I enjoyed this story with all the characters within. The main character was Rayne McGrath.

Rayne McGrath is a bridalwear designer. On her thirtieth birthday she is to meet up with her fiance and have lunch with him. But he doesn't show up. When he doesn't show up she calls and go looking for him. What she finds out surprise her a lot. Because now she not sure what to do. She also finds out that her uncle has pasted and he has left her something. But if she wants it. She must go to Ireland.

This was a fun story to read. It had action, adventure and suspense throughout. It had a few giggles within. It was fun trying to solve the mystery within.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

This was such an enjoyable cozy mystery. I loved the narration and setting of this audiobook. I will definitely be picking up more works from this author.

Murder at an Irish Castle was not what I was expecting...I thought it would be more of a mystery and that would be the central story. It is a part of the story, but really the novel centers around trying to save a castle before it falls into financial ruin. It is a bit fluffy, with lots of emphasis on clothes, make-up, and looks.

The narrator is fine, and does a nice job with different accents.

It was easy to follow but if you want a hard hitting mystery, I'd look somewhere else.

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Such a fun cozy read! When I saw that this was the first installment of a new cozy mystery series set in Ireland I was all in! I surely wasn't disappointed. The characters were charming and developed really well. The only critique I had at the beginning to middle of the book was that I found the main character a bit annoying and materialistic. However, this seemed to ease through the book. I plan on definitely picking up the 2nd book when it is released!

Great start to a new series! 4 stars!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I have to say that I was not impressed with the main character. She came off as shallow and unlikable. My opinion of her did not change much as I listened. I did like the story. I am hoping to read/listen to the next one. I want to know what happens next!

Murder at an Irish Castle is book #1 in the Irish Castle Mystery series by Ellie Brannigan.

LA bridal designer Rayne McGrath got a nasty surprise on her 30th birthday. Then she had to fly to Ireland to find out she inherited the family castle. The inheritance came with caveats she isn’t sure she can live with.

I listened to the audio version and I enjoyed the narration. I almost quit part way through because the 2 main characters, Rayne and Ciara, were not very pleasant. Rayne was an obnoxious American who had an attitude and Ciara had a huge chip on her shoulder. The other characters seemed likable enough. Blarney, the dog, was my favorite. As the story went on, it got better. I enjoyed Rayne’s idea for reviving the castle. The mystery regarding her Uncle Nevin’s death seemed pretty much on the back-burner most of the time. I look forward to the next book to see how things are developing at the castle.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Murder at an Irish Castle is the first in the Irish Castle Mystery Series by Ellie Brannigan. This book opens with protagonist, Rayne McGrath, celebrating her 30th birthday. Her birthday is filled with a couple of not so nice surprises. The first surprise comes when she discovers that her boyfriend and business partner has absconded with all of the money that was in the business bank account as well as the wedding dresses that she has designed for the business. The second is a letter informing her of the death of her uncle in Ireland and a request that she travel to Ireland for the reading of his will. Upon her arrival, she is stunned to find out that her uncle had an illegitimate daughter and that he has left his castle estate to Rayne on the condition that she remain in Ireland and manage the castle for a period of at least one year, with her cousin's help. It is also soon discovered that her uncle's death may not have been the accident that was initially presumed.

Even though this book is a first in series, the author does an excellent job of creating the history of the characters and quickly builds on that to bring forth an engaging story that thrives on the conflicts that are inherent when there are secrets and distance within a family structure. By giving the main characters in this book a conflicted relationship beginning, the author has built in an underlying tension that can further be utilized to ultimately strengthen the bonds as the characters overcome the obstacles placed in their path and force them to better work together. I found the struggles and challenges of the characters to be quite realistic and kept my interest as they found the solutions to not only the dynamics of their relationships but also their ability to work together to resolve the murder and bring the culprits to justice.

The narrator on this audiobook has done an excellent job of creating unique voices for each of the characters, including meeting the challenge of appropriate accents for characters from different areas of the world. The additional inflections that she places during the connecting narration quickly engages the listener and maintains the interest throughout.

I received an ARC of this audiobook from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media and am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a great murder mystery set in Ireland. There is love, hate, and a dog, what more could you ask for! I thought this was an easy read that kept me engaged and interested until the very end. Although it reminded me of a Hallmark Murder & Mysteries movie, I did thoroughly enjoy it. The narrator is an easy voice to listen to. 10/10 would recommend this book!

