Jessica Sinn (Books and Trouble)'s Reviews > Murder, She Wrote: Death on the Emerald Isle

The gist: In keeping with tradition of her international travels, JB Fletcher happens across a dead body—a murder victim, no less—while enjoying a lovely little bike ride along the rolling hills of the Bushmills. Let’s pause for a moment and reflect. JB is a classy, delightful lady, but she really is the harbinger of death, no? When are people going to wise up and stop inviting her to book festivals and family gatherings? Either way, she’s got a mystery to solve and a web of family drama to untangle involving a big-time business merger and some bad blood with the town doctor. Lots going on here, folks!

What I liked: Well, I’ll be honest. I didn’t like much about this installment, and I think it has something to do with the new writers. What happened to Donald Bain? I will Google that later. This one was just kind of a snooze fest, but I will say that the writers did an OK job maintaining Jessica’s voice and overall classiness.

What irked me: Mysteries involving business deals just don’t hold my interest. I found my mind drifting whenever the dialogue shifted to the family’s cosmetic line and….blah, blah, blah. A lot of intricacies were involved in the merger, and my mind just got lost in space. Just not my cup of tea…or Irish coffee, I should say.

Overall: According to the many rave reviews on Goodreads, this is a fan favorite. I just found it boring and slow moving. It’s lacking the magic and mystique of international travel, and I really wanted more touristy scenes so I could travel vicariously to Ireland—my main bucket list destination! Past MSW books took me to exotic places with colorful taxi drivers, tourist trap shops and delectable restaurants. I guess I’ll just revisit the older books to fill that wanderlust void!