I'm crazy about this new series! The key players are all so amazing and as far as kids went, I enjoyed Maeve and little Bliz’s characters a lot—Maeve was like fourteen going on twenty for as mature as she seemed. The Chief aka Kate and Colleen's dad cracked me up and I could easily picture another Irish dad who happens to be a police commissioner in his TV show. What an awesome family!

That was a very daring thing Kate did when she decided to confront the killer. I enjoyed the side story that involved Colleen and while there was sort of a conclusion, there's still an issue to be addressed later. I can't wait till the next book comes along! I sure hope Kate and her girls decide to stay in Shamrock for good, but I'm sure that'll also be talked about in the next book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Crooked Lane via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

4.25⭐
Fresh setting for a cozy mystery in a small town capitalizing on its Irish heritage to revitalize and focus on tourism. Learned so much about Irish dance while enjoying this story packed with interesting characters and old secrets. Well-paced with some good twists.

A lovely start for a new cozy series: entertaining and compelling. A tightly knitted cozy mystery featuring fleshed and relatable characters.
The mystery is solid and kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was an entertaining start to a new series. I love the setting and the fact that Kate is visiting her hometown after years away. It gives her a good mix of outsider but still belonging. Her family situation is a bit complicated. Her father is a retired police chief and her brother is an active police officer. As well, the family runs a B&B that is not the most financially healthy. And Kate's sister, Colleen, is a challenging character to say the least.
The murder happens fairly early in the book and Kate is involved from the beginning much to her brother's annoyance. Kate's sister is also involved from the beginning - as a suspect. Colleen wouldn't know a good decision if it bit her and if I were Kate I might have left her to save herself. Luckily for the story Kate is a better person than me and is working hard to save her sister and figure out what is going on and the family B&B. I also really liked Kate's two daughters. They're very age appropriate without taking up too much page time. I liked Maeve especially as she has all the teenage eye rolling but is also smart and empathetic.
I enjoyed this intro the a cozy series with a lot of potential. The adult charaters weren't my favorite and I didn't always feel the most connected to them but I feel like this will get better as the series goes on. I'm very excited to see what happens next for Kate and the world of Shamrock!

When Kate Buckley gets a text from her sister, Colleen, she packs up her daughters and heads home to Shamrock, a town that has become an Irish themed tourist destination. Before Kate can find out what is wrong with Colleen, the two find the dead body of Colleen’s best friend, Deirdre, who was a famous Irish dancer. Kate finds herself drawn into the mystery of what happened. Can she solve the case?

I’m a little surprised we haven’t seen an Irish touristy town as a series theme before now. While I did feel things and characters could have been a bit more fleshed out, I enjoyed what we got here. The theming is fun and made me smile multiple times. The characters are, likewise, charming, and I am looking forward to getting to know them better. The mystery got off to a strong start, and the book kept me engaged, even with some things that might have annoyed me in lesser hands. You’ll dance through this debut and be left anxious for the encore.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

The idea of an Irish themed town was appealing. The mystery of a murdered dance instructor was well plotted.
The problem for me came first in the main characters. Kate and Colleen aren’t very likable. Kate is at once know it all and unsure of herself. Colleen is a thief, irresponsible and flighty. They did grow on me some as the book progressed but just making them tolerable.
The whole Buckley family is dis-functional. The amount of hidden secrets and twisted histories bogged down this first in series book.
There are many for whom this will be their cup of tea. The Jig is Up gets an okay from me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this book.

The Jig Is Up is book one in the brand new series Irish Bed & Breakfast Mystery by Lisa Q. Mathews.
Such a good start to a cozy mystery series.
Lisa Q. Mathews painted a beautiful descriptive scenery, created endearing characters, and crafted a mystery that will have readers guessing until the final page.
I love this new book and I'm so excited to read the next book.

Thank You NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The Jig Is Up is book #1 in the Irish Bed & Breakfast Mystery series by Lisa Q. Mathews.

Kate heads to Shamrock, a town in New England that heavily plays upon the town’s early Celtic history. She has 2 daughters, a 7-year-old and a 14-year-old. They are returning to Shamrock based on an urgent message from her sister Colleen. They discover a body and Colleen is a suspect, so Kate has to clear her sister’s name. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. I was pulled right into the story and the twists kept me guessing until the end. I thought this was an entertaining story and look forward to more.

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

Set in a small town called Shamrock and set during the week leading up to St. Patrick's Day, The Jig is Up is a wonderful first book in a new cozy mystery series! I felt right at home in Shamrock, having grown up in a neighborhood that fancied itself to be a little slice of Ireland (so much so that many of the street signs were written in both English and Irish). The story centers around the tragic loss of an Irish Dance Instructor and when suspicion falls upon our main character's sister, Katie must take it upon herself to solve the case. The action of the novel starts right away, but the mystery was overshadowed by a lot of town and family drama. I didn't mind this because it's a great way to make readers long for a sequel to find out what happens with the Buckleys, but the mystery definitely took a back seat for most of the book, not being solved until the very end. I'm one of those readers who hope that Mathews continues on with this series!

