An interesting story set in a beautiful part of Ireland. An intriguing read with loads of characters and suspense.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

An excellent story, very well written and with a very interesting main character. The plot is good, but everything is a little too slow, and there are lots of characters to keep track of.

Benedicta "Ben" O'Keeffe is a solicitor in a small Irish village in County Donegal. The story is set right before Christmas, and everyone in the village is shocked when the local pub burns to the ground. Was it arson? If so, who was responsible? And then there is a murder, which is unnerving enough, but Ben has a nasty surprise when the man who killed her sister is released from prison and comes to town to taunt her. I really enjoyed this new series, and will definitely look for more books by this author. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a well written mystery with good suspense. The characters were well developed and the
storyline flowed smoothly. This is a book which I would recommend to others.

Thank you so much, Oceanview Publishing for my e-arc

A story set in a small town with complex characters and intriguing plot makes a very fascinating read. It kept me guessing from start to finish. If you’re into evocative and exhilarating story, this book is for you!

Holiday Season Fast Approaching....
Book three in the Inishowen Mystery series sees the holiday season fast approaching. An enjoyable, nicely plotted mystery with credible characters and a likeable protagonist in Ben. Atmosphere keeps pace throughout with a good sense of place. A worthy addition to the series.

This story takes place in the cold winter in Northern Ireland. It is wonderfully atmospheric. This is a good story and the characters are relatable. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

totally loved this one - it's part of a series about 'Ben' a lawyer - in this one conducting an illicit relationship with local cop - which everyone really does know about - and a well-depicted and conflicted barmaid - disappearances of crucial figures, and a mysterious arson attack - but the wonderful strong aspect are the characters - hints of previous escapades and events in Ben's life for example are going to make me find that first one where her sister dies - the killer by the way is out of prison in this one (it was deemed manslaughter I gather) - and that figures in too - really wonderful - I've read others of hers outside this series, but i'm glad to have come across this. excellent ... great read ...

The Well of Ice
“A cold—and terrifying—Christmas holiday on the Inishowen Peninsula.”

REVIEW ALERT!!

Thank you to Oceanview and NetGalley for this opportunity to read and review this book! This book will be released in November, so add it to your wishlist!!

This was a really good read. I finished this book in 2 days :) I had a hard time putting it down! I’m giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

This story follows Ben. She is a solicitor who lives in the beautiful Inishowen in Donegal. She is secretly dating the sergeant Molloy. On a trip to visit her parents, Ben runs in to what seems like an ex, who was just released from a ten year sentence after he was convicted of killing her sister Faye. Things start to unravel from there. In the town you meet so many different amazing characters from Abby and Ian to Maeve and Stan and Leah and Phyllis and Tony and Suzanne and Rosison and Carole. Everyone plays a major role in this story. Back in town, an explosion at the local pub where Carole works, explodes. After investigation they are convinced it was arson. Carole has now gone missing and everyone is convinced she started the fire, or something terrible happened to her. Ben starts to investigate herself and finds out some startling clues that tie everyone together. Then Caroles body is found. Ben and Molloy will spend the rest of the book putting the puzzle pieces together until they solve the mystery. I sort of expected who the “bad guy” was, because it was pretty obvious, but it still kept you guessing and on your toes! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a small town thriller!!

I received this book through the Read Now program from NetGalley. If you are into stories originating in Ireland this book is for you.

The story begins with "Ben" a solicitor trying to finish all of the open issues that she has before Christmas. She has one which will have her going to Derry to close on a Real Estate purchase. While there she runs into a former boyfriend who had been in prison for killing her sister. In addition one of the employees of "the Oak" was on the same plane that she was.

Later, after she returned to her town, a fire burned the pub. One of the last people that were seen there was the same individual who had flown to Derry. While the Guard was investigating the fire and trying to locate the girl from the pub, Ben and Molly (a Sgt. in the Guard), were taking a walk on Christmas Day when they discovered a body on the beach. This was the missing girl.

Eventually they were able to determine who had set the fire and also who had killed the pub girl. If you want to find out how Ben's former boyfriend comes into the investigation and who else was involved, then you must read this story.

The Well of Ice is a very well written mystery. Great plot and character development. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read and review this book.

With Christmas approaching, solicitor Benedicta “Ben” O’Keefe thinks life on the Inishowen Peninsula of Count Donegal is much better than the life she left many years ago. Her ‘secret’ relationship with the local policeman, Sergeant Molloy, is going well and business is good, leading up to a Christmas break. She lives in a town where everyone knows everything about each other, but where there are also dark secrets kept hidden in many of their lives.

When the popular, local pub burns to the ground overnight and one of the ‘bar maidens’ seems to have disappeared, Benedicta starts sleuthing around to see what she can discover. When people start telling her things that they don’t always tell the police, ‘Ben’ starts to solve the puzzle. An astonishing discovery on Christmas day puts a damper on the holiday and raises the importance of solving the case. When ‘Ben’s’ life is also put in danger, Molloy must try to protect his girl friend, as well as solve the ongoing mysteries.

Normally, I prefer having the police detective as the main character of a mystery, but this story is well written and the underlying web of mystery engages the reader to try and solve the case and discover who are the ‘bad guys’ and what they are up to as the plot enfolds.

The Well of Ice is the third in the Inishowen Mysteries series featuring lawyer Benedicta 'Ben' O’Keeffe, but it works as a stand-alone novel. Ben is trying to finish up a massive number of real estate sales before the Christmas holidays. In the midst of that stress, she learns that Luke Kirby, the man who killed her sister, has been released from prison after serving nine of the ten years he was sentenced to when his murder charges were downgraded to manslaughter.

