Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught.

This is the second or third of Sheila Connolly's County Cork mysteries that I have read. The novella revolves around a young boy and his mother who are new to town, and a mysterious Christmas-themed construction project that is going on across from Maura's pub. I enjoy the atmosphere and supporting characters in this series and find the books to be easy, light reads. This one was no exception. My only issue is that I can't seem to warm up to Maura. Mostly she comes across as a nitpicky old grump, and the author gives us the impression she rarely leaves the pub except to carry on whatever relationship she has going on with Mick. Fortunately, the rest of the characters balance out my boredom/dislike of Maura.

Thanks to Netgalley and Beyond the Page for providing this ARC for review.

A ice novella to add to th series, a well written and fast enjoyable read. Glad to see. Aura becom8ng more of the community and The Christmas dragon was a welcome surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maura Donovan owns an Irish pub in a village that has become her home since leaving Boston. Across from the pub that she's inherited she sees a construction project going up in time for Christmas. While the project is a great secret and everyone is guessing what might be under the tarp, Maura decides to hold a lottery for people to guess and the money will go to a worthy cause.

She makes friends with a young lad whose mother works at the inn. As he has no where to go after school Maura offers to let him help out at the pub and they would pay him a small wage. The boy is afraid of someone and the mother is hiding something. Maura wants to help them out by showing them what neighbours in an Irish village are really like. The winner of the lottery is indeed a deserving cause.

An absolutely wonderful, quick read.

This is a short story in the County Cork Pub series. Maura Donovan inherited Sullivan's Pub and is still new to the her new home in the Irish village of Leap in County Cork. As Christmas is approaching a new mysterious construction project is across the street from the pub (mystery #1). Mystery #2 is a young boy Danny that Maura befriends as he is sitting on a bench outside the pub. She learns Danny and his mother Hannah have left Dublin suddenly and then an unknown man shows up around the pub and Maura senses danger. The village bands together and the story is a wonderful read. Love stories set in Ireland and look forward to the next installment in this series.

Tied Up With A Bow is the first novella for the A County Cork Mystery series.

Christmas is just around the corner and a construction crew is busy working on a project across the street from Sullivan’s Pub and Maura is very curious as to what is being built. Only County Cork seems to know what is being built. Maura has asked Mick, Rose, Billy, Seamus, and most customer of the pub. Everyone is in the dark, as is Maura.

A second mystery facing Maura is the young boy, Danny, who she finds sitting on a bench outside of Sullivan’s when she goes out to check on the progress of “The Thing” as she refers to construction going on. Danny tells Maura that he and his mam have recently moved to Leep and she is working Sheehan’s, an inn across the street. When Danny’s mam comes to pick him up, Maura tries to get information out of her but is unwilling to share much about her past. Maura hopes to find out more about Danny and his mam, hoping that their lives are not in danger.

This is a wonderful heartwarming holiday story. Maura is still vacillating between expanding the pub to include the serving of food. Rose feels confident that the pub will be even more successful with this addition. Of course, Seamus seems the need to have a lottery for what “The Thing” will turn out to be. And as always Billy will be sitting near the fireplace enjoying his pint and instilling more talk of the delightful little town of Leep.

A wonderful quick read.

I've read all the books in this series so far. Maura has lived in Leap and ran the pub now for 1-2 years (timeline unclear) and in this book she asks Mick where the local school is, which is just down the street from the pub. You're telling me in over a year she hasn't realized where the local school is? Then she states that she doesn't get much chance to drive through the village so she has no idea if any other "mystery decorations" are right down the street.

She also constantly makes statements about not knowing where anything else is in town because she's been too busy to actually explore the town she lives in, which makes no sense having lived there for over a year.

Then we are told this about Maura: "She wasn't good at guessing ages, since she had seen few children back in Boston." Sure but Boston has children and loads of them. Maura was one herself once!
It goes on to say that in Boston school let out early and there were a lot of single mothers who had to work and "the thing is that meant a lot of the kids had no where to go so they'd be out on the streets"

Ok so which is it? She didn't see any kids in Boston or she saw a lot of kids out on the streets with no where to go in Boston?

I guess I'm just disappointed that with every book Maura seems lose intelligence points and just gets more airheaded. She is completely lacking in common sense now. If I have to read one more time about how she has no idea how to cook anything and so eats convenience foods I will explode. Because inevitably in the next paragraph the author is alluding to Maura having no idea where to go to get food, like a grocery store, so instead she buys food at a convenience store. Again, which is it?


I wish the consistency was better in these books. I like the idea of Leap. I like the setting. I like the plots with the new found pub ownership. I don't like the stupidity of Maura.

