Murder at an Irish Bakery (Irish Village Mystery #9)

by Carlene O'Connor

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Return to the Irish countryside of the Village Mystery series with a cozy police procedural set around a baking competition that goes horribly wrong. With a contestant dead and a complex list of suspects, the timer is ticking before more contestants get burned … or murdered.

In a book perfect for fans of Sheila Connolly and Donna Leon, the USA Today bestselling author returns readers to County Cork in Ireland’s lush countryside, where locals are simmering with excitement over the reality TV baking contest coming to town —until someone serves up a show-stopping murder that only Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan can solve.

“Distinctive, captivating characters match a gripping plot full of surprises. O’Connor reinforces her place among the top rank of cozy writers.” – Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

In Kilbane, opinions are plentiful and rarely in alignment. But there’s one thing everyone does agree on—the bakery in the old flour mill, just outside town, is the best in County Cork, well worth the short drive and the long lines. No wonder they’re about to be featured on a reality baking show.

All six contestants in the show are coming to Kilbane to participate, and the town is simmering with excitement. Aside from munching on free samples, the locals—including Siobhan—get a chance to appear in the opening shots. As for the competitors themselves, not all are as sweet as their confections. There are shenanigans on the first day of filming that put everyone on edge, but that’s nothing compared to day two, when the first round ends and the top contestant is found face-down in her signature pie.

The producers decide to continue filming while Siobhan and her husband, Garda Macdara Flannery, sift through the suspects. Was this a case of rivalry turned lethal, or are their other motives hidden in the mix? And can they uncover the truth before another baker is eliminated—permanently . . .

“Plenty of likely prospects and an endless supply of sweet treats brighten the path to the solution.” – Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496730817
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	02/21/2023
Series:	Irish Village Mystery Series , #9
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	113,703
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Carlene O’Connor is the USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed Irish Village Mysteries, the County Kerry Novels, and the Home to Ireland Mysteries. Born into a long line of Irish storytellers, her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland filled with tales in 1897 and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places she’s wandered across the pond, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork, the setting of her Irish Village Mystery series. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and currently divides her time between New Mexico and the Emerald Isle. Please visit her online at CarleneOConnor.net.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/30/2023

At the start of O’Connor’s excellent ninth Irish Village mystery (after 2022’s Murder on an Irish Farm), a protester shouts, “Join the health revolution. Sugar is not your friend,” outside Pie Pie Love, “Kilbane’s best bakery housed in a historic flour mill,” where a reality baking show is about to be filmed over the coming week. “Neither is noise-pollution before coffee,” thinks garda Siobhán O’Sullivan, who’s part of the security team for the show. The anti-sugar protestor collapses, possibly from an allergic reaction, after one of the contestants, Aoife McBride (aka “the Queen baker of Ireland”), puts makeup on his face for the camera. Later, a representative of the show’s anonymous sponsor creates complications by providing the contestants with what he calls “secret weapons,” which could be “a special ingredient, a new piece of equipment, or a coveted recipe.” When one of the contestants dies under mysterious circumstances, Siobhán investigates, even as the show must go on. Distinctive, captivating characters match a gripping plot full of surprises. O’Connor reinforces her place among the top rank of cozy writers. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for the Irish Village Mystery Series

“Outstanding…O’Connor reinforces her place as the queen of the cozy police procedural.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW for Murder in An Irish Bookshop
 
“A fun read for those who enjoy a cosy mystery.” —Toronto.com on Murder in An Irish Bookshop
 
“A charming combination of Christmas cheer, Irish customs, and a mystery awash in red herrings.” —Kirkus Reviews on Murder at An Irish Christmas
 
“Murder at an Irish Christmas has elements of a police procedural that add more detail, atmosphere, and humor than are often found in the cozy subgenre.” —Christian Science Monitor on Murder at An Irish Christmas
 
“Fully realized characters enhance this skillfully plotted tale as it builds to a twist ending. This seasonal Irish treat is sure to please cozy fans.” —Publishers Weekly on Murder at An Irish Christmas

“Exceptional…Cozy readers will have a hard time putting this one down.” —Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW for Murder in An Irish Cottage
 
“A good-old fashioned finale in which the killer is exposed at a gathering of all the suspects closes this eerie tale with a bang.” —BookPage on Murder in An Irish Cottage
 
