This one is tough. While I always enjoy reading about Ireland and learning more about the setting, Megan is different in this one. I’m glad she’s found her place in Dublin and has built friendships but her relationship with Yelena ruins this book; Yelena is so controlling and bullying (I get her not wanting Megan to investigate but it goes way too far) that Megan is a shell of her former self. The mystery itself was well written and kept me guessing, but the reveal seemed rushed. This was not my favorite of the series but I will try one more, hoping some of the issues are resolved.

I was so happy to read another Catie Murphy's mystery featuring Megan and I thoroughly enjoyed this solid mystery.
It's well plotted, it kept me guessing, and I was happy to catch up with the characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

"After a long streak of avoiding murder investigations, Dublin limo driver Megan Malone thought her life had finally settled but even her Irish luck can’t keep her out of trouble forever in Catie Murphy’s fourth Ireland-set cozy mystery"
It is convoluted tale of multiple murders The last person to be suspected is the culprit.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

I have loved this series since the first one [though I will admit it took me to book 2 to completely acclimate to the series] and this was one book I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately, there is a LOT wrong with this book and it both disappointed me and made me wonder what happened between book three and this, book 4 because it was dramatically different from the previous ones.

* These are NOT cozy mysteries and need to stop being marketed as such. There is too much language and innuendo for it to be a cozy [not to mention the length], and in this book, the language was almost gratuitous; I read a lot of books set in Ireland and Britain and Europe over-all, plus I watch Irish TV and follow several Irish shows on YouTube - I KNOW how they speak [everyone swears. Everyone], so I know what to expect with an Irish book and this was above what I would expect, especially being marketed as a cozy [there were no f-bombs per say, but there was everything else and quite a few "fecks", which is the polite way of dropping the f-bomb]. They need to be re-marketed as plain mysteries.

* I do not like books that seem to promote bullying. Jalena is a bully, plain and simple. She is mean [to the point of being cruel], mean-spirited, non-accepting of her girlfriend and who she is [nosy, curious, with a deep-seated desire to help people], even though she KNEW about her and how she was going into the relationship [is Meghan perfect? No, but she is who she is and in no way is it okay to try and bully someone into changing into something that fits your narrative] and VERY passive-aggressive. V E R Y.

* AND...because of said bullying, the MC [Meghan] has become a shadow of her former glorious self. Gone is the independence and love for life. Gone is the fun-loving Meghan. What we are left with is a girl who is cowed by her girlfriend, says "she's sorry" more times that I could even count [seriously, I wanted to throw the book after awhile; if it was a drinking game, EVERYONE would be wasted by chapter 4] and becomes someone I didn't really like anymore, but really wanted to help [get out of her toxic and potentially dangerous relationship].

* Did I mention the gratuitous language?

* While I didn't know who the killer was until close to the reveal, the reveal itself was SO. FREAKING. LAME. Seriously. Having had several severe concussions, I am not really sure that Meghan would have been able to do what she did. And WHEN ever does a bad person leave the person they want to kill alone so they could go take a shower [Meghan may or may not have puked all over them <--THIS part was both awesome and completely accurate for someone with a concussion]??? N E V E R. Geesh. It was a pretty lame ending that is for sure.

I will say that minus the whole bullying thing, this was a really decent mystery and I was surprised several times. Unfortunately, it is completely overshadowed by the bullying and Meghan becoming this weak, groveling human being, so sorry that she has, once again, displeased her girlfriend, and that is such a shame. This could have been so much more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Catie Murphy, and Kensington Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been well over a year since American expat Megan Malone has been involved with investigating a murder, a year in which she’s settled down into her Dublin home with her Polish girlfriend Jelena and her two no-longer-puppies Dip and Thong. Megan is actually relaxing with Jelena at Accents, a cafe they both enjoy, when an innocent request for them to move so that Anie the barista can access supplies from a closet behind them leads to this streak being broken in most gruesome fashion, as a corpse falls out of the closet and on to the coffee table before them.

