Barb's Book Reviews: Review of "Death on the Green: A Dublin Driver Mystery" by Catie Murphy

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Review of "Death on the Green: A Dublin Driver Mystery" by Catie Murphy

In this second book in 'The Dublin Driver' series, limousine driver/amateur sleuth Megan Malone investigates murder on a golf course. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

After serving in the U.S. Army for twenty years, Texan Megan Malone takes advantage of her dual American/Irish citizenship to move to the Emerald Isle. Being gregarious by nature, Megan takes a job driving for the classy Leprechaun Limousine Service, where she gets to chauffeur - and chat up - the rich and famous.

Megan's boss/landlady, a crusty woman named Orla "could be a snake, and she'd take you for every penny she could", but Megan likes her job and her coworkers....and even has a grudging respect for Orla.

Megan's current clients are Martin and Heather Walsh, professional golfers who've come to Dublin for a golf tournament on Bull Island.

Heather is Martin's much younger third wife, which may explain why she puts up with his chauvinism and tendency to hog the limelight.

As the story opens Megan has dropped Heather off at the women's golf course and is tagging along with Martin's entourage as he plays on the men's course. As Martin and his retinue clear a rise on the 15th hole they spot a man, face down, in a pond.

Megan jumps into the freezing water and - with Martin's help - pulls the man out and does CPR. Megan's efforts are useless and the dead man turns out to be Walsh's friend and fellow golfer Lou MacDonald. Suspecting foul play, Megan phones Detective Paul Bourke, whom she'd met three months earlier, when one of her clients was murdered.

Bourke and his team discover that MacDonald was killed by a blow to the head, but a motive is hard to discern. MacDonald was a genial well-liked widower, in town to compete for the Ryder Cup wild-card position....as was Martin Walsh.

Before long another body turns up, and the case gets more complicated.

Megan, being an inherent nosybody, decides to investigate the crimes alongside the police. To accomplish this Megan eavesdrops on conversations; hovers around police interviews; and speaks to people who knew the deceased. Thus Megan befriends Lou MacDonald's daughter Saoirse - an environmental lawyer who's distraught about her dad's death.

At one point Saoirse spends the night in Megan's apartment and snuggles with Megan's three adorable dogs - a Jack Russell terrier and her two puppies, Dip and Thong (get it.....dipthong).

While Megan's investigating she still has to do her job, and Orla assigns Megan to chauffeur eccentric millionaire Carmen de la Fuente "who usually had two or three women hanging on her arms, dripping with lavish jewelry and, often, not much more."

Carmen wants Megan to wear a gold chauffeur's uniform for the evening, and even sends a sexy low-cut outfit in the right size. This leads to Megan and Detective Bourke being guests at a yacht party, where Megan gathers clues for her investigation.

The book has a wonderful Irish ambiance as Megan drives around Dublin and chats with the local people.

Additional characters include a knowledgeable caddie; an Irish actress in Hollywood; a pushy sports reporter; a snobby golf club manager; a neighbor who babysits Megan's dogs; Megan's co-workers at the limousine service; a woman from Megan's gym; and more - all of whom add a fun element to the story.

I enjoyed this pleasant cozy and look forward to reading more books in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Catie Murphy), and the publisher (Kensington Books) for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

2 comments:

Carla Loves to ReadOctober 6, 2020 at 10:18 AM
Great review Barb. This is a series that I wanted to read, but it got by me and I'm not sure if I have time to start a new one. Glad you are enjoying this one.
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Barb's Book Reviews

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Review of "Death on the Green: A Dublin Driver Mystery" by Catie Murphy

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