This mystery book is my first acquaintance with the author, it’s the fourth instalment in a series of five.

Murder at Greysbridge is today’s version of a true Agatha Christie crime novel, complete with an eerie, secretive old country home, quirky guests, an isolated island, and of course… murder…

I have been a big fan of Agatha Christie’s crime novels since childhood, and when a crime novel claims to be written like the ones written during that golden age of crime fiction, I go bananas. :)

Well, this crime fiction mystery didn’t disappoint at all. In fact, I was immediately immersed in the story, loved the detailed description of the area, and wholeheartedly enjoyed the friendly bantering between the various characters.

This crime mystery closely resembles a real Christie : a gathering of guests who all seem to have their own agenda, an old country home, and of course, there must be murder…
Loved it, and highly recommended it, and not just for Christie fans.
This was my first introduction to the author and the series, will pick up the other editions of the series.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

The fourth book in the Inishowen Mystery series featuring Solicitor Ben O'Keefe. A dark family history follows the Grey family as they purchase the ancestral family home which was lost in a card game decades earlier. Hoping to open the expansive home and gardens for weddings and catered social events the first wedding becomes a disastrous affair with the death of two guests. Is it a coincidence or is someone planning these murders? Ben is a guest at the wedding and notices tensions between the guests and family members alike. When the doctor she has begun dating and her old flame Molloy end up at the wedding too, Ben becomes confused as to her real feelings for each of them. Cleverly tying in the old Grey family's history with quirky and distrustful islanders, Carter creates another mystery that carries the reader along and keeps them guessing until the final pages. Readers who have read the previous books in the series will have an easier time identifying the characters which are mentioned in this book but who do not have an active role in this story.

Dripping with atmosphere, this entrancing book is set in beautiful Ireland. Think creepy hotel, island, cast of quirky characters and murder. A double dose of it.

Solicitor Ben O'Keeffe attends her assistant's wedding on a secluded Irish island. The venue, a hotel resplendent with secrets, is the perfect romantic setting with beautiful gardens and sea views. The food is excellent. But the secrets are not pleasant, as the guests quickly discover. Sink or swim.

Sergeant Tom Molloy shows up which causes ripples. He and Ben investigate as their professional cases have links and their paths have crossed before.

The Irish slant really intrigued me. I could envision the setting! However, I believe there were so many secrets which could have been capitalized on more than they were. Some aspects were a wee bit over the top. Three other books precede this one in the series as well. If you are looking for something slightly different, you will likely enjoy this. There is some adult language.

My sincere thank you to Oceanview Publishing and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this suspenseful book!

I enjoyed this book in general. As with this kind of book, the house was as much of a character as any human being. The sense of isolation and being haunted was very much at the forefront. I hadn't read the previous books in the series so, although I was told that wouldn't be a problem, I did find that I was missing a lot of crucial information. I would recommend reading this out of order.

I was especially interested by the island people who were equal parts isolationists and capitalists. I do think the twist in the story was a bit far-fetched, but not so much as to put me off the book.

Overall, I would recommend this to someone who likes atmospheric mysteries.

Murder at Greysbridge by Andrea Carter

#seventyeighthbookof2021 #arc

CW: murder, death, drowning, poisoning, discussion of electroshock therapy

This is the fourth in a series called the Inishowen Murder Series, which I didn’t realize until I was about to start reading. Turns out this was published in Great Britain in 2018 and there are already two more books after it, but this is a new edition by a Florida publisher. You don’t need to read the first books in the series unless you want more detail about the main character’s personal life, which by the end, I did! So I will probably go back to catch up, considering how this one ends!

Benedicta (Ben) O’Keeffe is a solicitor in Ireland who goes to a wedding where someone dies. She is brought along in the investigation as it gets more and more complicated, and she ends up working with an investigator colleague-slash-former boyfriend to unravel the mystery. Add in a possibly haunted house, standoffish islanders, missing teens, and a generations ago family scandal, and you have yourself a very engaging story. I found the mystery interesting and I enjoyed the way all of the threads came together at the end. I also felt that the setting really came alive in the descriptions and I found myself googling the locations for more information.

Thank you to #@netgalley and @oceanviewpub for the advance copy. (Pub date 11/2/21)

If you're looking for a well-written, enjoyable series with a bit out-of-the-ordinary setting and characters, may I suggest this one? This is the fourth book in the Inishowen Mysteries series, and I previously read the third ("The Well of Ice"). Both are very entertaining and can stand well alone, though as is my custom, I advise starting any new series at the beginning.

It seems to me I actually like this one a titch better than the third, although it's easy to chalk a big part of that up to being familiar with at least the two main characters. The primary focus is on Benedicta "Ben" O'Keeffe, a solicitor (lawyer) in Glendara, Inishowen, Ireland. As this begins, her romance with police officer Tom Molloy seems to have ended - he left without much explanation, much to her disappointment. She and local veterinarian Harry Dubois are an item, although Ben doesn't seem all that enthusiastic about him. Besides, she's been offered a job in Florida, so maybe now isn't the time to get too serious.