I read this in one sitting without realizing I was going to do so. This is a fast read, I think because of how focused it is on the two mysteries. I enjoy the regular characters of Rose, Mick, Billy and Seamus. I did miss Bridget in this go around. I would like Maura to step up in the running of the pub, I think she is too used to just being a waitress and letting life happen to her. But over all a fun fast read.

I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC I received in exchange for my honest review. I love these mysteries.

Nice intro into an ongoing mystery series. Want to go back and read first book in series.
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mystery, Ireland, family, kindness

A lovely holiday tale about the good folks of the village, fun in the local pub, a small family with more than just money trouble, and The Thing.
Loved it! Will be looking for more in the series.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

Maura Donovan is the new owner of a small pub in County Cork. As Christmas approaches, a mysterious ‘Thing’, as Maura calls it, is being constructed next to her pub. With curiousity aroused throughout the town, she decides to hold a raffle to guess what this Thing will be.

But the Thing’ isn’t the only mystery Maura is confronted with. One day, she notices a small boy sitting alone on a bench outside the pub. As she gets to know the boy, Danny, and his mother it is clear that they have come to this town to hide from someone or something. Maura is grateful for the help and kindness that the town as shown her and so she is determined to help the pair regardless of what has them so afraid.

Tied Up with a Bow is a charming cozy Christmas mystery novella. It is more about friendship and helping strangers in need rather than about the mystery and, as such, it makes for a very enjoyable holiday read.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

I love the Country Cork series and this Christmas novella was a lovely addition.
I think it can be appreciated at best if you already read the series and know the characters and the setting.
It can be read as a standalone and you surely will appreciate it.
It's not a whodunit plot but it's lovely and you cannot help rooting for the characters.
I love the way it shows a more human side to Maura and how the cast of characters join forces for helping others.
A lovely Christmas read that will make you feel good and hope to read soon the next instalment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Beyond the Page Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC

This is well written christmas story with likeable characters.

Maura Donovan owner of pub name Sullivan's in a small Irish village. One day she notices a boy name Danny who's sit on the bench in front of her pub and wait for his mother to finishing working.

There is a mystery going on because she start to wonder what really going on across street from her pub where there construction going on. When she and her crew at Sullivan's bet about what really being constructed they donate what they get to a worthy cause.

That not the only mystery as she get to know Danny and his mother Hannah she realize the stranger who been hanging around her pub is looking for them so she get help from everyone in the village to help them.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The ‘Thing’ and Christmas are both arriving in Leap, County Cork, Ireland and they are bringing a mystery and some suspense with them. This lovely, well-written, well-plotted novella goes along with the County Cork Mysteries series. It nicely whets our appetite for the next full-length novel, The Lost Traveller, that releases in January.

Maura Donovan, the owner of Sullivan’s, a pub in the small Irish village of Leap, is mystified by the construction going on across the street. When they discover that what is being constructed, Maura calls it the ‘thing’, is a secret and will be revealed in a ceremony the following Sunday, the crew at Sullivan’s decide to have a drawing to see if anyone can guess what it is. They’ll charge one euro per entry and then they’ll donate the proceeds to a worthy cause.

In the midst of all the guessing about what the ‘thing’ will be and collecting those guesses, Maura notices a small boy sitting on the bench outside her pub. She goes out and sits beside him and learns that he and his mother are new to Leap and that his name is Danny. Since it is much too cold for Danny to be sitting outside, Maura brings him a cup of hot chocolate. She can’t bring a small boy inside the pub, so she sits and visits for a while. When she returns inside, she is convinced that there is a big mystery about Danny and his mom. There is trouble there somewhere.

As Maura learns more about Danny and his mother, that trouble arrives in Leap and it's looking for Danny and Hannah. All of the folks in Leap band together to help them. We have lovely visits with our favorite Garda, Sean Murphy, our young and lovely aspiring chef Rose, Maura’s love interest Mick, and the ever-present Seamus who is thinking he’s just having too much fun with this mystery.

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"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."

Maura Donovan is a rather new resident of a small Irish Village. She inherited the small pub that she runs and is still getting to know all the residents.

A young boy appears and sits outside the pub on a bench. Maura doesn't see a parent around, so she introduces herself to Danny. His mom works across the way and is not allowed on the premises, so after school he sits on this bench and waits for her.

While the biggest mystery is the construction project going on across the street, this story is mainly about friends and friendship and looking after each other. This is a feel-good Christmas story with credible and very likeable characters.

This is a well-written novella ... a fast, but enjoyable read.

Many thanks to the author / Beyond the Page Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this novella. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.