This book contains three cozy mystery novellas written by three authors: Leslie Meier of the Lucy Stone Mysteries; Lee Hollis of the Hayley Powell Food & Cocktail Mysteries; and Barbara Ross of the Maine Clambake Mysteries. Each story takes place in Maine around St. Patrick's Day, and features Irish Coffee (coffee laced with Irish whiskey and served with cream on top).
*****
Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier
Journalist/amateur sleuth Lucy Stone of Tinker's Cove, Maine - who works for the Courier newspaper.....
......is covering an Irish step dance competition.
Four of the teenage participants attend the same step dancing school and their rivalrous mothers get into a hot argument before the contest.....after imbibing several Irish Coffees each.
A mishap during the competition raises tempers even more, and reporter Lucy takes note of the rancorous exchanges.
Meanwhile the charitable food pantry in Tinker's Cove - which is planning to move to a larger facility - is holding a contest: the company that donates the most food gets to name the new facility. Lucy's boss at the newspaper hopes to win so he can choose the name "Courier Food Pantry", but there's stiff competition from a realty company.
As all this is going on, the body of one of the dance moms is found by her daughter. This turns out to be murder, and Lucy feels compelled to investigate. The 'random stranger' scenario is considered, but it seems more likely the perpetrator is a member of the Tinker's Cove community.....and Lucy searches until she finds vital clues.
Part of the charm of this story is the description of Irish step dancing and the costumes associated with the activity.
*****
Death of an Irish Coffee Drinker by Lee Hollis
Hayley Powell of Bar Harbor, Maine owns an upscale eatery called Hayley's Kitchen.....
......and Hayley's brother Randy runs a bar called Drinks Like a Fish.
As the story opens Hayley's friend Liddy Crawford is planning a fundraising event at the Criterion Theater......
......and Liddy has engaged stand-up comic Jefferson O’Keefe - who grew up in Bar Harbor - to perform.
Randy will provide after-show drinks at his bar and Hayley will prepare food for the event. Jefferson asks the hosts to serve his favorite beverage, Irish Coffee, and they make plans to do so.
Though Jefferson is a popular entertainer, not everyone likes him. One of the employees from Drinks Like a Fish is seen having a contentious talk with Jefferson, and a rival comedian shows up at Jefferson's show to heckle him. Things come to a climax at the after-party, when Jefferson sips his Irish Coffee and falls down dead.
This turns out to be a homicide and Hayley makes it her business to track down the killer.
There are plenty of possible suspects, including Jefferson's manager; Jefferson's bodyguard; Jefferson's lady friends; Jefferson's enemies; etc. But Hayley is able to sort through the chaff and find the murderer.
The story's characters are interesting and the plot is engaging.
*****
Perked Up by Barbara Ross
Julia Snowden, who works for the Snowden family clambake business.....
......lives with her widowed mother Jacqueline in Busman's Harbor, Maine.
One evening Julia and her friend Zoey arrive at the Snowden residence during a snowstorm and find that Jacqueline has a guest - longtime family friend Captain George.
Julia makes Irish Coffee for everyone, and when the electricity goes out in Busman's Harbor, Julia, Zoey, Jacqueline, Captain George, and the family cat gather around the fireplace to keep warm.
Captain George, a well-known storyteller, proceeds to relate a tale about Hugh O'Hara, a wealthy Irish Catholic farmer who was murdered in 1867. As Captain George's story goes, a thief caught robbing Hugh O'Hara's home shot the farmer and injured his wife Catherine. A young man named Daniel - who was employed by Hugh - confessed to the crime, but escaped before justice could be served. To top it off, a ghost now haunts the old O'Hara house.
As the evening proceeds, various friends, neighbors, and relatives arrive at the Snowden home to weather the storm, and Julia make more and more Irish Coffee to serve everyone. It turns out the visitors have different opinions about who REALLY killed Hugh O'Hara - which range from Hugh's wife, to Hugh's daughter, to Hugh's son-in-law, etc. - and it appears the cold case will never be resolved.
The uncertainty bothers Julia and she decides to investigate the O'Hara homicide by poring through old records.
Julia finally discovers who killed Hugh and she identifies the ghost who haunts Hugh's old house.
This story has interesting tidbits about the Irish Catholic immigrants who emigrated to Maine in the 1800s.
*****
Recipes are sprinkled throughout the narrative. In the Hollis novella, these include Irish Mudslide Cocktail; Irish Stout Onion Soup; Irish Stew; and Corned Beef and Cabbage. And the Ross novella has a recipe for Irish Soda Bread.
Irish Mudslide Cocktail
Irish Stout Onion Soup
Irish Stew
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Irish Soda Bread
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Callie Beaulieu, who does a fine job.
Thanks to Netgalley, the authors, and Tantor Audio for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment