Kay Hudson

I am loving this series of cozies by Zara Keane, set on a small island off the west coast of Ireland. The central character, Maggie Doyle, is an American whose father came from Whisper Island, and she has fond memories of spending childhood summers there. So when her marriage and her job with the San Francisco police department both go down the tubes, she goes to visit her Aunt Noreen and help out at the Movie Theater Cafe, just for a little while.

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I had started reading book two, The Postman Always Dies Twice, when I discovered To Hatch a Thief, a longish novella set between the first (Dial P for Poison) and second novels. So I switched over to read it first. To Hatch a Thief involves stolen diamonds and dancing chickens (in leprechaun costumes!), not to mention the intriguing Sergeant Reynolds. 

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The second full-length novel, The Postman Always Dies Twice is another funny, fast-moving entry. This time Maggie and her friend Lenny discover the body of the local postal carrier, and Maggie goes undercover at the island hotel in an attempt to find the poltergeist scaring the guests away. Meanwhile Sergeant Reynolds has moved into the cottage next to Maggie’s, but he may not be there long if the postman’s murder gets any more complicated. Between wardrobe disasters, bootleg whiskey, and pot-laced brownies, Maggie’s stay on Whisper Island is far from the uneventful r&r she was looking for–but maybe just what she needs.

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By the time How To Murder a Millionaire rolls around, Maggie has decided to stay on Whisper Island, and has gotten herself a private investigator’s license, and her first job—investigating the disappearance of a sheep named Nancy, who went missing twenty-two years ago. When she goes to interview the prime suspect in that very cold case, she finds his body in his barn—clad in a crotchless mankini. (Yes, I had to google that, and even with an intact crotch, a mankini is a terrible thing to behold. You have been warned.) Soon Maggie is dealing with the horrible American family of her late grandmother’s oldest friend, who just may be connected to the mankini murder. And then there’s Sergeant Reynolds . . .

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I’m looking forward to Maggie’s next adventure, The 39 Cupcakes, due out next month.