Bel, Book, and Scandal: A Belfast McGrath Mystery is the third Belfast McGrath Mystery by author Maggie McConnon. I read the second book in the series previously so I was familiar with the location and Bel's large family. And Bel's obsession with finding an old friend Amy.

Bel who is an incredible chef is still living and working at her family's Irish themed resort Shamrock Manor. Her past in New York City comes back to haunt her in this book. As does a photo she sees that she is convinced is her old friend Amy who has been missing for years. 

There are lots of twists and turns in this enjoyable cozy mystery. Good read!

The long-running series' mystery of what truly happened to Belfast's best friend, Amy, so many years ago, takes a shocking turn in this latest cozy mystery. Belfast, a chef at her family's Shamrock Manor, spots a newspaper photograph that turns everything she thought she knew about that fateful night upside down. Drawn into a story she has never truly been able to leave behind, Belfast is determined to solve the mystery that has haunted her all these years.

I love the character of Belfast. She feels so real, as does her family. She's not perfect, neither are they, but they love and drive each other crazy in equal measure. Belfast is funny, and clever, and determined, but still doesn't know where she's going in life. She is relatable, and it's impossible not to like her.

I was so excited to see so much development in the mystery of Amy. It's one I've been following since I read the first book in the series, and I've been wanting to know the solution so much.

I felt like what was revealed, while surprising and shocking and fantastically dramatic, didn't feel like it entirely fit with what had come in the books before. I absolutely adore a shocking twist that I never saw coming, but this one felt a little too out of left field.

Definitely read the books that came before this one so you can understand the importance of what is happening in this one. This is a cozy mystery series I really enjoy, and I hope that, even though it felt like an ending, this isn't the last we read of Belfast.

Bel, Book and Scandal by Maggie McConnon is the 3rd book in the Belfast McGrath mystery series, and all I can say is WOW!! To get the most out of this series, I would start with book one. There is one mystery in all three books that is concluded in this book. I love this series, and all the quirky characters, looking forward to the next book. I strongly recommend this series.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Different kind of cozy

This is the first book I've read in the series so I'm not sure if that put me at a disadvantage. Bel, the sleuth seems like a really negative person. While the mystery is fully contained within the book I think the characters and their motivations may have needed more of a back story. Too I didn't see the ending coming at all and I like to be able to pick up some hints along with the sleuth.
I received an Advance Reader copy from NetGalley.

Bel McGrath is one of my favorite protagonists. She is strong, determined and fiercely loyal.
In this book, it is time for Bel to come to terms with her past. A simple photograph in a newspaper reminds Bel of the disappearance of her best friend years ago. How does a young girl disappear without a trace? That is the question Bel has asked herself over the years and she has yet to find the answer.
The simple photo triggers the investigation into her disappearance and the beginning of a new friendship.
Bel, Book, and Scandal is an intriguing mystery filled with twists and turns that will leave the reader on the edge of their seat.
Grab your copy on December 5th! This fantastic book makes a perfect gift for the cozy mystery reader in your life!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this story.

Cold Case Involving a Missing Friend
Bel, Book, and Scandal is the third book in Maggie McConnon’s Belfast McGrath Mystery series. This is the first book I’ve read in this series, but I didn’t have any problem identifying the characters’ relationships or understanding their backgrounds or relationships. This is a steadily paced mystery with great characters and an interesting mystery.

Belfast ‘Bel’ McGrath is a culinary artist turned amateur sleuth in Foster’s Landing in the Hudson Valley area. Shamrock Manor, the family business, is a special event and wedding venue with an Irish flavor. Bel is the chef and her four brothers often entertain their guests with their band. A couple seeking a venue for his daughter’s wedding leaves behind a newspaper and a blurry photo catches Bel’s eye. The article is about a commune, Love Canyon, located in the nearby town of Wooded Lake and Bel believes a girl in the photo is her best friend, Amy Mitchell, who has been missing since high school. Bel finds clues and information that has her believing Amy is alive and she doggedly pursues any possible lead, but it appears someone is sabotaging her search.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Place:  Foster's Landing, the Hudson Valley area

People:  Belfast (Bel) McGrath, chef at her family's estate, Shamrock Manor. Bel's family - parents and four brothers - is the large and rambunctious supporting cast of the book. Bel's ex, Brenden, is another supporting character, as is the improbably named Tweed Blazer and Bel's childhood best friend, Amy.

