Tara Meehan can’t believe she’s found another dead body! All she’d wanted to do was visit the old stone house she’d seen in a flyer left at her store, Renewals. Instead, her quiet and charming drive in the hills of Ireland has turned into stress and worry. Things only get more stressful when Veronica O’Farrell sweeps into her store and insists that Renewals store be the host site for where she makes her amends. Veronica has invited several guests to Ireland to make amends for when she was drinking heavily and wronged them… but will she have a chance to make those amends? And can Tara uncover what is really going on when she finds herself the prime suspect in a murder?

MURDER IN CONNEMARA is the second book in the Home to Ireland series but can easily be read as a standalone story. We’re still getting to know the recurring characters and their histories while all the murder suspects are new to the story line. And oh boy do we have some interesting suspects to choose from! Veronica has done quite a bit of damage in her years of drinking and it’s anyone’s guess who actually wanted her dead the most.

I love how Carlene O’Connor ties in Tara’s theme of Renewals with Tara's new life in Ireland with Veronica’s new life in sobriety. It’s a beautiful correlation and somehow makes Veronica’s story all the more poignant to Tara. However, I have to admit I’m becoming less and less of a fan of Danny and his ambiguity over the relationship with Tara. I’m normally not a fan of the love triangle in cozy mysteries but I’m starting to hope one pops up so Tara can also have a Renewal in her love life.

Carlene O’Connor has crafted a very intriguing cozy mystery with a surprising twist at the end. Even as I figured out “whodunnit”, I completely missed the clues amongst the red herrings for the actual why behind it all. And as always, O’Connor’s descriptions of Ireland are superb and leave me wanting to travel to Ireland immediately. Carlene O’Connor is brilliant at creating complex characters who stretch the cozy mystery genre just a tad and her lush depictions of Ireland are simply breathtaking!