Megan immediately rings up her friend Detective Paul Bourke, who isn’t at all pleased that she’s managed to be on-scene at the discovery of yet another body. Jelena is even more unhappy. She hates that Megan somehow attracts the corpses of the murdered, and wants to bar her from getting involved altogether. Megan is quick to agree, even though a large part of her already feels involved and hates leaving any mystery unsolved. While she knows the dead woman by sight – Blathnaid was a member of the writing group who used Accents as their communal office – she didn’t actually know her well enough to greet by name. Reluctantly, she accepts the fact that her participation in this murder case ought to begin and end with the shocking find.

That quickly changes, however, when Megan’s very next assignment as a limo driver is for a woman who is all too eager to hear more about Megan’s macabre reputation:

QUOTE
As soon as Megan pulled up, she rushed to the car, yanked open the back door, and jumped in before Megan could even kill the engine, much less get out and hold the door like the limo service offered. “Megan Malone? The murder driver?”

The woman had a distinct Midwest accent and an air of excited expectation that Megan suddenly didn’t want to meet. For the space of a heartbeat, she considered just becoming an actual murder driver and killing the woman instead of answering her questions.
END QUOTE

Fortunately for Claire Woodward, Megan’s good sense quickly takes over. After downplaying her own role in solving murder mysteries, Megan discovers that the main reason Claire is so intrigued by her reputation is because the older woman is an author with an insatiable interest in good stories. Claire isn’t just any author either. While she confides in Megan that most people in her field rarely make a ton of money, her own books sell like hotcakes, catapulting her to high-earning, superstar status. Claire is well aware that it’s just as much luck as hard work and creativity that have gotten her to that point in her career though, and claims to want to give back.

Recently, she’s been persuaded by an old acquaintance to mentor a talented young writer in her own genre. Megan is aghast to realize that the talented writer in question is poor dead Blathnaid, and isn’t sure how to break the news of the young woman’s death. When Claire asks to be dropped off at Accents to meet up with the writing group she’s been working with during her stay in Ireland, Megan can’t help but wonder if perhaps she could help Paul just a teeny bit by passing on any information she might glean from squiring the famous author around. It wouldn’t really be investigating if she was just doing her job, right? But as the animosity within the writers’ group becomes clearer, Megan must untangle a web of deceit and murder before she herself can become the next target of a desperate killer.

This series is always so much fun, from the solid mysteries and characterizations to the humor and genuine love for Ireland, its people and culture. I love how firmly rooted it is in Dublin as a modern city, with a diverse populace and rich history. I didn’t so much love the use of the disapproving partner trope, but that is largely rooted in the fact that I think Megan is awesome and should always get her way. I love how funny and self-aware she is, even if the two don’t necessarily happen at the exact same time:

QUOTE
Megan, somewhat insensitively, said, “Well, [the dead woman] didn’t put herself into that closet, Anie,” and the young woman paled so sharply she had to sit down. A stab of guilt shot through Megan. She generally forgot that she was technically old enough to be most of the staff’s mother. Being fortysomething was supposed to feel grown-up, but Megan had come to the conclusion that most people never actually felt grown-up. They just got older, and spent a lot of their time being vaguely surprised that they no longer shared the same life experiences as a twenty-five-year-old.
END QUOTE

The Dublin Driver mystery novels form a really great contemporary cozy series, with excellent, matter-of-fact queer representation and a refreshing lack of what Megan herself pokes fun at as “Oirishness”, a state of exaggerating Irish characteristics in order to appeal to tourists. Reading these books really feels like taking a mini tour of Dublin as it is today, in the company of a delightful guide who just so happens to have a knack for solving murder mysteries. I can’t wait to read more!

This book is well written with great characters. I liked Megan’s character because of the way she figures things out, but didn’t care for her partner Jelena. She’s a bit whiny for me. I enjoyed the humor in the story, especially when they acted out the different scenarios of getting a dead body in the closet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. This is a cozy mystery..a quick read..i did not get into the story but others might. Kept waiting for something else to happen. This is a talented author at writing realistic characters.

This is the first book I have read in this series. You can definitely read as a stand alone. This book was ok to me. I loved the Dublin setting and the main character but not so much the other characters. It just couldn't keep my attention.

