Molly Murphy Sullivan is wife to Police Captain Daniel Sullivan, mother to two children, and a former private detective who loves her family but craves the working stimulation of a good mystery. Luckily for her or maybe not so lucky, she finds herself drawn into a mystery with a woman who looks like her, involved in a situation Molly is very familiar with and a murder her Police Captain husband is trying to solve. Between, her mother-in-law snide comments, her husband’s resistant to Molly’s help and her young ward, Birdie’s teenage antics, Molly is being pulled in multiple directions while trying to help a fellow Irish woman and solve the murder.

Fun story with plenty of witty dialogue and characters. I enjoy a mystery where I’m never quite sure of who the villain is. I enjoyed the secondary characters, the characters had insight and brought some humor and twists to the storyline. The story added appropriate timeframe aspects such as interweaving how women were expected to act, societal constraints and family constraints and how the constant shadowing of those constraints prohibited Molly from fully investigating the murder. The author’s style of writing is enjoyable to read and I look forward to reading more by this author and more stories about Molly Murphy Sullivan.

For fans of period detective novels and husband/wife teams.. Slightly stilted dialogue and slow development of plot. Not great, but pleasant enough, although the killer is surprisingly vicious and the wife is annoyingly rebellious at times and subservient at others.

Look no further! This story has a modern day feel even though it was set in 1907. The characters are vividly created and it’s easy to develop an opinion about each one. The humor is slight, but the twists and turns make up for it! I felt like the story was like a train, slowly moving at first and then building up speed until the edge of your seat ride at the end! It was thrilling! The only caveat is that I guessed who the culprit was about 3/4 through the book, it would have been nice not to know until almost the end of the book. Otherwise I would highly recommend this story to all mystery buffs out there. Very well done

Wild Irish Rose by Rhys Bowen is one in a series about a lady detective named Molly Sullivan in 1907. I have not read this series. This book was enjoyable. I liked the characters, the Aunties and Ryan were awesome!! I felt like I didn't have to read the other books before reading this one. The story line was intriguing. The author only giving you enough information to keep you guessing and to keep you reading. I would recommend. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley
After Molly Murphy Sullivan and her ward Bridie accompany Elena and Augusta [better known as Sid and Gus] to Ellis Island to distribute clothing to the immigrants, Molly learns that a murder was committed there and that the prime suspect is a young, red-haired Irish woman who bears a remarkable resemblance to Molly herself.

Although her detective days are behind her, Molly, thinking back to her own immigrant experience, is determined to help prove Rose McSweeney’s innocence. But a second murder causes her to wonder if perhaps she was a bit hasty in assuming Rose’s innocence. And, although she’s promised Daniel she won’t interfere in his case, she can’t help herself when it comes to ascertaining that Rose was not involved in the murder.

Will Rose prove to be worthy of Molly’s faith in her? And, despite her promise, will Molly solve the mystery of the Ellis Island murder?

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In this, the eighteenth outing for Molly Murphy, our intrepid heroine struggles to find her rightful place . . . she’d planned to spend her time being a good wife and mother, but she finds it difficult to stay away from the detective work. Between thirteen-year-old Bridie anxious to be more adult and an often-critical mother-in-law, there is often a great deal of tension in the Sullivan home and Molly’s uncertainty about what to do [or not to do] only adds to her stress.

With well-drawn, nuanced characters, a strong sense of place, and an intriguing mystery to solve, fans of this beloved series will find much to appreciate in the telling of this tale. The plot takes a couple of unexpected twists as the story unfolds, but astute readers may identify the culprit before the big reveal. An unforeseen event late in the story ramps up the suspense and leads to a satisfying denouement.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#WildIrishRose #NetGalley

New York City - 1907

Now that she is a happily married woman, and the mother of a toddler, Molly Sullivan, nee Murphy, has put her detective life behind her. Well, except for the fact that with her husband, Daniel, being a police captain with the New York City Police, she does get a little itchy to dabble a bit in his business. With her mother-in-law living with them temporarily, and her young, teen-aged ward, Bridie, in the house, Molly has her hands full at home. But that doesn't mean she is satisfied with life as a housewife. Not to mention her neighbors, the Bohemian ladies, also known as Sid and Gus, instigate Molly with their freewheeling lifestyle. Now that they are tutoring Bridie to prepare her to enter their alma mater, Vasser, trouble is always brewing.

Sid and Gus have been collecting clothing to distribute to the newly arrived immigrants on Ellis Island. It's winter, and many arrive from warmer climates unprepared for the biting cold of New York. Molly and Bridie agree to help, arriving on the island just as a ship is disembarking. As they handed out clothing to the immigrants, Molly notices that Bridie was missing. When she finds her, Bridie tells her that she thought she was following Molly, but instead had followed another woman with red hair who looked very much like Molly. Not thinking anything of that, they went about packing up and returning to the city.

