The characters vividly jumped out of the pages right from the first when Siobhan and Macarda are bickering over the practice tests questions for the Detective Sargent exams. The love between the characters, particularly Siobhan, her new husband and the rest of her five siblings, is one of many reasons to read this cozy series. Here, a gardening competition turns deadly and Siobhan, Macarda and the rest of the garda squad will have to work hard to find out the killer before someone else ends up tilling the soil. (I know an awful pun).

The mystery is satisfying but it is the Irish culture and the characters particularly that bring me back to this series again and again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Siobhán has a challenging time accepting that her siblings are all grown up. A severe case of empty nest syndrome. On top of that, the newlywed couple have their first real fight. Both parties are too stubborn to apologize so it drags on while they both must solve the murder. I think married couples will recognize the feelings described.
Brother Eoin is planning the grand opening of his new restaurant and of course the murdered woman in his yard throws a monkey wrench into his plans.
You have fun trying to guess who the murderer is. Is it one of the other gardeners in the competition? Is it the reporter or the owner of the garden center?

I so wish I had begun this series at its inception! I enjoyed the book, but felt like I'm was missing out on a lot of backstory...because I did! Siobhan and her husband Macdara are fun and very interesting. I was able to follow along with this cozy mystery well enough, but I KNOW I'm not getting the little nuances that being a long time reader of this series would add.

The story moved along well, and I liked the interplay between Siobhan and Macdara. Their dialogue was interesting and sometimes playful. I enjoyed their talking over the case and the clues they had as they moved toward the reveal of the....well the murderous ending was fabulous! There is much to celebrate for this whole family!!

4 stars from me...only because I really needed to know more backstory since this is a long running series. I would say you can read and enjoy this book without reading the previous books, I did, but there is so much more to this whole family and their interactions that I would have liked to know.

This is the 11th in the Irish Village series, and so far the best.
Siobhán is studying for her Detective Sergeant exam and Eoin is finally preparing to open his new restaurant. The Kilbane Top Garden Contest is underway with a controversial entrant.
A lush and intricate winning garden emerges from the controversy, with a spectacular golden statue in the centre of the display. But in a devastating twist, the work of art leads to the shocking discovery of a bold and brutal work of murder.
As local gossip buzzes and a list of suspects grows, it’s up to quick-witted Siobhán and her husband, Macdara, to suss out the guilty culprit’s identity . . . before the competition buries another victim.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley/publisher/author with no obligation to post a positive review.

I received a free copy of, Murder in an Irish Garden, by Carlene O'Connor, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book eleven in The Irish Village Mystery series. Siobhan is studying for her exams, her brother Eoin is getting ready to open a new restaurant, when their is a murder in Ireland. Can Siobhan solve the murder? What is better then a cozy mystery set in Ireland, I love the O'Sullivan family. This was a good read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Carlene O'Connor for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Murder in an Irish Garden coming out February 25, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really love this series! I haven’t finished all of the books, but I really love Irish cozies. The setting is perfect. I love Ireland! There was definitely a lot going on in this book. I really enjoyed the progress happening with Siobhán. There’s a fun cast of characters. I would definitely read more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries!

Murder in an Irish Garden by Carlene O'Connor is the eleventh book in the Irish Village Mystery Series. This is a cozy mystery series that is not dark but is suspenseful. This twisty tale has plenty of suspects, beautiful gardens, a new restaurant for Siobhán’s brother, Eoin and Siobhán trying to prepare for her Detective Sargeant exams. So much goes on in this story still the plot stays smoothly quick throughout the book.

The unusual displayed murdered victim is one you would expect on the British Midsomer’s Murders Mystery program, it is just that strange. I could see them wanting to make this book into a movie but please don’t change the characters. I love Siobhán, family and friends. It’s a hit just as it is.

4.0

Both a favorite and one of my least favorite additions to the beloved Irish Village series. For one, which is no fault of the book, this is the first in the series I’ve read rather than listened to the audiobook. The narrator for this series is great, at least for this non-Irish reader. In fact, I had to check out a previous audiobook to hear the names, since reading them brought little recognition. Most of the O’Sullivan‘s classic spellings look nothing like how they are pronounced. I read this entire book with the narrator’s voice in my head because I so closely link the two.