Megan Malone moved to Dublin after leaving a twenty year hitch in the Army as a medic. Little did she imagine that this new chapter of her life would earn her the monicker of The Murder Driver. She works as a limo driver and it turns out that she is a magnet for finding dead bodies. Her current client requested her specifically because of that. Being a writer, Claire wanted to know more.
Having gone a year without dealing with a death, Megan is for a shock when having coffee at her favorite coffee shop. A cupboard door is opened across from her and a corpse literally falls into her lap. Sort of hard to not get involved with this one. It turns out that the dead woman had a connection to her client, Claire...who becomes the next corpse. Despite the admonitions from friends and police to stay out of it, Megan just can't help doing her own investigation. Agree with her actions or not, it does give the reader an interesting mystery to sort out. Why were the women targeted and who was plagiarising whom.
The mystery kept me engaged and the setting of Dublin is one of the reasons I enjoy this series. Megan can be a bit annoying as she ignores the police request to butt out. I let it pass as this is a cozy and most amateur sleuths think they can out investigate the police.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The fourth book in this series but the first for me, so I was meeting Megan Malone, American by birth but living in Dublin, Ireland, for the first time. Megan lives with her Polish girlfriend, Jelena, works as a limo driver, and has a tendency to discover dead bodies.

Her latest one falls out of a cupboard in a coffee shop and lands on top of Megan and some staff. There follows Megan's personal investigation, as well as that of the police, in an effort to find out 'who dunnit.' There are lots of red herrings and a second murder before Megan finds herself in a very dangerous finale.

I enjoyed all the characters although Jelena's constant complaining became tiring. I was also very relieved that, despite the title, the author did not attempt to introduce the Irish accent into the characters' speech. She did explain how a few of the names should be pronounced though which was especially helpful for Blathnaid.

This was an entertaining and interesting cosy mystery, well worth reading.

For limo driver Megan, her notoriety for finding dead bodies leads her into another mystery filled with finicky writers, a demanding PR rep, and a morose editor.

I loved the group of writers in this book and the tie-in of fan fiction and plagiarism. It was slow for me to get into this at first but then it picked up pace. I didn’t see the murderer coming, but the way it all tied together made for a satisfying finish.

I particularly love the relationship between Megan and the ever tolerant Jelena, though I think Jelena’s protestations can drag on at times (we all know Megan will investigate regardless). I also hope there’s more involvement with Paul and Niamh in future books.

Looking forward to the next in the series!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the 4th release in the "Dublin Driver Mystery Series." I enjoy this eries for the atmospheric setting of Ireland, the culture and the wonderful charcters. Megan Malone is a limo driver in Dublin and has a talent for solving mysteries and running into dead bodies one after another which has made her unpopular . After a difficult time when she moved to Dublin she now has called Dublin home and has a group of friends she enjoys.

Megan has a new client who is proving difficult. The famous author is fascinated by Megan's abilities to solve murders and wants to spend time with Megan andi have her in her book group. When a murder occurs Megan is on the case to solve complex clues and find the right suspect.

I enjoy this atmospheric fun series for the culture, charcters and sleuth. I look forward to the next in series and more adventures of Megan.

What a day! First the body a young woman falls into Megan's lap while she's having coffee with her friend Jelena and then she's hired to drive Claire, a well known writer. And Claire had planned to meet the dead woman. Hmmm. But wait- Claire also ends up dead, raising a lot of questions about the writers group. Someone was plagiarizing from someone else but who was the original and who was the cheat? Megan, of course, investigates (after all, she's sort of involved) against the wishes of romantic interest Paul, a detective. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books in this series- it will be fine as a standalone. I like these for the characters and the setting and appreciate that Murphy never takes the American in Ireland thing too far. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Megan Malone does NOT wish to be known as the murder driver. Unfortunately for her, it seems bodies just won’t stop falling in her lap. The body is identified as a young writer, Blathnaid, and later Megan meets her mentor, Claire. Claire is supposedly in Ireland researching a novel, but as Detective Paul Bourke discovers, there is also a chance that she is confronting Blathnaid about plagiarizing her work, or vice versa.

When another member ends up dead, Megan will have to find the killer, or give up for good.

I have not read any of Catie Murphy’s novels prior to this one.