This book was a great start to a new series. Well developed characters, difficult individuals, an Irish castle, and you’ve got a great read! The mystery slowly develops and by the time you realize there really was a murder, you’re hooked. And the culprit took me by surprise. I also enjoyed the background story of Rayne’s business partner/potential fiancé’s absconding with the money and custom wedding gowns. I really like Rayne and her ability and willingness to do what it takes to save the castle. I look forward to visiting Ireland again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

The narration in this book is engrossing. This is a fun cozy mystery set in Ireland. The characters are relatable and the reader is interested in the elements of the mystery. While it is a fun, comforting read, it is not a stand out in the genre. Very enjoyable.

This book was really good! I liked the characters too. I hope to read more by this author soon!
I liked the setting too and the style of the author.

I really loved this first book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

Featured on the February issue of The Cozy Corner on Fresh Fiction: It's a Dog's Day: https://blog.freshfiction.com/kym-roberts-cozy-corner-its-a-dogs-day/


Rodeo Drive bridal gown designer Rayne McGrath has inherited an Irish castle! If that isn’t a fairy tale, I don’t know what is—except fairy tales have evil step-mothers or at least an overbearing half-cousin in Rayne’s case. The pesky relative who should have inherited it all isn’t happy about her father leaving everything to Rayne, and now she’s a pain in Rayne’s side along with the lovable, adorable red setter named Blarney who can make every hour an adventure of mud and muck. To make matters worse, there’s a town—an actual freaking town—dependent on Rayne to turn the estate’s financial affairs around or they’ll all be out of their homes faster than Rayne can salvage her own failing business and catch her errant embezzling business partner/ fiancé.
Yet when the accidental death of Rayne’s uncle appears to be more purposeful than fluke, Rayne decides to take on the Irish countryside full of sheep and find out who wanted the real owner of the castle dead. To complete the cozy atmosphere, you can’t forget the love interest, after all, even a jilted bride needs to know there are good men out there—and Amos fills out his pants in a rather enticing manner—sorry people, but after watching Bridgerton, a lot of us love the idea of the male thighs filling out tight pants. (It’s better than baggy pants that reveal absolutely nothing!) And that’s enough for our jilted bride in the first book. Rayne’s not dead, she’s thirty and thriving, but possibly bleeding responsibility—to her clients back home and her new found relatives and friends in Ireland. Thank goodness Blarney is there to warm her heart—another good dog;)
Ellie Brannigan (Traci Hall) has done a terrific job of starting a brand new series and giving Rayne and her readers an entire village to raise. It’s a bonafide winner with a taste of Blarney.

I shouldn't have been surprised how much I enjoyed this one, as it is a favorite cozy author writing under another name. Lots going on in the plot, but it all comes together. Lots of people to keep up with here but again it all comes together. I really like the core group and their focus on saving the "castle" and the town. And I was surprised by the ending. (Oh and there is a fantastic dog in this one, see the cover!) The audio performance adds to the experience with the different accents, etc.

I loved listening to this book by Ellie Brannigan! The narrator did a wonderful job with the accents and made me feel like I was right there in Ireland. I enjoyed the plot. There was good character development between the cousins and the other characters. Great read!

I am a sucker for cozy mysteries; this one was new to me, author!
Rayne seems to be living the dream of living in LA and making high-end scale wedding dresses; however, that dream comes crashing down. She is without a fiance and is broke. Then she has the phone call no one wants to hear. She has to go to Ireland because her uncle had an accident and he died. While Ireland and the people in Ireland seemed to be in her rearview mirror, now she must see people she has not seen or interacted with since she was a kid.
Now she firmly believes that a murder occurred at the hospital, and she has a mystery to solve. I enjoyed the castle and hoped to see more of the castle in future books.
This is an excellent cozy mystery, and the characters are fun!
I listened to the audiobook and liked hearing the names instead of guessing how to pronounce them. The narrator did a fantastic job; I can't recommend it enough! I am excited to read more from this series, and I hope the MC will get to renovate the castle; that would be awesome!
Thank you, Dreamscape Media and Netgalley, for the exciting adventure and mystery!

Murder at an Irish Castle is such a fun, cozy mystery! I hope we get more of the same from new author Ellie Brannigan.

