I must say I am such a fan of this author and her series and this one yet again didn't disappoint. What's not to like about 'A grand castle, a glass of Irish whiskey, a good book by the fire… and a rather mysterious murder?'.

I devoured this book in a matter of 24 hours as once I got started I just couldn't stop reading. Love Mercy and her antics, love the cosy feel of the book and the story and the mystery kept me intrigued and guessing throughout. This is a delightful, wonderful cosy read and not just a book but a series I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read adn review this book.

Death at Inishmore Castle is an absolute delight from start to finish. Lucy Connelly delivers a brilliantly written cozy mystery filled with charm, suspense, and just the right touch of Irish flair. Mercy McCarthy shines once again—clever, courageous, and impossible not to root for. The setting is rich and atmospheric, the mystery is tightly plotted, and the pacing keeps you turning pages late into the night. A thoroughly enjoyable and completely addictive read! (I received an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own .)

Inishmore Castle will open its doors for guests. For a test run the local tourism committee of Shamrock Cove is invited together with other guests to check the overnight stay as well as the cooking and craft classes, whiskey tasting, learning more about the gardening, ...
So Mercy and her twin sister Lizzie McCarthy as well as their dog Mr. Poe arrive there looking forward for a fun time with their neighbours. All this is shattered when the first dead body is discovered.
Who is killing a priest? Ok he was not the friendliest person and Mercy is not so sure that he really is a priest but what or more important who murdered the man? As if a dead body would not be the worst the weather is getting worth and worth causing power outings and making it difficult to cross the bridge to go to the castle. Till the police can arrive Mercy is taking over the responsibility to try to find the murder under their roof.


What a cute cosy crime series!
This is my first book of the series so there is no need to be aware of the former ones. We get to know the characters very well and I really like the Shamrock Cove group a lot. There are quite some nice people and so different but what matters most they help each other so wonderfully.
I must say for me the highlight is really the dog Mr. Poe. I fell in love with him.

I like the setting that Mercy is a crime writer and is ending up finding dead bodies and that she can´t stop to investigate. What I like about this series is that Kieran, the Detective, has no issue with her snooping around. Instead he is working together with her. I think this is a nice change to some other series. Also the relationship he has with the twins is nice.

So who loves cosy crime novels and is looking for a new series please check out this one. I really enjoyed the book and was flying through it.

Historic Inishmore Castle is opening its doors for the first time, welcoming guests to a delightful weekend of whiskey tasting and soda bread baking.
Sisters Mercy and Lizzie McCarthy are in desperate need of a relaxing getaway, but their peaceful retreat takes a sudden turn when Mercy discovers fellow guest Father Brennen slumped over a desk in the castle library.
I absolutely love the characters, setting, and writing style in this series. As a fan of the author’s other works, I had high hopes—and this book did not disappoint. It’s fast-paced, full of charm, and packed with mystery. A thoroughly enjoyable read!
#DeathatInishmoreCastle #NetGalley

I do love the Mercy McCarthy cozy mystery series and this one was quick and fun. You don’t have to read this series in order, but it does help to keep all the details in line while you are reading. It seems that wherever Mercy goes, murder follows. I love these characters and how they have pretty large backstories that took place before the series even began. This mystery kept me guessing, too!

Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture , for letting me read and review an advanced copy of ‘Death at Inishmore Castle’, by Lucy Connelly.

What better way for bookstore owner but murder investigator, Mercy McCarthy, to get involved when a weekend getaway ends up with a murder investigation, and the police can’t get to the scene because of a huge storm. Along with her sister, Lizzie, and some good friends, Mercy must protect the crime scene and start weeding out the suspects.

This third book in the series has Mercy taking chances and ignoring all instructions from DI Kieran, again, while “helping” with the investigation. As the number of victims increases, the urgency and danger also increases. I liked the setting, an old Irish castle (with secret passages), the characters, and the plot of this story. There was plenty of action to keep a reader involved.

We are back with the McCarthy sisters and this time in an adventure in an OLD CASTLE! You can't imagine how much I was looking forward to this book and it gave me everything I got from the previous ones. From the mystery to our Mercy trying to solve it, come on, where she goes, trouble goes. This time the murder of a "father" in the castle in the middle of a storm makes our protagonist take matters into her own hands until the authorities arrive. This book I feel was a little more graphic (so to speak) than the previous one, I feel there was more mystery and a little more of the tone I'm used to in these books and I liked it, the writing has evolved as we go deeper into the story that by the looks of it (and the little mystery at the end) will be for many more books (and I'm here for it).

I can't imagine what else is in store for us in the adventures of these sisters.

This is only book three in a new series from Lucy Connelly, but I’m quickly becoming invested. These are short and sweet and hold the perfect amount of intrigue. This addition takes place in a castle during a rain storm and has all the fun of a locked room mystery, complete with hidden passageways!

Favorite Quotes:

I’d say I will never do it again, but you’ve met me. I tend to be impulsively curious when things like this happen.