It isn't until late that night when Daniel comes home, does he reveal that there was a murder on Ellis Island, and that the suspect they've arrested looks exactly like Molly! This, of course, doesn't sit well with the former detective, so Molly begins her own private investigation, unbeknownst to Daniel. Looking for the boarding house where the police have housed the woman, Molly is suddenly grabbed by a constable who thinks she is the suspect escaping. He sends her up to "her" room, where Molly meets red-haired Rose McSweeney. Befriending the woman, without revealing that her husband is with the police, Molly determines from Rose's despair, that she couldn't possibly be the one who killed the man on Ellis Island. And, from that moment on, Molly sets out to find the real killer.

Try as she might, Molly is unable to keep her searches hidden from Daniel, or her neighbors, for that matter. Sid and Gus enthusiastically join in the investigation, which sometimes makes for interesting assumptions. But can Molly prove that Rose is innocent? Events get complicated with the murder of another suspect.

WILD IRISH ROSE is another Molly Murphy tale, and Molly hasn't lost her investigative talent. Her home life is as important to her, and sometimes life does get in the way, especially raising a toddler, as well as dealing with her ward, who is growing up too fast for Molly. There are a few wrong turns before the final result is revealed, as Molly doesn't give up easily.

A murder on Ellis Island and Molly desperately wanting to be a detective again instead of just a housewife.

This mystery was enjoyable and I really liked Molly pushing the limits even if it got her into a bit of trouble. Gus and Sud were great auntie characters and added a bit of comic relief. The only character I didn't like was Molly's mother in law, she didn't add much other than to be annoying. The book would have been just as successful without her character.

The middle of the book was a bit slow and I had guessed the ending, but it was still a fun mystery!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

Rhys Bowen always comes through with a good book and this entry in the Molly Murphy series doesn't disappoint. I learned a lot about Ellis Island and the immigrant processing through there from this book. It is fun to see Molly progressing through her life and all her interactions with her mother in law and husband and son are well done and believable.

I love Molly Murphy's books! I am so happy that after a bit of break Rhys Bowen has written another great Molly book. Rhys has teamed up with her daughter Clare Broyles and the result is a fun, entertaining, mystery book. A huge thanks to Rhys Bowen, Clare Broyles, NetGalley, and St.Martin's Press for the advance copy. This review is all my own and not related to the ARC in any way.
I love how Molly is struggling with her new role as wife and mother. She clearly loves this new role but is trying to fit in her love of detecting with it. Her loving husband is also trying to grasp Molly's desire to continue with more than just her womanly role. It is so easy to look at this in today's light but when this story takes place in time things were so very different for women. Women still didn't even have the right to vote yet. I love how Rys and Clare have written Daniel Sullivan's part. I so enjoyed this book and look forward to more.

I really wanted to like "Wild Irish Rose." I have enjoyed other Rhys Bowen novels, especially The Tuscan Child, which was the first Bowen book that I read. In the description on NetGalley this sounded exactly like my kind of mystery. Admittedly, the middle really dragged for me. I enjoyed Molly and Daniel, but several of the other characters seemed like stock characters. This was especially true of the mother-in-law, who was like every sitcom mother-in-law on television. Sid and Gus were interesting, although also rather stereotypical. The ending of Wild Irish Rose was a nice twist, and although I had already figured out the ending, I could still appreciate the twist. I want to thank the author and St Martin's Press for this ARC. I really wish I could provide this book with a more favorable review.

I so enjoy this authors writing. I love her series and her stand alone she.
I really like the characters, they might disagree, and make a mistake or two but at the end of the day they are family and love each other. The mystery is well done and the setting is one of my favorite eras. All in all a great addition to a wonderful series!! Look forward to reading more from this author!!!!

Stalwart Molly Malone is an Irish immigrant married to policeman Daniel, burdened by a mother-in law with ambitions for her son, and lots of advice and admonitions for her daughter-in-law. Molly, once a successful detective, is now a mother with a toddler, and Bridie, a young Irish girl, an Ellis Island arrival as was Molly, has been taken into care by the Malones. With two supportive, slightly outrageous women neighbors, Sid and Gus, Molly and Bridie travel to the docks bringing warm clothing for newly arriving emigres. The arc of the story has begun: Rose, another young Irish woman looking very much like Molly, has just arrived and is held under suspicion of the knifing murder of a man found on board with only circumstantial evidence.
Molly is smart, savvy and qualified to help the police investigate this crime. With her own emotional connection to the reality this woman faces, she is finding it hard to accept a lesser, if any, role due to her gender, societal expectations, and her husband’s boundaries.
As the search for the murderer continues, Molly and Daniel begin to collaborate as the identities and motivations of multiple characters become more confusing, and additional bodies appear. We see how hard it is to define our own prejudices as class distinctions, ethnicity, wealth and gender wind their way through the narrative. Are the seemingly good really the culprits? Does privilege give you the benefit of the doubt?
There is a racing end as many subplots fall into place. Both then and now, the reader is drawn into a greater understanding of the importance among family, friends, and others of choosing wisely how to live together and thrive communally.