I know a lot of my reviews talk about the characters, and that’s because the reader spends the majority of the book within the mind of one, sometimes multiple characters. It would be impossible to say that I can interact with the novel by ignoring the characters. That in mind, I absolutely did not like Jelena or Paul, and found Megan very aggravating. Jelena seemed very rude and nasty towards her girlfriend about things that weren’t in Megan’s control. I did not like how Jelena and Paul blamed her for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or for the media doing what the media does. However, I also didn’t like how Megan would say “I’m trying!” and say she wasn’t involved, but then in the next breath was being nosy. I find that I like novels where the characters are honest with themselves. If you want to investigate, do it. Don’t lie to yourself or the reader about it.

The mystery and overall plot were the only things that kept me reading. I wanted to know who the killer was, and why they did it. There were so many reasons, and the ‘she-said/she-said’ part of the plagiarism made me want to know the truth. I honestly didn’t know until the very end, so the author did a great job with possibilities.

Overall, I rate this novel 3 out of 5 stars.

This series has definitely taken off! It seems like literally yesterday thatI was reading book 1 and seeing the promise in the series, and this is now Book 4 in the series! There have been big changes in Megan's life since that initial book- she is settles into Dublin, has made peace (of a sorts) with her boss, and all she wants is a good cup of coffee to start her day. what she gets is a dead body and another epidode with Det Bourke. she can't help getting in the middle of the investigation, when she finds out her client for the week is at odds with the victim. this is a fun cozy, that reads quickly!

Megan has gone over a year without finding a dead body, but in "Death in Irish Accents," she's drawn into a case despite only wanting to celebrate St. Patrick's Day weekend with her friends and girlfriend Jelena.

Megan is an American transplant to Ireland, and is known as the "Murder Driver," referring to her work as a limo driver and her tendency to stumble across murder victims in the course of her work. It's a great series. Megan and her crew are likeable and well-written. No surprise, since author Catie Murphy also writes fantasy as C. E. Murphy, including one of my favorite series, The Walker Papers.

Megan seems reluctant to investigate at first, but keeps just asking one more question or looking for one more clue. This is causing conflict with Jelena, who tells Megan, very directly, that she can't keep doing this. Megan continues to investigate, and for me, that cast a shadow on the book. I don't know if Megan loves the hunt more than she loves Jelena, but I was disappointed in her choices in this book.

Still, it's a great addition to the series, and I'm hoping Megan and Jelena find a way to resolve this conflict in the next book.

What worked for me: great characters, solid mystery, fun read
What didn't work as well for me: Megan's refusal to let the police do their job, even when it threatens to end her relationship with her girlfriend

4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

This third entry in the Dublin Driver series features a great setting and lots of Irish charm. Military veteran Megan Malone has ended up driving a limo in Dublin. She is level-headed, insatiably curious, calm and competent. And of course, she has a bad habit of stumbling over corpses.

In this story, a dead body actually tumbles out of a closet at a coffee shop and lands on Megan. Turns out the victim was a local writer so there is a cast of characters of authors, some Irish, a couple Americans, some wildly successful, some just starting out. It's St. Patrick's Day weekend and Megan has promised her girlfriend Jelena that she will not be distracted from spending the weekend celebrating in Dublin together.

Megan tries to keep her word, but keeps getting sucked into the mystery, even though her buddy Paul, a detective, is off the case. I felt like this one could have used a bit more character development. We don't really find out anything about Jelena except that she frowns a lot and really hates that Megan keeps getting involved in murder.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5⭐️!!
Another great addition to the Dublin Driver series! This one definitely kept me guessing until the end! The culprit wasn’t even on my short list until the very end. I can’t wait for the next in the series!

amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, Ireland, murder, murder-investigation, multiple-murder, friendship, ex-pat, ex-military, relationships, writers, plagiarism, cultural-differences, Polish, situational-humor, verbal-humor

Dead is no way to come out of the closet!
Megan is an expat American happy to be working for a limo service in Ireland since retiring (as a medic) from the US army after twenty years' service.
Megan is not happy with being called "The Murder Driver", but her boss thinks it's great because she can charge some of the clients a lot more. This time it is a popular writer who demands her services, but then things turn murky as well as dangerous. The publisher's blurb is pretty good, but the characters and plot twists are even better. This one isn't as hilarious as some of the others, but it's still five stars. I have read all of the previous books in series and loved each one.
I requested and received an EARC from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Megan has certainly had her share of bad luck with murders, and it continues in this installment. Charming with enjoyable characters and a wonderful setting.