After they have a fight at the beginning (which did not seem like a real fight to me), I missed the fabulous banter between Macdara and Siobhan. They avoid talking to each other (other than police stuff)for a good chunk of the book while both were waiting for the other to apologize. Still, Siobhan, through her narration, says what she or he would have said in reaction to any particular situation, so we still have exposure to it.

From a content standpoint, I loved—other than that the fight that went on between husband and wife for too long,—the personal growth and events for the family members. It was a loss not to have them all there for except for a couple of brief scenes. Gráinne (Grown-yuh) is always a good for a laugh!

The murder plot, I’m not as sure about. It’s been a minute since I listened to the others. If I recall, I believe that they were all bit complicated, with Siobhan not being satisfied and solving the last piece to unveil the truth after a red herring. This one has has a pool of potential suspects and almost as many crime scenes. I think I may have thought of the solution at some point, thanks to having watched and read thousands of mysteries, but it both saddened me and annoyed me a little. Not bad, just maybe not my favorite with so many people and places, some of which I had difficulty caring a lot about. This series has a high bar but keeps it pretty fresh while sticking to its original charm!

Thank you to Carlene O’Connor, NetGalley, and Kensington Publishing for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book for my unbiased review.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this latest fast paced installment of the Irish Village Mystery series. It kept me guessing the entire way through. There is a big reveal at the end that most readers will figure out halfway through the book. Highly recommended for fans of the series. New readers to the series will want to start at the beginning of the series. The characters and their relationships do develop steadily through the series. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for review.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was perhaps the most suspects yet in this series! The Six restaurant is just about to open amidst a gardening competition, and a high profile contestant has been designing a garden for the restaurant grounds. All of their carefully laid plans are thwarted of course when a murder is discovered. And it could be any of dozens of garden crew members or countless others for that matter. Siobhan and Macdara are due for another surprise yet, though!

Always an enjoyable cozy mystery, the 11th book in this series doesn’t disappoint. Siobhan is studying for her promotion, while her brother is ready to open his new restaurant. Kilbane is hosting a garden competition when the entries are all vandalized. Of course there is a murder which Macdara and Siobhan work to solve amongst the many gardeners, a reporter, and the owner of the local nursery. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

First, the emphasis on Eoin's involvement in this mystery is just not important.


I never saw the final twist coming in Carlene O’Connor’s Murder in an Irish Garden. Although the villain always seemed one step ahead of the Gardai in Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, the final reveal came as a surprise to me. Perfectly logical, but it came as a surprise. I love that in a mystery, especially when I’ve been following the series for years.

Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan is preparing for the Detective Sergeant’s exam, but she’s snappish with her husband, Macdara, who is only trying to help her prepare. She probably needs the break offered by Kilbane’s Top Garden Contest. As she accompanies the judge and the contestants to the gardens on the first day of the contest, she’s appalled to see the havoc created by someone who vandalized every garden.

Sean Bell is missing when they arrive at his garden first, but they find him locked in his garden shed. He swears he was there overnight when someone ravished the garden, replacing a black bell with a gold one. As Siobhan moves from garden to garden, she finds each one in terrible shape, and one item from each garden replaced by a gold figure. It’s only when they get to Cassidy Ryan’s garden that the vandalism crimes become worse. Cassidy was the only professional landscape designer in the contest, and she was disliked for that. Now, she’s the only dead designer, and the police found the body.

The villain sends the Gardai on a merry chase from garden to garden, pub and restaurant to a landscape center. Fortunately, a local reporter interviewed all the gardeners before the contest, and the police have access to those interviews. But, the clues could lead right back to that reporter.

As I said, I never saw the ending coming. It was excellent, and surprising. As usual, O’Connor brings the O’Sullivan Six, Siobhan’s family, into the final picture. Her brother, Eoin’s, restaurant is about to open, and the family comes home, which breaks Siobhan’s heart. She wants to keep them from growing up, and keep them safe. But, Kilbane wasn’t safe for Cassidy Ryan, the victim, and it won’t always be a safe refuge.

As always with this ongoing series, it’s easier to read Murder in an Irish Garden if you’re already following along.

A gardening contest leads to murder in this latest in a delightful series that will also be fine as a standalone. Siobhan is meant to be studying for her DS exam but she's been picking fights with her husband Macdara (why?) and now she's got a murder to solve. And she's got to keep tabs on the brothers and sisters she raised, most notably Eoin, who is close to this latest case. Lots of suspects,. many red herrings but the best part about this is the family aspect. It's a big hearted cozy with wonderful characters. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. And the ending.......