Mr. Poe yawned so big he almost fell over. It was way past his bedtime. He would sometimes try to drag Lizzie by her pajama legs upstairs if she stayed up late watching television. He was a dog with a schedule.

In Shamrock Cove, everyone knew your business, sometimes before you did. It was one of the town’s many quirks.

We didn’t hesitate to run toward the scream, which probably says so much about Lizzie and me regarding danger. We would most definitely be killed early on in any horror movie.


My Review:

This has been such a fun series, and each installment just gets better. The mysteries are well-plotted and expertly paced, the writing is smart, highly amusing, unfailingly engaging, and easy to follow, while the characters are quirky and well-fleshed out. And I absolutely adore Mr. Poe, the smartest crime-solving dog in the world. He deserves his very own superhero cape!

Author is a favorite because she consistently combines interesting characters, settings and plots. This is another excellent example. Thanks to #NetGalley and #DeathAtInishmoreCastle for advanced digital copy.

Another exciting Mercy and Co adventure! This is a wonderful murder mystery set in a secluded, isolated castle with a murderer on the loose. It’s been great to catch up with known characters (especially Mr Poe) and meet new ones. I did suspect who was the culprit but wasn’t sure until the big reveal. This is definitely a book to easily lose yourself in.

Thank you Netgalley

Reading in Between the Wines book review #36/125 for 2025:
Rating: 3 🍷🍷🍷
Book: Death at Inishmore Castle (A Mercy McCarthy Mystery Book 3)
Author: Lucy Connelly
AVAILABLE NOW!!!

Sipping thoughts: I love Mercy and her relationship with her sisters, friends, and Inspector Kiernan. I am glad to see the dog, Poe, return as well. The twins are solving another murder case, but this time in a castle. I am so glad Mercy does not keep her nose where it’s supposed to be. Albeit Kiernan would rather she stay in her lane. I am ready for that relationship to blossom into a romantic one. I am excited to read Book 4 whenever it is released, and I hope the twin’s long lost (missing) dad makes an appearance…or maybe he already has?!

Cheers and thank you to @Netgalley and @Bookouture for an advanced copy of @DeathAtInishmoreCastle.

#DeathAtInishmoreCastle #LucyConnelly #Bookouture #NetGalley #ARC #advancedreader #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bokreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

Death at Inishmore Castle is a delightful Irish cozy mystery that delivers charm, intrigue, and a touch of mischief. Lucy Connelly crafts a gripping whodunit set in a grand castle, where whiskey tasting and soda bread baking take a backseat to murder and hidden secrets.
Pros:
• The setting is pure magic: an atmospheric Irish castle with secret passages and stormy nights. It’s the kind of place I’d love to spend days exploring
• Mercy McCarthy, the FMC, is a sharp, lovable sleuth, and her reluctant sidekick (plus her dog, Mr. Poe) adds humor and warmth. They are well-developed characters, and it was a joy to follow them again
• The mystery is layered with red herrings, keeping readers guessing until the very end and being surprised by the twists.
Cons:
• Some characters could use more depth, as a few suspects feel more like caricatures and a bit flat.
• The pacing slows slightly in the middle and there’s some less suspense, but the final twists make up for it.
A mystery that will surely be appreciate by whodunnit fans a cozy, Irish twist. Grab a blanket, pour yourself a cup of tea (or whiskey), and prepare to be thoroughly entertained!
Many thanks to Bookouture for this digital copy, all opinions are mine

Mercy and Lizzie are headed to a castle for a weekend retreat. It sounds like great fun with classes and there is a whisky distillery. However it soon turns into a locked room mystery when a priest is found murdered in the library during heavy rainstorms that cut them off from the rest of the world.
Mercy cannot help herself, she investigates. The crew from Shamrock Cove do manage to get word to
Detective Inspector Kiernan and he arrives to investigate.
The castle with classes about all sorts of subjects sounds like such a fun idea for a getaway.
There is plenty of mystery. I suspected the guilty party, but there were plenty of suspects.
I highly recommend this series. I love the main characters Mercy, a thriller writer, and her twin Lizzie who loves books, cooking and gardening. Their little dog Mr. Poe is such a great addition to the stories.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read Death at Inishmore Castle.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book to review.

This is such a fun cozy mystery, I have read the 1st book in the series and this is book 3... I think you should read them in order as you get more out of the story, but its not a must.

Death at Inishmore Castle by Lucy Connelly is Mercy McCarthy Mystery. I love this series. Mercy and her sister, Lizzie, have inherited a cottage and a bookshop from their grandfather; a grandfather of whose existence they had been unaware. They had some recovering to do: their mother had died of cancer; then, six months later, Lizzie’s fiance and his daughter had died in a car accident; Mercy was still reeling from having a stalker in New York City. It was a lot. They loved it here. Their cottage was one of six in the bailey of an old castle. They were a tight-knit little community: Rob and Scott, a lovely couple; Lolly, everyone’s grandmother; and lately, Kieran, Lolly’s grandson and the local police investigator. Lizzie ran the bookstore, gardened, and cooked. Mercy was working on her latest, now very overdue, novel. They had come to the opening weekend at Inishmore Castle, a brewery of some note, now opening as a destination, with classes and other adventures. So far, it was great. Then, Mr. Poe, their dog, discovered the dead body of the priest in the study. It was storming so there was no cell service and the land line as out also so Mercy did her best to preserve the crime scene and keep the other guests unaware. Eventually Kieran and his team arrived. But then, Mr. Poe Discovered the body of the nun, as well. This was getting out of hand.

