Well, it is six days into March and I have enjoyed my immersion into Irish Culture. I have read 2 books and am partway into 2 others. I also watched one movie set in Dublin, whose storyline involved music.

The Lost Child (D.I. Lottie Parker #3) by Patricia Gibney, Michele Moran (Narrator)

Published October 27th 2017 by Bookouture

4.5 Stars:

The Lost Child is the 3rd book in the D.I. Lottie Parker series and it can be read as a standalone, but there are some references to cases in previous books. D.I. Parker and her partner D.I. Boyd are called in to investigate the murder of an elderly woman, and discover that her daughter is missing. When she is found, she has been beaten and mutilated. Two days later, a nearby house is set on fire with two people inside. As they continue to investigate they aren’t sure if it is drugs, or relates back to a case that Lottie’s father was investigating before he killed himself. although Lottie is not convinced that it was a suicide.

Lottie Parker is a woman, a mother, a widow and a detective that has a lot of baggage. She engages in a lot of self-destructive behaviour. She lives with her mother, her daughter who is a new mother and her son, but no one else seems to do anything around the house but her. She and her mother have a very antagonistic relationship and her kids were involved in her last case, not in positive ways. Despite all of these, she is good at her job. She has book instincts and is able to tie things together well. Some of the crimes are a gruesome but each one gives Parker and Boyd another clue. The mystery they are tracking goes back years. There is child abandonment, mental health issues, abuse, family secrets, drugs and corruption all involved. The ending was shocking and it answered a lot of questions. This is a series that I hope to catch up on this year and The Lost Child has me ready to pick up the next book to see what is next for Lottie, her partner, and family. I listened to this book, narrated by Michele Morin. I listened to the first two books and am enjoying her voice for D.I. Lottie Parker. She has the perfect accent for the characters in this book and her storytelling is perfect with expression where needed to emphasize parts of the story.

Irish Milkshake Murder by Carlene O’Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, & Liz Ireland

Published December 26th 2023 by Kensington Cozies

3 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐

I enjoy these holiday anthologies that Kensington puts out during the year, but this one missed the mark for me. I think this one missed as two of the three stories were from series I don’t read for different reasons. Each one had an Irish Milkshake as part of the story. It might have been the murder weapon, something the characters like to drink or an offering at the local restaurant, but it is there. I enjoyed the first story: IRISH MILKSHAKE MURDER by CARLENE O’CONNOR. Tara Meehan and Danny O’Donnell are off to the Aran Islands with their bridesmaids and groomsmen for a joint hen and stag party. On the ferry to Inis Mór, the passengers enjoy boozy milkshakes and entertainment from a pair of famous Irish-dancing twin brothers. Unfortunately, one of the brothers dies while drinking his shake. This is a bit of a closed door mystery as it had to be someone on the boat. When the captain disappears, he is the main suspect. The investigation continues while on the island, with a storm raging and no one able to leave. It was a fun story with a great investigation and a surprising culprit. The second story: MURDER MOST IRISH by PEGGY EHRHART involves the death of a man after drinking “The Leprechaun Shake”. Pamela Paterson and her Knit & Nibble knitting club pal, Bettina Fraser are on the case trying to determine who and why the murder occurred. This series is one I stopped reading due to the amount of detail given about food and knitting projects. The mystery was well written and I enjoyed seeing how Pamela and Bettina sorted it out, but it was just okay. One thing I did like was the recipe for the Irish Coffee Mallow Dessert. The final story, MRS. CLAUS AND THE LUCKLESS LEPRECHAUN by LIZ IRELAND, was the one I liked the least, not because of the writing, but the setting of the North Pole and the characters, Mrs. Claus, elves and reindeer, just didn’t call to me. The mystery involved an elf being injured thus endangering his team’s entrance into a sporting event, the iceball tournament. There are reindeer with confidence issues that help to save the day, minty milkshakes being sold in the local ice-cream shop and jealousy. The solving of the mystery was well done, but I didn’t really care by that point. Again, not the fault of the writing, just me. I’m sure those that enjoy this series will enjoy this one. Overall, just an okay read for me. I did a read/listen to Irish Milkshake Murder narrated by Callie Beaulieu. She is a familiar narrator to me and I enjoy her performances.

This book isn’t really an Irish one, although Carlene O’Connor is Irish and her story is set in Ireland, I chose it because the theme is St. Patrick’s Day.

Once: a romantic musical drama film

Once is a romance set in Dublin. Glen Hansard plays a street singer who works with his father in his Hoover repair shop. He meets a Czech immigrant played by Marketa Irglova, who earns a living selling flowers. She enjoys his music and encourages him to make a demo, she is sure his can make it big. They work together writing lyrics and music and eventually hire some other musicians to make a demo. Along the way, they fall in love, but can not do anything about it. The ending left me feeling a bit melancholy. It wasn’t sad, but it wasn’t the happily ever after I was looking for either. I really enjoyed this movie and most of the music. I hopped onto google to look up Glen Hansard and listen to some of his music. He has quite a list and I liked it as well.