In her home of Glendara, stress—beyond that of the typical holiday seasons—has burst out all around. The local pub, the Oak, has burned down. Carole, the bar mistress is missing. Then, Ben and Sgt. Tom Molloy, discover a body face down in the snow. In addition to these two big ticket items, a lot of smaller odd occurrences plague Ben: the poisoning of her cat Guinness, the loss of her wallet, and spying Luke Kirby on the streets of Dublin.

Over the course of the prior two novels, a romance has bloomed between Ben and Molloy, though they think they are keeping it under wraps. But she senses that Molloy is pulling away, and she’s beginning to regret trusting him with her heart.

Like most small towns, the exterior may be placid, but on the interior lurk secrets: covert relationships, bigamy and past indiscretions. All these camouflaged links may—or may not—tie into the murder and arson investigations.

Andrea Carter manages to create fully-articulated characters, especially the Agatha Christie-esque Ben, along with a particularly adept sense of location. I’ll have to backtrack and read the prior two novels.

A woman is found murdered in a small Irish town where secrets abound. A solicitor is worried that people will discover her relationship with a police detective but compared to the rest of the village her secret is small. There’s bigamy, spouses in prison and unrecognized bastard children to contend with. Add in the solicitor’s sister’s killer has been released from jail and is not adverse to taunting her. The story is so intricate the detective has to to explain what happened to the central character in the last several pages. And that to me is the major flaw in this book. It’s way overwritten, at least in my opinion. I know some readers will relish the way the author immersed them into village culture, but for me it just bogged me down.

It's the second book I read in this series which is becoming a favorite.
This a gripping and entertaining read that kept me hooked and guessing till the last pages.
The plot flows and I loved the dark atmosphere and the twists and turns in this series.
Ben and the other characters are all written and likable. The setting is as lovely as usual and made me wish to visit the area.
The mystery is solid, full of red herrings and turns, and the solution came as a surprise.
I can't wait to read the next installment, this one is highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

THE WELL IN THE ICE by Andrea Carter, 2020

“It always amazes me how any version of the same story can circulate in a small town.”

If you love an Irish mystery - and who doesn’t? You’ll enjoy this story given to us from across the Isle.

Our local solicitor, Sarah Benedicta “Ben” O’Keeffe is trying to keep her budding romance with Garda Sargent Molloy hidden in the tight-knit community. Who does she think she’s fooling? Everyone suspects but nothing is confirmed.

Ben is running away from her past. She moved to the small town to start anew. Can she reinvent herself? Can anyone? Her sister was murdered 10 years earlier by Luke Kirby, found guilty of manslaughter and just released from prison. Is he near by? Can she feel him?

A fire burns down the heart of the town, the local pub called THE OAK. We are guessing at who the arsonist is. Carole, the barmaid left in charge that night, has gone missing. She’s left her husband and two young sons alone. Could she have set the building ablaze? But where is she now?

Arson Suspects? Murder Suspects? Many possibilities slosh around this burg:

George, the husband, always look at the husband first.
Tony, the widower, who owns THE OAK.
Stan, the renter who lived above the pub and complained about the noise.
Eddie, the brother of Carole. Surely he wouldn’t have harmed his own sister?
Abby, Roisin, Emma, Pat, Dominic, Ronan, Ian?

The full range of small town characters compete with the challenging weather conditions to create a swirling, intriguing, engaging whodunit. A cat named Guinness and a border collie named Fred add to the long list of two-legged villagers. Maeve, the area veterinarian, and Phyllis Kettles, owner of the local bookstore, are Ben’s closest confidantes. Raise a glass with good mates and enjoy solving the riddles presented by Andrea Carter.

This Irish community keeps the pages turning...who is the guilty party? The title suggests the weather may be a bit chilly in this haven so best take a warm sweater, Wellies and a slicker!

(This review will be posted on Underratedreads.com in future)

First time reading one of the Inishowen mysteries by Andrea Carter, and definitely won't be the last. Even though this is book 6 in a series, I had no trouble getting to know the characters and the locale. Intriguing mystery with lots of intersecting threads!

I received a copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I had already read the first in this series and was on the lookout for more by Andrea Carter as I did enjoy the world of the Inishowen Mysteries. This is the third in the series and Ben’s legal practice in the town seems well established and her relationship with the Sergeant, Molloy is at least on somewhat solid ground. The town and Ben are shaken by a series of acts, the pub burns to the ground, a barmaid and mother disappears, and the man who is responsible for Ben’s sister’s death is released from prison. The story includes several of the members of the community and connections to the past as it unfolds.

A definite sense of menace and foreboding is developed in the story along with feelings of isolation due to both weather and location. An intriguing mystery with a well developed sense of place. I would definitely read another in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the eARC.
It's bitterly cold and snowing in Glendara, Ireland and Ben (Benedicta) O'Keefe and her assistant are extremely busy, trying to finish up before Christmas.
On a business trip to Dublin she also plans to visit her parents, but before she gets there she has a terrible shock: Luke Kirby, her former lover who murdered her sister and is now out of jail, intercepts her and she has an ominous feeling that he will not leave her alone.
When she gets back home, Glendara's beloved and only pub, The Oak, has been burned down and the barmaid is missing. When on a walk with a friend's dog, Ben and her lover, Sergeant Tom Malloy, find Carole's body, strangled.
This is the third in a series my first foray into it. I enjoyed it a lot, I liked Ben, her cat Guinness and many of the other characters, plus the sense of place was atmospheric. It would probably have been better to have read the previous books, but there's enough background info to make it an easy standalone. Definitely recommended.