This was an enjoyable collection of stories that all featured Irish coffee as a core element of them.

I did find it a little confusing to have recipes inserted in the middle of stories, especially when I was listening to the audiobook version.

But overall, the stories were well-done.

Thank you to Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Barbara Ross, Kensington Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I definitely missed the memo that this was a collection of novellas. I suppose the three authors should have been a hint but it isn’t uncommon for multiple authors to join forces on one book.

My chief complaint is the single narrator used throughout. I wish that each novella had its own narrator as it would have made it easier to remember that the previous novella has ended and we are, in fact, listening to a separate story now.

The three stories were each unique yet had the central theme of the Irish coffee. I found this to be interesting as cozy mysteries and food always entertain me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book is a compilation of three short works. Each story is engaging, with great pacing, and developed characters. Sometimes the stories in these compilations are hit or miss. This one was a hit for me.

Three cozy mystery novellas packed into one, neat St. Patrick's Day package! I had the joy of listening to this one on audio, and all three stories shared the same narrator--who did a fabulous job. The perfect March read, all three stories have the Irish holiday, Maine setting, and the beloved alcoholic beverage woven in. I had only previously read Leslie Meier's work, so the other two others were new to me--but I was impressed by all of them!

Meier's story features a murder after an Irish dancing competition that heroine reporter Lucy covered for the local paper. Hollis' story stars restaurant owner Hayley investigating the murder of a local comedian whose come to town for a special St. Patrick's Day show. And Ross' story takes the unique path of setting the town locals snowed in and sharing ghost stories about a century-ago murder that starts the story unsolved. All three are worth reading and together they're sure to please cozy mystery fans--especially ones looking for a themed read!

Thanks to Tantor Audio and Kensington Books for my ALC and ARC, respectively! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

I haven't read anything by these authors before, but would like to thank them, TANTOR AUDIO, and NetGalley for the AUDIO ARC. This book is 3 novellas (one by each author) and narrated by: Callie Beaulieu. These are cozy mysteries set in Ireland and the plots are easy to read. None of them are going to alarm you but will give you a sense of Irish life.

IRISH COFFEE MURDER by LESLIE MEIER
Part-time reporter Lucy Stone is writing a piece for the Courier about four Irish step dancing students from Tinker's Cove on the cusp of making it big. But the story becomes headline news for all the wrong reasons when one girl's mother is found dead in her bathtub. Did a stage mom take rivalry too far, or is some other motive at play?

DEATH OF AN IRISH COFFEE DRINKER by LEE HOLLIS
As owner of Bar Harbor's hottest new restaurant, Hayley Powell offers to cater the after-party for popular comedian Jefferson O'Keefe, who's playing his old hometown for St. Patrick's Day. But it's no laughing matter when Jefferson keels over after gulping down his post-show Irish coffee, leaving Hayley to figure out who decided this joker had gone too far . . .

PERKED UP by BARBARA ROSS
It's a snowy St. Patrick's Day in Busman's Harbor. But when the power goes out, what better way for Julia Snowden to spend the evening than sharing local ghost stories--and Irish coffees--with friends and family? By the time the lights come back, they might even have solved the coldest case in town

I received an advanced audiobook copy of this book. The narrator did a good job. The characters were easy to distinguish between. I listened at 1.25x speed, which is about my average.

Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier -The story wasn't bad but, to me, it had too much going on. First, there are too many characters, so I didn't get to know or care about any of them. I also thought it would revolve more around the dance competition but there was a lot of other stuff going on. And the way the murder was solved was very straightforward, a bit too dry for me.

Death of an Irish coffee drinker by Lee Hollis - I liked this story. The pacing was good and it had some twists without getting too bogged down. A few chapters felt a little disconnected but those were very minor.

Perked Up by Barbara Ross - This one was my favorite of the short stories. I really liked how it started off as a ghost story and as neighbors and friends showed up, they all had different info and opinions, and eventually turned into trying to solve the murder at the heart of the story. It was really well done and I enjoyed it.

