Death by the Book

<p><strong>Irish scones shamrock shortbread a local literary festival... and a rather dead author?  Join Mercy McCarthy on her next case! </strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Mercy </strong>and <strong>Lizzie McCarthy</strong> are settling in to the charming seaside village of Shamrock Cove on the west coast of Ireland. Lizzie throws herself into organizing a book festival and mystery writer Mercy even agrees to come out of her bookish hidey-hole to do get involved. <strong>But then the star author for the event is found dead. James Brandt was killed by a falling bookshelf in his own cottage... </strong></p><p><br></p><p>The local detective is not convinced by Mercy's suspicion of murder but when someone else turns up dead the police cannot ignore it. There's just one problem: <strong>Mercy and Lizzie's beloved dog Mr. Poe sniffs out the second body in the storeroom of their own bookstore</strong>. And now all of the gossips seem determined to pin the murder on Mercy! </p><p><br></p><p>Convinced the police are focusing on a red herring in this real-life case Mercy needs to act fast to clear her name. A meddling mayor a cheerful chef and a bashful botanist make her suspect list but it's not until Mercy discovers a tatty old photograph in the local library archive that she is onto the killer's trail. </p><p><br></p><p>With the police keen to shut her out of the murder investigation <strong>can Mercy play this case by the book or will she be the next to fall off the shelf...? </strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>A totally gripping and twisty cozy crime novel perfect for readers who love Agatha Christie Carlene O'Connor or Faith Martin! This incredibly fast-paced and fun murder mystery will whisk you off to Ireland and won't let you go until the final page! </strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>What readers are saying about Lucy Connelly: </strong></p><p><br></p><p> Y'all THIS WAS <strong>FREAKING AMAZING</strong>. I don't think I was even 5% in and I was going to my group messages and telling my bookish friends that they <strong>NEEDED to be reading</strong> this... And that reveal... HOLY FREAKING COW. <strong>I don't think my heart has beat that fast in ages. ;-)</strong>... Now go find this and read it. Yes right now. Go on. I'll be waiting here when you are done and need to talk about it... <strong>SO. WELL. DONE</strong>. Goodreads reviewer ������������������������������ </p><p><br></p><p>I <strong>loved everything </strong>about this mystery! I was <strong>turning pages deep into the night</strong> when I should have been sleeping <strong>I just couldn't put it down!</strong> 5***** Goodreads reviewer ������������������������������ </p><p><br></p><p><strong>Wonderful</strong>... I <strong>gobbled up</strong> this book. I <strong>loved every minute</strong> of it. Goodreads reviewer ������������������������������</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Delightful</strong>... <strong>thrilling</strong>... <strong>keeps you hooked</strong>... I found myself<strong> glued to the book</strong> eager to see how it unfolded. <em>The Book Decoder </em>������������������������������</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Excellent!!!</strong>... <strong>One of the best mystery novels </strong>I read in 2024... Definitely looking forward for the next book!! Goodreads reviewer ������������������������������</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Fun fast read to the very last page!</strong> NetGalley reviewer</p><p><br></p><p>If someone asked me to define cozy mystery then I would describe this book... This Ireland town is <strong>magical</strong>... <strong>The setting swooped me up and dropped me right into the middle of the story</strong>... This book makes me imagine a gray day with light rain a stoked fire a blanket a cup of coffee (!!) <strong>and curling up to read</strong>. Goodreads reviewer ������������������������������</p>