Ben runs O'Keefe & Co. Solicitors in Glendara, and she's off to attend the wedding of her friend and office colleague, Leah. The ceremony and reception is being held at Greysbridge, a storied manor that was purchased and renovated by a member of the original family (and the owners are Ben's clients). It's a beautiful place, but rumor has it that at least one ghost is a frequent unregistered guest - as Ben suspects may be true when she beds down for her first night there. She and Leah also come across some odd features that apparently were added to the house but now are totally sealed off.

The ceremony goes along swimmingly until a young American who has an interest in the property's history appears to have done likewise; problem is, he never learned how. Despite attempts to revive him by Dr. Harry and others, he's a goner. But he's not the last to bite the dust; a second man - another history lover who wants to bring the story to the world, also turns up dead in his room. This time, it's clear that foul play was involved, leading to the suspicion that the young man's death wasn't an accident. And what to Ben's wandering eye should appear but - you guessed it - her ex-lover Molloy, who's come to investigate.

Thrown in the mix are a suspicious gardener, a couple of errant teenage lovers who go missing (with, of course, Ben trying to track them down) and assorted family members, some of whom are reclusives from a nearby island who don't play well with others. Solving the murders is the real focus, though, and that takes Ben and Molloy to the strange island of Inishathair with the hope of returning intact. Like its predecessor, this book has a cast of thousands - yes, I exaggerate - making it a bit of a chore to keep everyone straight. Things work out in the end as well they should, but a couple of ends remain loose (such as the status of Ben's relationships with Molloy and the good doctor). Now I'm ready for the next one, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. An-mhaith!

A complex plot with a cast of colorful characters. A beautiful setting on the breathtaking coast of Ireland. A creepy, and possibly haunted, old house. A wedding, two murders, and a historical mystery. A local solicitor turned amateur sleuth. Andrea Carter's fourth novel in her Inishowen Mysteries series gave me a real puzzle to try to figure out and a bright, likable protagonist in Benedicta "Ben" O'Keeffe. I enjoyed this book, a cerebral whodunnit, which has an Agatha Christie vibe rather than being graphically violent. It had a lot of moving parts and kept me guessing. Although number four in the series, it works as a stand-alone, and I had no trouble following along, though I plan to go back and read the rest of this series as I want more of Ben and her world. I'm also looking forward to the next installment to see what love and life choices Ben will make. I am so happy to have been introduced to Carter and her work, as I love a good, well-written mystery.

This is the latest in Andrea Carter's Irish Inishowen Mysteries series, set in County Donegal, featuring Benedicta 'Ben' O'Keeffe, a solicitor with a law practice in Glendara. It's a surprisingly sweltering summer, and Ben is mulling over taking up a post in Florida, she's involved with new local doctor, Harry Dubois from Canada, after Sergeant Tom Molloy left and contacted her less and less. However, before she makes decisions, she has a wedding to attend, her assistant Leah is marrying Kevin, whose family are from the small reclusive island community of Inishathair. The wedding is at Greysbridge Hotel, their first wedding, the owners, Ian and Abby were Ben's clients, it has a reputation for being haunted, by the ghost of Louisa Grey, the daughter of Linus, a powerful man with a seat in the House of Lords.

We see the return of a cast of supporting characters, Ben travels to the wedding with local vet, and bookstore owner, Phyllis Kettle, is the celebrant in colourful African dress presiding over her first wedding. Kevin's side of the family include his Aunt Belva, and his best man is Fridge, the islanders choosing to stay on their boats. The hotel has strange noises at night, and Ben, who is in Louisa's old room, can feel a strong presence that makes her feel distinctly uneasy. The wedding celebrations are marred by two deaths, the first in front of many wedding guests, a drowning, and another guest discovered dead in his room in suspicious circumstances. These deaths sees the return of Tom Molloy investigating, giving a cryptic explanation to Ben as to why he had not been in touch as he had been working a case covertly that he is not at liberty to talk about.

With Leah's younger sister going missing with her boyfriend, Finn, and the wife of one of the victims asking Ben to look at the papers of her husband, a man obsessed with and researching the Greybridge Hotel and the Grey family, Ben finds herself pitched into what might be two murders, suspecting that Tom is being less than forthcoming about what he knows. This is another engaging and entertaining addition to this wonderful Irish mystery series, Carter provides a terrific sense of location, and there is a possibility that Ben's relationship with Tom might be revived. I understand the series is being turned into a TV series, I can't wait to see it. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

When Ben attends the weekend wedding of her assistant Leah, she is expecting a nice relaxing time. Instead she finds an eerie house, strange behavior from the guests who insist on staying in their boats instead of in the haunted house, and unfortunately 2 dead bodies. Once again she is drawn into the mystery, desperately trying to discover the secrets of the old house, the family that used to live there, and how that connects to a present day. murder.

