I’m absolutely loving this series of cozy mysteries featuring Megan Malone, a Texan former army driver who’s retired to a quiet life driving limousines in Dublin and somehow keeps managing to stumble over dead bodies. In this one, it’s a professional golfer found floating face-down in a water hazard that kicks off the action, and since the victim was both the best friend and greatest rival of Megan’s current client and she was the first to get to the body, she can hardly help but be in the thick of things.
Catie Murphy does include a fairly hefty cast in her books, but every character is distinctly drawn enough that I didn’t find anything confusing, and I also think I could have read this one quite comfortably as a standalone even if I hadn’t read the first in the series. I love Megan, a steady, calm presence in the midst of the whirlwind, a woman who is completely comfortable with her bisexuality incidentally, and even finds it hilarious when a (female) client is willing to pay her to dress up in a very objectifying outfit. There are some seriously funny, laugh-out-loud moments here, several caused by the ‘language’ barrier between American and colloquial Irish slang and the double entendres it’s far too easy to make. Megan doesn’t take herself too seriously, but she is serious about her job and about doing her best for people, and it makes her an intensely likeable character.
As a golf widow myself I was fairly entertained by all the golfing references, and there were enough twists and turns in the mystery to keep me guessing right up until the end. This is easily my favourite cozy mystery series at the moment and I’m eagerly looking forward to the next installment. Five stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.