I have to start by saying I love this series. Siobhan, her husband Macdera Flannery, and her O’Sullivan siblings have beautiful and real relationships which shine through no matter what the murder investigation entails. With Macdera and Siobhan having a spat, a murdered body outside Eoin’s new eatery before opening night, and most of the other siblings living their own lives, I felt a bit lonesome for the family as I read - which tells me the author did an excellent job conveying Siobhan’s feelings as she navigates acceptance that the family is flying the coop and she is no longer responsible for raising them. The murder was a complicated disaster, but well placed clues kept me guessing and guessing again. I docked this one a star due to too many hints about …. Something … and I wish’d it had just been addressed as a whole in one part and then wrapped into the story rather than waiting until the end. Will this stop me from anxiously waiting for book 12? Definitely not!

Thank you to Kensington Books, Kensington Cozies and Netgalley for early access to another great read by Carlene O’Connor.

Funny and fast paced, Garda Sibhan and her husband must investigate a murder during a local gardening competition. Puns and suspects abound. Controversy over the contest, a plethora of red herrings and far too many people to interview complicate getting to the truth.
Enjoyed it greatly. Siobhan’s interior monologue about how angry she is with her husband -and he’d better apologize first! – is as entertaining as the goats and golden clues.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this DRC.
#MurderinanIrishGarden #NetGalley

This is the 11th book in the series and the first I have read. While the mystery itself works fine as a stand alone I do feel it is not a good idea to start this late as I didn't know about the family their circumstances or even how many of them there are!. However I did enjoy it well enough but will need to go back and catch the earlier books as this did feel a little OTT but that might be due to me missing all the back story.3.5 stars rounded up. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Siobhan breaks her studies for the Detective Sargent exams to solve the murder of a garden show contestant. This contestant is an outsider and is an outstanding landscape designer. The other gardeners are at odds about the new contestant. Eoin is ready to open his new restaurant and has loaned his tent area to the new contestant. Siobhan has a ticket for the early tour of the gardens. At the first garden, they find the garden torn up and the gardener locked in his shed. As the tour is called off and the rest of the gardens become crime scenes, a body is found in Eoin’s tent. Thus begins a convoluted mystery. This is a great story. As soon as you figure something out, things change and revision is called for. Lots of heartwarming scenes in this book too. Highly recommend. #MurderinanIrishGarden #NetGalley

It's a busy and exciting time for the O’Sullivan family. Siobhán is studying for her Sargeant's exams, it's the week of the Kilbane Top Garden Contest, and the opening of Eoin's restaurant, The Six. So, when it becomes clear there is a saboteur at work, everyone is horrified, but worse is to come when one of the gardens is found to contain a dead body! With multiple suspects and crime scenes Siobhán and her husband, DS Macdara Fleming, are left chasing their tales. Can they sift through the lies to discover the culprit before reputations are ruined and businesses destroyed?

Book 11 in Carlene O'Connor's Irish Village Mystery series has a twisty turning mystery with more suspects than Siobhán and Macdara know what to do with! The storyline is fast moving, and with the everyday life of the O’Sullivan clan embedded into each scene, it paints a picture of a location and way of life that is central to everything Siobhán does.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Kensington Publishing, Kensington Cozies, but the opinions expressed are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the images it created.

This is a series that I like to call an armchair travel series. I love to visit Ireland in each book in this cozy mystery series and also check in on the entire family. I have read every book in this series and hope it continues for a long time.

Murder in an Irish Garden
Carlene O´Connor
February 25, 2025

We are back in Kilbane in County Cork, Ireland for O´Connor´s latest adventure in her Irish series. The town is having their annual garden contest with many of the townies participating. In addition, we find Siobban studying with Macdara for her Detective Sergeant exam. Eoin is baking and cooking in the restaurant's kitchen working out recipes for the opening. Things seem normal and happy with the rest of the O´Sullivan 6 to join them for the event.
O´Connor gives another exciting suspense story that involves many of the colorful town characters. Yes there is a murder and it takes up most of the plot trying to solve who did what and why. Itś enjoyable yet full of Irish fun and fall out.
Murder in an Irish Garden will be published by Kensington Cozies on February 25, 2025. I was able to read and review O´Connor´s latest novel via NetGalley. I have read the entire Irish Murder series and have enjoyed them all, a truly delightful read.