This is a collection of three different cozies with the running theme of Irish Coffee and St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a really good group of tales that definitely will keep you interested.
The first story is Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier. In this story, Lucy Stone, part-time reporter, is writing about four Irish step dancing students. They are from Tinker’s Cove and are right on the edge of making it big. The story makes it big but not for very good reason. You see, one of the girl’s mothers is found dead in her bathtub! Could there have been a bit of mama drama going on behind the scenes? What could the motive possibly be?
The second of the three stories is Irish Coffee Drinker written by Lee Hollis. Bar Harbor’s hottest restaurant, Hayley Powers, offers her services to cater the after-party for Jefferson O’Keefe, a very popular comedian. He’s playing his old home town for St. Patrick’s Day but sadly Jefferson won’t be attending the after-party for long. After drinking his post-show Irish coffee he drops down dead. Now Hayley needs to figure out who murdered the guy.
The final story is called Perked Up and it is written by Barbara Ross. In this ghostly tale of murder, set on a snowy St. Patrick's Day in Busman’s Harbor, Julia Snowden is settling in with her friends and family as tales of local ghost stories are passed around and the Irish coffee is served in abundance. As the tale unfolds, more join and when the lights finally come back on they think they just may have solved the oldest cold case in town, but did they?
These stories were all so much fun. Each one is very different but has that fun running theme of Irish coffee. You get the death of a small town mom, the murder of a jokester, and a little bit of ghostly fun all in one book. I definitely recommend this one!
If you like audiobooks, this is one you may want to consider. I received a copy to listen to from NetGalley and the narrator was terrific. The story was conveyed perfectly through her voice and you cling to every single word.

The three queens of cozy mysteries are back with another seasonal novella book. This time it’s set around St. Patrick’s Day and the common link between each story is Irish Coffee. The characters are all familiar if you read any other of the authors books, so of course I do have a favorite., plus there are recipes included. Loved …….. Perked Up by Barbara Ross. A impromptu get together over Irish Coffee with friends and neighbors during a power outage trying to solve a 150 year murder. Was such a different twist on solving a murder. Although I think there was a mistake on the timeline. The another story Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier, has our favorite snoop reporter Lucy back trying to solve another murder. Death of an Irish Coffee Drinkers by Lee Holis, I listened to the audio, so that maybe why it didn’t grab me as the other 2 did. So I now plan to read it. Sometimes that does make a difference. A wonderful way to get one in the mood to celebrate St. Patty’s day ☘️. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #IrishCoffeeMurder

Irish Coffee Murder
Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross
Narrated by Callie Beaulieu
This was an enjoyable trio of novellas by three well known cozy writers, in celebration of St Patrick’s Day and Irish coffee. Plus murder, of course.
My favorite was the first one by Leslie Meier. The other two were also good but I did not like the recipe sections interspersed in the story by Lee Hollis. They broke the story up too much. The story by Barbara Ross dragged a bit in the middle but the ending was good.
Narration was good but since it was the not the original narrator for the series these came from, it was a bit hard to adjust.

IRISH COFFEE MURDER by LESLIE MEIER 
“Part-time reporter Lucy Stone is writing a piece for the Courier about four Irish step dancing students from Tinker’s Cove on the cusp of making it big. But the story becomes headline news for all the wrong reasons when one girl’s mother is found dead in her bathtub. Did a stage mom take rivalry too far, or is some other motive at play?”

This lead off story did not grab me at first, but it improved somewhat as it progressed. I found the characters to read like characters in a book rather than fully formed personalities that I was reading a book about. This struggle or complaint certainly isn’t new or unique as it has been a too frequent obstacle in fiction for as long as there has been fiction. When I read or listen to a story, if the story never creates immersion, it’s not a home run for me no matter what else is done well. I want to forget the characters are characters and connect with them as if they are people enduring a plight or going on an adventure or living life…and I’m there with them…either rooting for or against, with hope and/or dread. This novella does not do that. The story is fine, but at no point did I feel the weight of the tale or care about the people on the page. I give it a D.



DEATH OF AN IRISH COFFEE DRINKER by LEE HOLLIS
 “As owner of Bar Harbor’s hottest new restaurant, Hayley Powell offers to cater the after-party for popular comedian Jefferson O’Keefe, who’s playing his old hometown for St. Patrick’s Day. But it’s no laughing matter when Jefferson keels over after gulping down his post-show Irish coffee, leaving Hayley to figure out who decided this joker had gone too far.”

The second tale in this collection is more engaging than the first, but suffers from many of the same faults—contrived characters and circumstances. I liked the premise and I liked a few of the interactions, but this who-dun-it is convoluted in what seems like an attempt to be complex. I sorted the characters by their suspicious behavior rather than by their names and traits. I estimate many readers will solve the crime, but that’s not the end all be all of a mystery.
Also, since Jefferson, the famous comedian’s show, is the inciting incident, I think it would have been wise and cool to actually include the show as part of the story. As it is we spend time building up to the show and then we skip to after the show and the murder. The author tells us how funny and charming and what a rising star this comedian is, but we don’t actually experience that—between that and the dubious science, this tale barely scrapes out a D+



PERKED UP by BARBARA ROSS 
“It’s a snowy St. Patrick’s Day in Busman’s Harbor. But when the power goes out, what better way for Julia Snowden to spend the evening than sharing local ghost stories—and Irish coffees—with friends and family? By the time the lights come back, they might even have solved the coldest case in town.”