Plot:  As the holidays approach, Bel greets a potential client looking for a venue for their daughter and step-daughter's upcoming wedding. The couple seems conflicted - the bride's father worried that his daughter is too young to marry and his wife trying to facilitate the function in a way that makes everyone involved happy. When they leave, they leave behind a local newspaper open to a story about a former commune about an hour away from Foster's Landing. The photo included with the article is blurry, but Bel immediately recognizes someone: her presumed dead childhood best friend, Amy Mitchell. For as often as everyone around her tells her to let it go, Bel can't do that. As the last person to see Amy so many years ago, everyone in Foster's Landing has always harbored the thought that Bel knows what really happened, or at least more than what she has shared. Now, after so many years, Bel can't let go of the opportunity to finally solve the mystery of what really happened to Amy Mitchell. 

Pacing:  Steady

Predictability:  Low

Perspective:  Bel, Book, and Scandal is the third book in this series and my favorite. The mystery surrounding the night when Amy disappeared has always been a common thread in the stories, one that I felt at times outshone the plots put out in the first two books. The entire plot of this story revolves around putting together the many clues left by author Maggie McConnon in all of the books thus far, and takes readers all the way to a long awaited resolution. I feel like I've finally seen the full picture. At the same time, so many threads feel tied off and wrapped up, that I'm a little worried that this series has come to an end! I so enjoy Bel and her family, and reading about the mysteries she finds herself involved with. The McGrath family is a unique one in the cozy mystery genre and their adventures are a lot of fun to follow.

This is much more than a cozy= it's a lovely portrait of a large, boisterous family and their business and it's a quest by Bel, the protagonist, for answers about the disappearance of her childhood friend many years ago. McConnon sets this up as a funny, classic tale but there's more serious issues afoot when Bel goes looking for Amy, who has left a hole in her heart and her life. There are wonderful descriptions of the food Bel (a chef) cooks at the family inn and of her interactions with her family. I had not read the first two books but that wasn't a problem for me- I thoroughly enjoyed this and am looking for the next in the series to follow certain threads and answer more questions. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I’ve been waiting for the third book in the Belfast McGrath Mystery series and was excited to have the chance to read an advance copy of BEL, BOOK, AND SCANDAL by Maggie McConnon. This newest release finds Bel (short for Belfast) McGrath focused on solving the long ago mystery surrounding the disappearance of her best friend, Amy, when they were seventeen-years-old. The thread of this mystery ran through the first two books and had me not only intrigued, but sitting on pins and needles waiting for the next release to find out what happened. Amy’s disappearance and presumed death has haunted Bel, coloring every aspect of her life. Yet when a photo shows up that seems to prove Amy hadn’t died, Bel drops almost everything to pursue the long cold trail.

Despite the darkness surrounding the tragedy that happened to Bel as a teenager, the author also provides lighthearted, humorous moments via’s Bel’s family, who owns and operates Shamrock Manor. The family business is a special event and wedding venue with an Irish flavor. Bel is the chef for the parties while her four brothers compose the Irish band to entertain the guests. I so enjoyed the inside peek at what it’s like living with Irish Catholic immigrant parents and being the youngest plus the only daughter in an Irish family. The zingy one liners had me chuckling often, like the situation that called for Bel musing that “the McGrath family are all practiced procrastinators.” She also provides some deep introspection on the combination of being both Irish and Catholic with the burden of guilt she bears. Coming from a deeply religious and Irish family myself, I can relate to Bel. According to her this combination “…made sure a hearty helping of guilt accompanied every joyful experience…” The author completely explains it all in that one sentence!