Molly Murphy is trying to put her detective career behind her and settle into life as a wife, mother, and society lady. A trip to Ellis Island along with other society women to hand out winter clothing to the arriving immigrants brings back memories of Molly's time passing through the immigration center and lands her in the middle of one of her husband's murder investigations. While Molly is on Ellis Island, a man is murdered. The number one suspect is an Irish woman who closely resembles Molly. Having once been in the same predicament—wrongly accused of murdering a man on Ellis Island—Molly champions the Rose's cause and forces her husband to let her help with his investigation. Knowing Molly may get information out of Rose than his detectives, he allows her to unofficially help. Molly's investigation takes her from Ellis Island to New York's high society.

After a five year hiatus, Molly Murphy is back. Rhys Bowen is now teaming up with her daughter, Clare Broyles, to continue the series. Having just reread all of the books in the series, it was easy to spot the differences in writing style. There was also some repetition of already established facts from previous novels. Molly's mother-in-law has long lamented Molly's abysmal sewing skills, but now she is questioning Molly's level of skill as if she has no idea. There is also a pattern of Molly and Daniel arguing over her involvement in cases. He doesn't want her to get involved and place herself in danger, but she continuously proves herself invaluable to his investigations. At least Daniel is finally allowing her to help in some aspects. But their nearly constant bickering is growing tedious. As are all of the critical comments from Molly's monster-in-law. Aside from the repeated themes, it was an interesting novel. At times, Molly fails to dig beyond face value and comes off looking foolish.

Molly Sullivan's husband Daniel is investigating a murder on Ellis Island, with the primary suspect being an Irish woman that looks very much like Molly and with a similar background. In a burst of fellow feeling (and boredom from her current busy domestic life) she decides to look into things herself.. After she discovers some facts her police captain husband Daniel misses, he agrees to let her do some further limited investigating. As usual, her bohemian neighbors Sid and Gus are on hand, as well as her foster daughter Bridie, who's become a rebellious 13 year old. Molly is a sharp, enthusiastic investigator, with friends in varied strata of society to keep the story interesting. There's plenty of action too, to keep the story exciting. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. This is another winner.

Absolutely loved Wild Irish Rose. A delightful read on a lazy afternoon. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the advanced copy. The characters are so loved, Molly, Daniel, baby Liam, and Daniels mother, Bridle. The era is a good reminder of the hardships immigrants went through coming to the USA. The murders and the threads drawn between them drew me right into the saga. Looking forward to more of Molly and family!

I am a huge fan of Rhys Bowen and am thrilled she has teamed up with her daughter, Clare Broyles, to continue the Molly Murphy series!

Molly loves being a wife and mother, but misses her old life as a detective. When a murder occurs on Ellis Island and a young Irish woman is suspected, it bring back memories of Molly's own experience arriving in America. Despite Daniel's warnings, she involves herself in the case, determined to prove the young woman's innocence. At the same time, Bridie is in those difficult years - not an adult, but not still a child - creating additional tension at home. When a second murder occurs and Daniel receives additional details about the victims and suspects from Scotland Yard, Molly begins to wonder if she made a mistake.

This is a wonderful addition to the series and I hope it continues. The characters and their situations are real - they struggle, they disagree, they make mistakes, but at the end of the day they are family and love each other. As always, the mystery and the plot are so well done and the turn of the century New York City setting is one of my favorite eras.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of #WildIrishRose.

Thanks to Rhys Bowen; Clare Broyles. #NetGalley and St.Martin's for the ARC!

Wild Irish Rose ended in a complicated and wild fashion.. 3.5 stars rounded to 4 for the ending..
It was good to visit with Molly Bridie and Daniel as well as their friends. I thought the story was somewhat long and Molly's relationships are a bit static but am sure there will be changes.

Another great addition to a wonderful series!! This novel is so expertly written that it’s a joy to read. Molly is such a relatable character. I feel like she is a good friend or next door neighbor. The story and plot are both engrossing and has quite a few toss and turns to keep you guessing. Highly recommend and can’t wait to read more from this author!!!!