Death at an Irish Wedding takes place in the town of Grathton Village, Ireland. Rayne McGrath and her cousin, Ciara Smith inherited Grafth castle from their Uncle Nevin who was killed iomowing the property. with the stipulation that they had to bring the castle back to it's former self and help the village so that it did not be part of Cotter village. Ciara is Uncle Nevin's natural daughter but not a McGrath. They found adoption papers to make her legitimate. Rayne had been in the U.S. and had her own bridal shop which was lost when her boyfriend stole her dresses and money. She had hoped to continue with her bridal shop at the castle. Cormac Lloyd is the butler with his wife, Maeve and daughter Aime who also work there. Amos Lloyd is the grounds manager along with Dafydd Norman, manor shepard and engaged to Ciara. They all hope by working together they will fulfill the stipulation of the will.

A wedding party has been planned for to take place at the castle with the Mongomery-Anderson families. Tori Montgomery is the bride and Jake Anderson, groom are having a secret wedding. Her parents, Joan and Dylan are hotel magnates and very rich. Jake is a movie star along with his brother, Josh. The wedding party consisted of her friend, Amy Flores, also an actress is maid of honor. Ethan Cruz is Jake's assistant. Tiffany Quick is Amy's assistant. All except for Joan, Dylan who will stay in a cottage as well as Ethan and Tiffany in another. An old fashion Irish wedding was planned.

When she was doing the final alterations on the dress she made for Tori she realized that it did not fit her as before. Tori admitted that she was now pregnant but did not want Jake to know until after the wedding,

Ciara and Aine came to find Rayne who was in her bridal studio working on Tori's wedding dress Aime told her that she heard an argument that sounded bad. They went to the Billard room where the party had been playing but it was empty. They heard Blarney, Rayne's irish setter, howling. They went to see what the problem was and found Tiffany outside the tower dead on the ground. Her neck was bent at an angle. Tffany was staying in one of the cottages. What was she doing at the tower? The Garda was called. Garda Dominic Williams and his partner, Garda Kaitlin Lee arrived. Everyone but Tori's parents were woken up and asked to go to the blue room. Garda Williams told the group about Tiffany's death. Amy told everyone that she found out that Tiffany was planning to write a story for the press and that Amy had told her that she was going to be fired when they got back to the states. Josh had been found at a pub and he told everyone that Tiffany told him about her plans. Tori told everyone she still planned to go ahead with the wedding.

This is where the story gets interesting which has so much going on to put on paper. I will leave this for the reader to enjoy to the exciting and surprising ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

The 2nd in the Irish Castle Mysteries continues to follow Rayne McGrath after her LA life was upended and now she owns an old Irish castle following the death of her Uncle. Leaving LA behind was a tough choice but she has been able to restart her wedding dress design business and expand into hosting weddings, with the help of the Castle staff and her surprise cousin, Ciara. Her Uncle’s will outlined that Rayne and Ciara must work together to turn a profit within a year and they have found a way to coexist and work towards a common goal. Unfortunately, the first wedding they are hosting brings with it Hollywood actors and business moguls and lots of drama. When one of the guests is found dead, Rayne must keep the wedding plans going to make a profit and keep the castle. Everyone has their own agenda and it is hard to piece out who is for the wedding and who is against it. To create more intrigue, Rayne has to deal with upset villagers who do not want her business and the castle to do well AND her ex-boyfriend/partner and his crimes. The intertwining cases make things difficult for Rayne even with the help of her loyal Irish Setter, Blarney. This book had me guessing who did what to whom and why until the very end.

I love a good cozy mystery and I don't even mind if it's a bit silly or cheesy. Bit I do mind when it's poorly written and maybe not edited. I made it 5% and couldn't continue. The sentences are bad, the punctuation is poor. There are so many sentence fragments.

Not reviewed on Goodreads as I figure this book is unfinished and it might be ok once it's edited.

This is the first that I have heard of / read this series. I'll admit, the cover caught my attention as well as the title. Who doesn't love mystery books in Ireland? The author is also new to me, however, after this book, I will be finding more books by them to read.

Even though I started on the second book of the series, I had no problem following along on what had transpired in the first book and the list of characters. I loved the characters. Each one is so down to earth and ready to do whatever it takes to save their family's village and castle. Yep, you read that right: castle. Who doesn't enjoy a good castle in their stories?

The guests, being movie stars, and assistants, etc. were mostly intolerable. (You expect that, as more often than naught, we find our movie heroes to usually be rather stuck on themselves.) The hotel royalty was actually pretty decent, and I liked them right away. Tori, being the heiress and bride, she was different than I expected her to be. Yes, she had her stuck-up moments but for the most part, she was really quite lovely and human.

The groom and his groupies, (that's what I am calling them) were pretty awful. Then again, that could just be me. Normally, when someone says that a man has boyish charm, I usually see that as a red flag for 'can get anyone to do whatever he wants but is actually very fake.'

Rayne and her cousin are simply wonderful. You throw in Cormac, Amos, Maeve, a few other of the staff and I just loved them. I hated Gillian and Bram at first read. Why? I don't know, for some reason their characters rubbed me the wrong way from the git go.