This third and final tale in the trilogy is by far the best. The author, Barbara Ross, should consider converting this into a play. With some dialogue punch and a few minor tweaks, it could make for a compelling stage dramedy. As I was reading it, I often saw it playing out on a stage in my head. Yet, it also bears some of the burden of generic characters and trite dialogue with its counterparts—I give Perked Up a C.

All in all I give Irish Coffee Murder a C-.

My video review will post on the evening on 1/23/22
https://www.youtube.com/@thisphillipbrian

This book is a collection of three short stories, all of which are loosely set around St Patrick's day. I requested this advanced reader copy because I know Leslie Meier is a very popular cozy mystery author and I've been enjoying the Hannah Swenson cozy mystery series by Joanne Fluke, that is kind of along the same line as this. I was very excited to start it, but the first story, the titular Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier was the weakest out of the three stories in my opinion. I was honestly bored of the story, right from the beginning. It was hard for me to force myself to get through and I almost quit listening partway through. The second story Death by an Irish coffee Drinker by Lee Hollis was more interesting and kept my attention, but (without spoilers) when the killer and murder method are revealed, I thought it was the dumbest method and reasoning. The saving grace of this book was the third story, Perked Up by Barbara Ross. The third story gave me the same vibes as an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, due to the group discussion of a murder mystery ghost story during a power outage. It felt more light-hearted and it didn't feel like it was trying to hard like the other two stories. My rating for this book is mostly based off the third story, because it compensated for the other two.

Book Title: Irish Coffee Murder
Author: Leslie Meier, Barbara Ross, and Lee Hollis
Series: #1 A Lucy Stone - #2 Hayley Powell Mystery, and #3 Main Clambake Mystery
Narrator: Callie Beaulieu
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pub Date: January 24, 2023
My Rating: 4.5 rounded up!

I love a good Cozy Mystery but I am not a fan of short stories but this trio has me converted!

Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier (Lucy Stone Mystery)
Death of an Irish Coffee Drinker by Lee Hollie (Hayley Powell Mystery)
Perked Up by Barbara Ross (Main Clambake Mystery)
These three stories all have something in common – St Patrick’s Day and Irish Coffee!
"Irish Coffee Murder" ~ Lucy interviews a team of Irish dancers each girl is looking for a big win. When one of the mothers’ turns up dead, it seems they others all have motives.
Whodunit and why was a big of a surprise.

"Death of an Irish Coffee Drinker" ~ Hayley is asked to cater the ‘After Party’ for a comedian who is having a big local event.
The Guest of Honor is handed his Irish Coffee and offers a toast- everyone replicates with their Irish Coffee in hand. Next thing he colipases; it appears something was in his drink. Who would poisoned him and why. Never fear Hayler Powell will figure it out.
These two stories were typical cozy mystery fun.

The third was not what I expected but I found I liked it perhaps because it is different from a typical cozy.

" Perked up" ~Is actually Historical Fiction and provides some true history of the early Irish settlers in Maine. There was a group pf wealthy Irishmen who established the community of Benedicta, which offered a safe area for Irish immigrants.

Story starts when the power go out on a snowy night in Busman’s Harbor Plus, (Awww what better way to pass the time then sit in front of a fire, with a steaming mug of Irish coffee telling ghost stories?)
Julia does just that. First she entertains her mother, a friend, and her mother's friend and they soon tell a ghost story about something that happened 150 years ago. As friends and neighbors pop in and out they all seem to have a little different tale on the ghost.

Once everyone has contributed to the story, Julia isn't sure who killed the man and whether he is the ghost currently haunting people on St. Patrick's Day.
Julia is determined to research the truth.

This was a GREAT! Plus audiobook narrator Callie Beaulieu did a super job in performing all the characters!

Want to thank NetGalley and Tantor Audio for granted me the pleasure of listening to this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 24, 2023

Three light cozy novellas set in Maine with the mention of Irish coffee from time to time - even some recipes shared throughout. Though this was my first dip into all three series I didn't feel lost so don't let that keep you from sampling these authors! Ultimately, I think fans of the series will enjoy this collection the most.