Brannigan really sets the stage in this colorful tale. Between the historic castle and the charming rural folks, Rayne's penchant for fashion and personal grooming, and the tiff between Rayne and her cousin, I was charmed by the way this story unfolded.

Traci Odom delivers a wonderful performance in the audio edition of Murder at an Irish Castle. Flowing between all the different Irish accents as well as Rayne's American one, I was impressed with Odom's skill as a narrator. Nicely done.

Great series starter, excellent narrator, and left me wanting more in addition to some lemon shortbread. This is a new twist on the SoCal city mouse meets the Irish country mouse to solve a murder.
This cozy starts with the worst birthday, EVER! Poor Rayne McGrath, just turned 30 and within 24 hours is hit with a one-two punch as she learns that her partner/boyfriend/maybe fiancé has stolen her business (literally), emptied the bank account and disappeared. On top of all that Rayne learns that her Uncle, the brother of her beloved but deceased Dad, has passed away and her presence is requested in Ireland for the reading of the will. How can she possibly leave when her life is in chaos? Rayne’s TV star mom, encourages her to take some time and pay her respects, after all she hadn’t been to Ireland since right before her father passed away and it would be good to go. Rayne learns that she is now the Lady of the Manor, has a newly discovered cousin Ciara, and a town and farm that is in debt. Rayne gets the manor and all that entails while Ciara, gets to be the manager of the estate (no hard feelings there, right) and they have one year to get things in the black. What does a posh, hoity-toity, wedding dress designer know about running an estate that the entire town relies on and looks to for support? Not to mention that Uncle Nevin might not have just died of a heart condition. Ciara believes that the death is natural is completely rawmaish (not true) and there are plenty of suspects to question. The only person who couldn’t have possibly been involved was Rayne. Cousin Ciara is none too shy in expressing her thoughts about how much useful, Jimmy Choo wearing, Rayne is going to be. Rayne isn’t sure herself but you can just feel her determination leap from the pages. Beverly Hills Bridal Boutique owner to Lady of the Manor, and boy does she have some ideas that just might save the day and with the help of her cousin, they just might solve the crime. I am definitely looking forward to the next Irish Castle Mystery.

I really enjoyed this light mystery and hope to continue in the series. My rating 4.25.

Rayne is a Rodeo Drive bridalwear designer and business owner. She is eager to celebrate her 30th birthday with her partner, along with a possible loan for business growth, and maybe even an engagement ring. Instead, she ends up without a fiancé and without inventory. Flat broke she is off to Ireland (tickets paid by her mother) to respond to a lawyer's call that her uncle has died, and she is to appear for the reading of the Will. Rayne is surprised to learn that she has inherited the declining family castle, with its handful of employees and surrounding village to care for. More alarmingly, she has to stay for a year and turn the castle into a profitable endeavor. And this has to be done with her newly met and very bitter and antagonistic cousin, Ciara, as manager.

As though Rayne doesn’t have enough to digest and deal with, Ciara, an illegitimate daughter, is convinced that her father was murdered rather than dying in a tractor accident. Rayne begins to juggle the issues of a deteriorating castle and needs to locate her Uncle’s bookkeeping records to find out the true state of affairs. It isn’t pretty. But it also leads to s mysterious list that makes her agree with Ciara that her Uncle was murdered. Now the at-odds cousins need to work together to figure out who had motive and opportunity. Lucky for Rayne, her Uncle’s young, untrained dog has some clues to share.

I enjoyed the mix of distinct characters, and the quiet persistence Rayne employs to face the problems before her. The local detective seems to be one step behind but Rayne uncovers the clues bit by bit. I picked this story for the dog on the cover, the castle and Irish setting. I was totally satisfied by the mystery with its twists and turns. I do hope there will be more in the series. I recommend this to fans of easy mystery.

Audio Notes: Traci Odom does a fine job with the narration. I liked her voices for the different characters and she carried the tone and energy of the book. The narration added to my enjoyment of the story.

Source: Netgalley for an honest review.

This book was a delightful trip to an old Irish Castle. If Downton Abbey was set in modern times and involved solving a murder, this would be it. The cast of characters is fun and diverse, and the mystery is cozy.

I hope that this becomes a series, because the town and the new business could set up for all sorts of possibilities.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.