“[An] atmospheric story filled with Irish superstitions, legends, and colorful characters. Vivid descriptions of the countryside will appeal to lovers of Ireland.” —Library Journal on Murder in An Irish Cottage

“Delivered with a healthy dose of rural Irish charm…along with a lyrical narrative and a fantastic setting.” —Mystery Scene Magazine on Murder in An Irish Cottage
 
“Carlene O’Connor has continued to evolve the storylines of each of her characters into people that are likeable and engaging. She has done an outstanding job of crafting distraction and misdirection that is essential to any successful murder mystery. As the plot unfolds in this current tale, there are loads of twists and turns that keeps the reader riveted to their seats, guessing whodunit until the very end.” —New York Journal of Books on Murder in An Irish Pub
 
“Plenty of surprising twists and oodles of Irish charm make this an entertaining read.” —Kirkus Reviews on Murder in An Irish Pub
 
“A delightful combination of Irish village life, family dynamics, and romance.” —Booklist on Murder in An Irish Pub
 
“A clever twist on the locked-room mystery and the convivial village community will leave cozy readers well satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly on Murder in An Irish Pub
 
“The intricate puzzle and continuing Irish atmosphere make this the series’ best to date.” —Kirkus Reviews on Murder in An Irish Pub
 
“The main protagonist, an Irish Nancy Drew, Siobhan is an endearing, maternal woman whose love of her orphaned siblings and her man are evident and whose gut-instinct-driven, crime-solving, puzzle-unraveling mind is quite impressive. She makes an excellent star of the show and her likable fellow Garda boyfriend boss Macdara makes a perfect sidekick.” —Mystery Scene on Murder in An Irish Pub
 
“A delightful read that put me right into the atmosphere and locale.” —Criminal Element on Murder in An Irish Pub
 
“Carlene O’Connor is a wonderful storyteller.” —Newport Plain Talk on Murder in An Irish Pub

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2023

Ireland's best bakers gather at the historic flour mill in Kilbane to compete in a bake-off. Garda Siobhan O'Sullivan considers herself lucky. Maybe she can sample treats while having easy duty providing security. But before the competition opens, there's trouble. There's a protestor outside shouting that sugar is poison, trying to shut down the show. Soon after the queen of Irish bakers, Aoife McBride, appears to powder the protestor's face for the cameras, the young man collapses. Siobhan suspects poisoning, but the show must go on. The protestor is rushed to the hospital, and filming begins with a full slate of excellent bakers and judges who play up the rivalries. Then the anonymous sponsor sends in a lawyer with secret twists for the competitors. Siobhan is horrified when those twists are nasty, and one ends in death for a baker. Something sinister and coordinated is happening right under Siobhan's nose, and it's up to her and the other garda to set a sweet trap for a mastermind. VERDICT Siobhan and her Garda husband Macdara Flannery add humor and zest to this follow-up to Murder on an Irish Farm. Fans of competitive baking shows or Amy Patricia Meade's cozy mysteries will enjoy it.—Lesa Holstine

Library Journal

2022-12-24
A sweet assignment turns sour for dessert-loving Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan.

A bakery housed in a small-town flour mill is hosting a TV baking competition being funded by an anonymous benefactor and featuring famous Irish baker Aoife McBride, who recently had a “freak-out” at a Fan Club Appreciation Day. The show gets off to a rocky start when a man chanting “Sugar kills!” gets his sweaty nose powdered by Aoife, who says she only wants to help him look better on TV; shortly afterward, he has some kind of attack that sends him to the hospital. Once the show starts filming, the hosts seem intent on setting the bakers against each other. The protestor’s death in the hospital prompts an investigation as William Bains, a closemouthed solicitor who represents the anonymous funder, arrives with messages and packages containing secret weapons to help with the next round. After four hours in which contestants are free to bake whatever they want, some masterpieces emerge, but so does the dead body of Aoife, facedown in a cherry pie. Two accidental deaths seem a bit much, and the solicitor, who might have provided answers, has vanished. Siobhán’s husband, DS Macdara Flannery, who’s even more addicted to sweets than she is, takes over the case. The show goes on, if only to keep all the suspects in town while the married sleuths look to the past and present for motives.

Plenty of likely prospects and an endless supply of sweet treats brighten the path to the solution.

Kirkus Reviews