The narrator did a good job with distinguishing voices and delivered an entertaining performance that was enjoyable and made listening easy.

I really enjoyed listen to this. It has been my first time with the author. I have been wanting to read her books and wasn’t disappointed. Good read.

Irish Coffee Murder is a trilogy of short stories by three popular cozy mystery authors all with the connecting theme of Irish Coffee and of course, murder.

It begins with Leslie Meier’s Irish Coffee Murder where local reporter and amateur sleuth Lucy Stone interviews the local Irish step dancers and discovers secrets about the dancers’ moms. When one of them is found murdered, Lucy unintentionally gets involved. I loved the quick pacing of the story and it wrapped up nicely as good novellas are intended to do. The characters of the small town were great and although Lucy’s boss is a grump, his realistic approach to heating costs and criticizing Lucy missing out on reporting the latest hot headlining news first had me giggling.

I am growing quickly to be a Lee Hollis fan as well. Death of an Irish Coffee Drinker is my second story I’ve read of Hollis’ and the relationship aspects she includes into her stories really brings the story to life alongside with solving the mystery of the murdered local celeb. It’s really nice to have a protagonist who is in a healthy marriage as that’s a huge difference than most protagonists in cozies. Also, the way the murder occurred was very unique and made this story really stand out for me.

While I wasn’t drawn into the Perked Up story by Barbara Ross as I was in the other two, I liked the exchanges of tales by the neighbours of an old local murder mystery and figuring out what actually happened.

I highly recommend the audio as the narration by Callie Beaulieu was done really well as she was great at voicing the quirky characters throughout all three stories.

Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meyer, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross is out on Tuesday! If you are cozy mystery curious, this is a great sampler of some of the greats. All three mini mysteries revolve around St. Patrick’s Day and a nice Irish Coffee. I’ve tried all these authors before and I think these stories are representative of their works and continue their series. Personally, Barbara Ross is my favorite with her small town Maine setting and ghost stories. I did like Lee Hollis’, but found the recipes didn’t work so well on audio. Leslie Meier’s series isn’t my personal cup of tea but does have a great small town community; I understand why she’s such a hit. As always @calliebeaulieu does an excellent job narrating. Definitely check out this book if you’re looking to dip your toe in the cozy mystery pool. @netgalley @kensingtonbooks @tantoraudio

Look no further for short St. Patrick's Day themed cozy mystery. Leslie Meier's story stands alone well. I haven't had the chance to read the previous books in the series she pulls this story from but found it stood alone well.
Unfortunately, the second story in this book didn't fit the shorter format as well. Lee Hollis' story seemed disjointed. It needs a full length book or less unnecessary info. Maybe could have enhanced the story better if the recipes had been left out. It is a compilation of short stories after all. No need to format the same way the regular series is.
The third story was entertaining and a different take on a St. Patrick's them. For sure this book starts off with the best author it had. Not sure anyone would have gotten to the top billed author if her story was placed last.

I loved the variety all tied in by the simple Irish coffee.

Leslie Miller’s character Lucy is sharp and at times a busybody. I loved the tie in of Irish Dancing and the variety of dance moms. There were quite a few red herrings throughout, but the end was satisfying.

Lee Hollis’ story was a fun St Patrick’s tale. A local boy “made good” comes back to town and ends up murdered. I loved that it took a while to figure out what kind of person the murdered Jefferson O’Keeffe was. Between motives of love, greed, and jealousy, I didn’t see the ending coming the way it did.

Barbara Ross’ story took things in a fun and different turn. While sitting around telling ghost stories, a discussion of whodunnit for a long-ago murder arises. Who doesn’t love the solving of a centuries-old cold case. As the night of solving continues, more neighbors get involved in the story bringing their own knowledge from passed down stories to light.

Loved listening to the audiobook version. The narrator was so clever in her ability to convey characters.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #TantorAudio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this audiobook performance of Irish Coffee Murder, an installment in the Lucy Stone Mystery series. I haven't read all the books in the series, but each time I do I really enjoy how Lucy works about finding the answer to the mystery. In this case, having too many Irish coffees let too many secrets slip (as alcohol is wont to do). The narration was very good, and the narrator did a really good job in letting the different characters have different accents/tones. I want to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for giving me an advance copy of this audiobook, in return for an honest review.

I was super attracted to the title, the artwork and description of the book. I really enjoyed the narrators voice but I could not get into it. I think the storyline was good but it lacked to keep interest. I would definitely be interested in trying more from the authors and narrator.