Murder in Connemara

Murder in Connemara by Carlene O’Connor is the 2nd A Home to Ireland Mystery. It can be read as a standalone, but I believe readers will have a better understanding of Tara if they read Murder in Galway first. I enjoyed the beautiful descriptions of Ireland, the architecture, and the items in Tara’s shop. The author really brought the Irish countryside to life for me. Tara Meehan is a character that I am not sure that I like yet. Tara’s behavior and attitude bothered me at times. I really did not like her thoughts about the Garda (she thinks they are stupid). Tara is one of those people who will do what they want even if it gets in the way of others completing their job. The mystery has quite a few suspects. The author tried to the whodunit complicated, but the resolution was easy to suss out. The apparent clues made it a cinch to solve. The why is also not a challenge to figure out. I did not like Tara mucking up crime scenes (she is giving amateur sleuths a bad name). I got fed up with suspects arguing (I ended up skimming through some areas). Tara tended to go off on tangents at times that took her away from her goal. There are some quirky characters in this series including Tara’s uncle and the psychic, Rose. I loved little Savage with this adorable collar. I wanted to like Murder in Connemara, but I just did not find it that appealing. Murder in Connemara transports readers to Ireland in this cozy mystery with the sweet Savage, amends gone awry, a prophetic psychic, a forceful woman, business license tribulations, and a problematic photo.