It was also a nice surprise to see the author bring in a character from one of her other series to create a sleuthing friend for Bel to help in her search for Amy. As the two women bond they find themselves in situations that brings more humor to the story. I think this “new” character to the series will allow Bel to expand outside of Shamrock Manor and will provide outlets for new mysteries as the thread of Amy’s disappearance has been woven into a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to seeing what trouble Bel finds herself in next!

Chef Belfast McGraw is still trying to help the family make their venue, Shamrock Manor, financially successful and dealing with the long ago disappearance of her best friend Amy.
Events and people conspire to make things difficult, mainly her own family.
She slogs on, but finds clues and information leading her to realize Amy is not dead, so she doggedly pursues any possible connection. She finds good intel, but someone is sabotaging her search.
She finally solves the decades old mystery, surprising all with the guilty parties
Well crafted cozy that keeps one reading to see what happens next.
I requested an Arc from NetGalley, because I enjoyed the first in the series.

Belfast McGrath is a chef who left her last gig in disgrace and returned home to work for her parents at Shamrock Manor, cooking for weddings and other events. Being back in the place where she grew up is a challenge rife with memories both good and bad. After a meeting with a prospective client Bel finds a newspaper the client left behind that has a startling photo – Bel’s best friend who was thought to have died now appears to be very much alive. This starts amateur sleuth Bel on a search for her friend.

Maggie McConnon’s mystery was entertaining but not in a laugh out loud way (although I did occasionally). I loved her characters – Bel’s parents and brothers were funny in the same way we may see our own family members as funny, quirky, odd. In addition to her family were assorted towns-people, old boyfriends, new friends. They all added to my enjoyment and any of them could have been a red herring. I didn’t figure out whodunit until close to the end – and then I wasn’t sure!

Bel, Book and Scandal is the third book in the Belfast McGrath series. I haven’t read the first two but didn’t feel lost because McConnon did a good job of bringing me up to speed in the opening chapters. Recommended to fans of the series and the cozy mystery genre.

Not as fluffy as many cozies, it had some meat to it. I had no clue who the villain was or why. I didn't love the story but I liked it.

On 15 February 2017 I wrote a review for Bel of the Brawl, the second book in this series. I’m very happy I received a copy of the third book in the series from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

Bel is slowly coming to terms with herself and her life. Not that she is happy, far from that. Her erstwhile boyfriend Kevin is married to picture-perfect Mary Ann, and her last fiancée Brendan betrayed her by carrying a photo of the missing Amy Mitchell in his wallet. Her small apartment still isn’t ‘home’, especially not when one of her brothers has to hide for the police because he wrecked the car of said ex-fiancée… In short, Bel does her best, cooks wonderful dishes and tries to really start her new life, but it is not working out so well.
And then, one day, a couple of things happen. First, a middle-aged couple arrives at Shamrock Manor because their daughter is looking for a venue for her wedding. To her surprise, Bel and Alison become good friends, despite the age difference. Alison is a bit of a sleuth in her own right and when Bel discovers a picture of the still missing Amy in a newspaper, she is more than happy to help find out the truth. And what truth it is!
Bel, Book and Scandal nicely follows the path that was set in in the first and second book. I’m not going to tell you whether this path comes to an end, though. You will have to read for yourself. Bel will meet some new and interesting people along the way, some helpful for her in ways she didn’t think of. Being a foodie, I would have loved some more details regarding the food Bel is cooking. Maybe some recipes in the next book? Bel’s brothers, although very important to her, are not as finely defined as Bel herself, and neither are her parents. There is a lot of information but not enough to bring those people alive like Bel herself.
All in all, I enjoyed the book and I’m looking forward to read more about Bel and her family.

An entertaining read. I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous books in the series.

A good cozy with interesting characters. Lots of surprises and twists including the ending. Love Bel's family - she needs some friends that are true friends