This was a great mystery that kept me guessing until the very end. Anytime I thought I had the story figured out and thought I knew where it was going there was a twist. The beginning and end seem like two different books since the story takes so many turns but not in a bad way. A wedding always has it's moments when something goes wrong but a murder you wouldn't expect. At first I didn't think the outsider guests would be important and then bam they are the ones that are integral to the story. It drops little character developments along the way as the story unfolds that you find out later are important to the mystery. How all the characters ended up being tied together by the end was great. And the love triangle between Ben, Molloy and the Doctor was a little side fun as she figures out what she wants. Even though I had not read the other books I was able to read this as stand alone. Thank you to Andrea Carter and Oceanview Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

A well woven plot in a country mansion during a wedding. The place setting and the atmospheric feel in the beginning piqued my interest and the past mystery added to the flavour. The conclusion felt sudden and disjointed to the main plot.

Benedicta O'Keeffe is a solicitor in a small town in Ireland. She is invited to a wedding at Greysbridge Hotel, which is reputed to be haunted, and some of the guests are decidedly odd. Then there are two deaths--were they both murders? Two teenagers disappear, and Ben's friend requests that she help search for them on a strange island near the Greysbridge Hotel. I think any mystery reader would enjoy not only the atmosphere created by the Irish seaside setting and the creepy hotel, but also the appealing characters and the twisty plot. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Greysbridge Hotel is the perfect location for Benedicta O'Keefe's assistant Leah's wedding. Being restored and consists of a private beach and a pier, these attractions seem fitting for the wedding festivities.

It is only when one of the visitors at the hotel, a young American man drowns in full view of the guests, the celebrations are cut short and the atmosphere has become dim. To make things worst, a second body was found and the event has now become a crime scene where all the guests are suspects.

Even more surprising is the entrance of Ben's ex-boyfriend Sergeant Tom Molloy. They both work together to solve the murders and discover various reasons why these two persons were murdered. However, Ben does not know that her ex-boyfriend is on a different mission to discover the conspiracy the islanders are hiding.

Ben O'Keefe is the solicitor for the Greys who owns the Hotel where the wedding is taking place. She is offerred a position to work in a law firm in America but is undecisive. She is good at investigating and knows her element.

Tom Molloy is Ben's ex-boyfriend, he was assigned a case that caused them both to lose touch and when they finally came into contact, there is a bit of awkwardness but talking about the case eases the tension between them.

Murder at Greysbridge began on a slow pace and developed into a great story. The details in the book were catching and it was an unexpecting ending. I thought the story would have ended differently since the beginning looked at the history of the Hotel and the previous owners.

I liked the concept of the story, it was different from most murder/mystery plots I read. I also liked the twist and unexpected turn of events. It was an interesting story.

Since this is the first book in the series I have read, I am interested in the previous books, Andrea Carter's novels have caught my attention and I would love to discover what other plots she has written.

I rate Murder at Greysbridge 4 out of 5 stars. The book was a good read and I would recommend it to mystery lovers.

The story moves a bit slow, picks up in the end. There is so much description of the setting, so many red herrings and unnecessary details, it was easy to be overwhelmed with what might be a clue. I think if I’d read the series in order I might have felt more engaged and involved with the main characters.
A good mystery-it would make a good Hallmark channel movie!

Thank you Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for the eARC.
This is the fourth in the Inishowen series and solicitor Ben is getting ready to attend her assistent's wedding at the brand-new restored Greysbridge Hotel. She's also pondering an offer of a job in the US. Everything is perfect for the wedding until one of the hotel's guests drowns and soon after another guest is murdered.
When Sergeant Tom Molloy shows up she's reminded of the unwelcome fact she loves him, but what about the handsome doctor she has been seeing?
This atmospheric mystery has a lovely sense of the gorgeous area, it will make you want to jump on a plane! Ben is feisty and likeable and I hope her romantic life will improve in the next book. I know who I would choose! Definitely recommended!

Pros: A great backdrop for a murder mystery with compelling descriptions of Donegal; an involving plot and mystery
Cons: A bit of a letdown for an ending; a tired are they a couple or not? romance that seems overfamiliar

Satisfying Country House Murder Mystery….
The fourth entry in the atmospheric Inishowen Mystery series finds Ben contemplating a new job offer along with the arrival of Summer. She has also been invited to a wedding at the newly renovated Greysbridge Hotel, a grand affair complete with private beach and pier - a perfect and idyllic location. The atmosphere turns menacing, however, when a drowning occurs in full view of the wedding guests swiftly followed, that same evening, by a further death. A satisfying and intelligently written country house murder mystery with red herrings galore to delight and intrigue. A wholly entertaining read and a worthy addition to the series.

Well this book was a little confusing at times, but it had all the good stuff too, it had intrigue suspense, action and lots of twists and turns! It was an interesting story but not one of my top favorites! It also ended in a bit of a cliffhanger! Which I really don't like! I've had worse cliffhangers but this book does end with one! It was worth reading just not my favorite! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!