Death at Inishmore Castle is the third book in the Mercy McCarthy Mystery series by Lucy Connelly, which is fast becoming one of my favourite cozy mystery series.
Title: Death at Inishmore Castle
Author: Lucy Connelly
Series: Mercy McCarthy Mysteries #3
First Published: April 10, 2025
Publisher: Bookouture
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture, for inviting me on this book tour and for providing me with an e-copy of this book for review purposes ***
Historic Inishmore Castle is opening its doors for the first time, hosting a charming weekend of whiskey tasting and soda bread baking. Sisters Mercy and Lizzie McCarthy are badly in need of a break, but their relaxing trip takes a decidedly unrestful turn when Mercy finds fellow guest Father Brennen slumped over the desk in the library… Did he have one glass too many or did someone want him dead?
Even more curiously, Mercy swiftly learns that the priest was no priest at all. So why was he searching through dusty old journals? Can the legend of Inishmore’s lost treasure possibly be true?
Mercy’s suspicions of foul play are confirmed when another of their party is found drowned in the lake at the edge of the manor’s estate. It can’t be a coincidence! Someone in this idyllic Irish castle is up to no good and Mercy is determined to find out who’s behind it, accompanied by her reluctant fellow sleuth and beloved dog Mr. Poe.
With a host of frightened guests and worried staff, and a storm closing in, Mercy soon has more suspects than bedrooms in the castle. Could it be the unconvincing nun, the busybody birdwatcher, or are the owners hiding something sinister? When Mercy realises there are secret passages in the walls, she thinks she might have cracked the case… but will she track the killer down, or will Inishmore be her resting place forever more?
I’m in love with this series and its characters
Since this is the third book in the series, it’s time for a bit of a change of scenery. Instead of the usual cozy village of Shamrock Cove, Mercy and Lizzie, and all their neighbours, are staying for a weekend at nearby Inishmore Castle. And what a place! I was in love with the castle (which isn’t that hard as I am a sucker for a good castle) – everything was so detailed and well described that it was easy to picture it all.
But it wasn’t just the castle that made this mystery great fun – the characters made this story come alive as they tried to deal with being stuck in a castle in the middle of a storm (there’s always a storm) with a killer on the loose.
As with the previous two books in this series, I absolutely adored Mercy and Lizzie – the two sisters are a great team and balance each other out very well. While their Shamrock Cove neighbours were all there, some, like Rob and Scott, were more prominent than others in the mystery-solving. It’s nice to get to know some of the supporting cast as well, and I hope they all continue to feature in future stories. There’s not always room for everyone, especially as this book introduced several other characters – the couple who run the castle, as well as several other castle guests.
Mercy works well with Detective Inspector Kieran and his team to figure out who the mysterious guests were and why they were hiding their real identities. It’s an interesting mystery that had me guessing and the story never really slowed down at all so I kept turning the pages – I can never put books in this series down!
This is already the third book in the series but I’m hoping for sooooo many more to come!
You can buy your own copy of Death at Inishmore Castle here.
About the Author, Lucy Connelly (aka Candace Havens)
Bestselling author Candace Havens has published more than 25 books. Her novels have received nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion, Write Touch Reader Awards and National Reader’s Choice Awards. She is a Barbara Wilson Award winner. She is the author of the biography Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities from George Clooney to Chris Pratt. Candace runs a free online writing workshop for more than 2000 writers and teaches comprehensive writing classes. She does film reviews with Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3 KSCS, and is a former President of the Television Critics Association.
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Lucy Connelly HERE.
You can connect with Candace Havens/Lucy Connelly online here:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | X
Quote from Death at Inishmore Castle