Magnificent start to a new series. The characters are so interesting and the mystery is well-plotted and super engaging. I cannot wait to read more.

This was absolutely enchanting! I loved the setting of Shamrock, Massachusetts. The writing was so engaging and fun! I cannot wait to read more in this series!

Great start of new series. There is an interesting variety of characters. Family, friends, and a small town all add to the story. An enjoyable cozy mystery with some surprises. I look forward to reading the next one. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

This debut cozy mystery has good bones but didn’t quite reach its potential in my opinion. I liked the setting and having the mystery surrounding an Irish Dance school was unique. Where the story failed to create a connection for me was in the main characters. Kate is the mother of two girls and is a bit older than many cozy main characters, but she often comes across as rather immature, indecisive and her behavior is inconsistent - being assertive at times and then panicking at others. Kate’s sister Coleen is secretive and refuses to discuss the reason she sent Kate an urgent request to come home and that’s just accepted. This is one of those series introductions that seems to be having some growing pains. We didn’t learn enough about the main characters to form that bond that cozy readers look for. There were also unanswered questions that left a feeling of dissatisfaction.

Kate's sister Colleen becomes the prime suspect when her friend Deirdre is found murdered and so starts a new cozy series. This is a little cheesy-the town of Shamrock plays off all things "Irish," there's a former love interest who is now a police officer, and, well you might guess the murderer. That said it's the first one and Katie, Colleen, and Kate's kids are well done, as is their dad. The plot gets a bit twisted up in rivalries. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Interested in where this goes next.

Lisa Q. Mathews’ The Jig Is Up is a delightful cozy mystery that whisks readers to the charming town of Shamrock, Massachusetts. Kate Buckley rushes home is response to her sister Colleen’s urgent text then encounters a tragic murder. Things get a bit chaotic when Colleen steps into the spotlight to oversee the town’s beloved Irish dance show. (I reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) Mathews skillfully blends heartfelt family dynamics with a suspenseful plot, making this novel a captivating and enjoyable read.

First off, let me say that every so often, I search the web to see if there is a book out there in the world that someone wrote that revolved around Irish dancing. I've never had any luck, until I came across The Jig is Up! The book I have hoped for was finally here! I grew up Irish dancing and had always hoped for a book that included the crazy unique shenanigans of the Irish dance world such as a feis (an Irish dance competition), curly hair wigs, sock glue, poodle socks, accordions, and jigs and reels.

The Jig is Up is a cozy mystery, where the Irish dance teacher in a small town called Shamrock (located in Massachusetts), turns up dead. Kate, who returns home to her family's bed and breakfast at the call of her sister's urgent request (unrelated to the murder) tries to solve the mystery of the teacher, in what seemed to be a murder.

This isn't my usual type of read, but I enjoyed the cozy mystery that had my fill of Irish dancing that I was looking for. I can say I definitely didn't see the result of mystery, so that kept me guessing.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an eARC of this book.

We've always said the drama in Irish dancing world could make a good book and Mathews proves it can, LOL. This is book 1 of the new Irish Bed & Breakfast Mystery series, and leans heavily into the Irish dance world, with the drama of competing dance school, and dancers competing for top billing in the traveling Irish dance shows. Don't worry if you're not familiar with terms, as Mathews explains everything as it happens. In this book it's small town drama competing with big dreams and bad luck. Add them all together with a big dose of family, and a touch of cozy mystery, and you have a quick read that will have you coming back for book 2 in the series, to see how the events at the end of the book have unfolded.

Kate Buckley comes home to her hometown of Shamrock, Massachusetts, after receiving a panicked call from her sister Colleen. When Kate arrives with her two daughters - fourteen-year-old Maeve and seven-year-old Bliz, she finds Colleen doing anything she can to avoid telling Kate what is wrong.

The ultimate distraction occurs when they stumble upon the body of Colleen's best friend Deidre in the backstage area where she had been preparing for the St. Patrick's Day step dancing festival. A recent fight with Deidre makes Colleen the prime suspect for the murder.

Kate is determined to prove her sister innocent and find the real killer. There are quite a few suspects from a frenemy who wants to set up a competing dance studio to Deidre's old dance partner who resented her for leaving the dance troupe.

As Colleen takes over preparing the young dancers for the St. Patrick's Day performance, Kate investigates suspects often running afoul of her old boyfriend turned police detective and her own brother who is also a police officer.

This was an engaging cozy mystery in a nice small-town setting. I liked the way Kate figures out what is going on both in regard to the murder and in regard to her sister Colleen's secrets.

This is a wonderful fun start to a debut cozy series. .The setting is a Irish theme small town called Shamrock . I loved the culture, the food and the characters. This is family based and their business is a Irish theme B&B . The sleuth was engaging from beginning to conclusion. .This is a fun new cozy series for all cozy readers to enjoy.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.

I enjoyed this great start to a new cozy mystery series. I loved the mystery and the characters and I can't wait to see where this series goes.