I loved the mystery. The possibility of ancient ghosts and spirits wandering around the castle's halls almost gave it a kind of romantic gothic feel. You can feel the history of the place coming off of the pages. I would give anything to see this place, if it were real.

I had guessed about 50% on the actual killer. It was really hard to pin down exactly which one I thought when there were so many good choices. I really disliked most of these people.

The ending was great though, so much stuff happens and then bang! It was like one firework blasting off after another one. I loved that it was stair stepped instead of just one big giant shebang. Just when you think you can't get any more surprised, then here comes another wallop!

This author has themselves a new fan. There was so much drama throughout the entire book, it really kept me guessing. It was a super fun read and I adored it from the beginning. I will be back for more. I highly recommend.

Thanks to Net Galley, the publishers, and to Ellie Brannigan for the ability to read and review this book. All opinions are honest and are completely my own.

This cozy murder mystery sequel is a fun, quick read, although there are a lot of a (crazy) new characters to keep track of.
Thank you for the digital review copy Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley.

Death at an Irish Wedding, the second book in the Irish Castle Mystery series by Ellie Brannigan is a page-turning who-done-it with a bit of fanciful whimsy. The story picks up where Rayne and Ciara left off in the first book, working to save their heritage home and its village. From its onset, and with the quickly planned wedding imminent, the shenanigans of the wedding guests and the bride and groom begin.

The story is fast-paced, the murder clues are smartly presented, and the red herrings and twists and turns are plentiful. With that, said the culmination of events leading to the conclusion, is still a clever surprise that you won't see coming.

The series’ next installment should surely contain answers to the subtle cliffhangers the author slipped in.

This ARC book was complimentary… provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Rayne McGrath moved to Ireland from LA after her a) boyfriend Landon stole all her money and gowns from her Rodeo Drive wedding gown business; and b) her Uncle Nevin passed and left her his estate -- including a run-down castle that she has a year to make into a profitable endeavor or lose everything and be swallowed up by a neighboring shire. With the help of her cousin Ciara, she's working on doing so, hoping that the wedding scheduled with heiress Tori Montgomery and actor Jake Anderson will bring in the needed funds to get them through for awhile.

But almost immediately things begin to go wrong, and when Tori's friend Amy's assistant Tiffany is found dead on the castle grounds, she wonders if maybe the stars are against her. At first everyone thinks Tiffany jumped due to unsettling news, but Rayne and Ciara soon find out from the garda that it's murder. Not being able to tell anyone, they try and continue with the wedding plans, get past the glitches, and hope for the best. But the issues don't stop. Even with the accidents unfolding, Tori wants her wedding to go forward, and all Rayne can do is try and make it happen. Even if it kills her...

This is the second in the series, and I was just as enchanted as I was with the first. Rayne is settling in her new life as lady of the manor (although she won't use the name); hoping that her cousin will see eye-to-eye with her on improving things. Unfortunately, when the celebrity wedding was scheduled, Rayne didn't think it would be such a nightmare. Really a nightmare. A diva bride (and maid of honor), surly assistants, a constantly drunken member of the entourage, and, at least, the wealthy and decent parents of the bride -- who will do anything for their daughter's happiness.

When the murder occurs, Rayne needs to keep it under her hat, which isn't easy, since one of the guests is a killer. Or is it one of her new hires on the farm? All Rayne knows is that a murderer is in their midst, and needs to be found before the weekend is up and the guests leave. Things begin to go even more awry when there are several 'accidents' and suddenly Garda Dominic needs Rayne's help in finding out who's at fault.

When the ending comes and everything fits together, we see that the clues were there: I had a bit of a hunch toward the beginning, glad I was right, and even more, glad I read this book. The reason for murder is very sad indeed, and no excusing the crime. But the book gives you clues throughout, a few red herrings, a misdirection, and a wonderful ending. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

Super cute and fast-paced cozy mystery! A wedding weekend whodunnit that kept you guessing 'til the end.

The 2nd in a good cozy mystery series set in Ireland. When Rayne and her cousin work to save their castle and property, they have set up a venue for weddings. When a Hollywood couple bring their family and friends to have a wedding in the picturesque area, and also because Rayne is well known for her seamstress skills, and is making a stunning wedding dress. A good book, but it helps to read book 1 before this one, as it helps to explain how the cousins got together and the issues they have with the inheritance. Would recommend and look forward to the next book in their series.

#DeathatanIrishWedding #NetGalley is the first book I've read by this author and I found it to be quite interesting.
Rayne and her cousin Ciara are trying to save the family castle, so when they have the opportunity to host a celebrity's wedding, they jump at the chance.
Unfortunately things turn bad when a death sets free a spiral of twisted secrets.
I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Fast-paced cozy mystery. I understand this is the second book in a series. I did not read the first book, so while I was missing some of the background story, the author did a good job of getting me up to speed and familiar with the characters.
A Hollywood power couple wants to avoid paparazzi and get married in a quant Irish town hidden away from the cameras but, suddenly an assistant dies, and everyone is under suspicion, everyone except Blarney that is! Well, maybe not him either, as we do learn he is quite the thief!
I am not sure I felt a significant connection to the characters, maybe due to missing out on the first book but, I did enjoy it and would be interested to read the next one!