne’s possible relationship with Amos Lowell,
the ground’s manager. Rayne says she doesn’t have time for a relationship and
is not about to start trusting herself after her last relationship fiasco. I
look forward to the next book and to see what Ellie Brannigan has in store for
the cousins and if Rayne is going to get to keep the pretty pink Hermes bag
instead of selling it to cover estate costs.
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