Excellent mystery: all the necessary components. No getting off the property, they were rained in. Hidden passages in the walls. People were not who they appeared to be. Mercy was not there to investigate, Kieran was, but she was curious. She couldn’t help herself. Of course that got her in trouble, both literally and figuratively. They kept re-looking at everyone and they all seemed to check out. She did discover some minor theft and some major embezzlement, but no murderer. Then things started to break. The person had killed for the best of reasons and the people he killed were not worth much, but still. It was a good mystery and this characters are terrific. The food was good and the whiskey was better. There is even a cliffhanger. Good read.

I was invited to read Death at Inishmore Castle by Bookoutre. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Bookoutre #LucyConnelly #DeathAtInishmoreCastle

A well-deserved break is in order for sisters Mercy and Lizzie McCarthy. When they are offered a chance to attend whisky tasting and soda break making weekend at Inishmore Castle they jump at the chance. But when one of the other guests is found death in strange circumstances, Mercy feels compelled investigate. As the group become cut off due to floods, the situation escalates and makes finding the killer even more urgent. Can Mercy catch the culprit before it is too late?

The story hits all the right notes, with suspense, danger and peril in equal measures. A murder mystery set in a cutoff castle is delicious, and reminiscent of a golden age type mystery. Mercy puts herself in dangerous situations in her quest for the truth. She’s unafraid to get involved, and has proven herself to be a skilled investigator.

I love the camaraderie between the sisters, and their various friends and neighbours. It works really well and adds an extra element to the mystery. I enjoy the growing attraction between Mercy and the handsome detective Kieran. The slow burn relationship is an ideal addition. A great read.

This is an enjoyable series filled with likable characters.. Mercy, Lizzie and their friends are spending a few days at Inishmore Castle and of course they stumble over another dead body or two. A storm has caused the bridge to the castle to flood, leaving them trapped with a killer. Mercy’s ‘curiosity’ (others would call it being nosy), prompts her to ‘help’ the police investigate. The mystery was interesting and keeps you guessing. This is a very good series that suffers a bit from a main character who justifies some of her questionable actions, such as snooping through police files, because she’s curious. She also repeatedly puts herself in potential danger, after promising she’ll be careful, when she goes off by herself to investigate. This amateur sleuth behavior can be somewhat common in cozy mysteries, but it can also be annoying and detract from the story, which it did a bit for me. Ultimately, I do think this is a very entertaining, well written series.

In the third book in the Mercy McCarthy cozy mystery series, we visit a castle outside the village of Shamrock Cove, in Ireland. The O’Sullivans have been fixing up their estate in preparation for welcoming visitors and this is the first official weekend. Mercy and her sister Lizzie have been invited, along with some of their friends and neighbors from their “court” in Shamrock Cove. The weekend’s schedule is filled with classes and demonstrations, cooking and lacemaking, as well as tastings of Gordon O’Sullivan’s custom distilled Irish Whiskey. The guests are an interesting and diverse bunch, including a young birdwatcher, an American couple, a priest and a nun. Of course, something goes amiss fairly quickly and someone is murdered. And then someone else is murdered too!

This is a terrific example of a locked-room style of mystery, because there’s a major storm and the old wooden bridge to the property is underwater. The police have to come by boat! And of course, no one can leave because of the storm.

Mercy is a well-known author of mysteries and her author’s brain comes into play in this book a lot, as she tries to “help” the local detective, Kieran, figure out the case. it looks like Mercy and Kieran may have a budding romance in their future.

The mystery took a few good twists and turns and the solution was satisfying. Descriptions of the castle and its grounds were wonderful. I have to say, though, that I kind of missed Shamrock Cove! I was glad that some of their neighbors were also at the castle - we need more of Rob and Scott! Lizzie and Mercy’s pup, Mr. Poe, is adorable and his alertness becomes important to the story once again.

The very end of the book is written so that it looks like there will be at least one more book in this series - which is a very good thing.

NOTE: I think you would be fine reading this as a standalone, but you’d miss the fun of meeting all the series regular in books one and two.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

While I love following Mercy and Lizzie in their small town, I had a lot of fun with them at the castle. A kind of locked-door murder mystery. A storm has blown in, flooding the only way out, and Mercy and their dog have yet again found another body. Of course, her curiosity gets the best of her, and she can't help but investigate before and after the police arrive.
I love seeing how Mercy's mind works while investigating cases. The cases always keep me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what's going to happen next, and I'm constantly surprised by who the killers end up being.

This series is a ton of fun, and I'm excited to see what's going to happen next!!