THE IRISH VILLAGE MURDER, Fourth mystery in a series I won't pursue

THE IRISH VILLAGE MURDER (Torrey Tunnet #4)
DICEY DEERE
Minotaur Books
$6.99 mass market paper, available now

Rating: 3* of five

The Publisher Says: Despite County Wicklow's dismal autumn rain, American translator Torrey Tunet is happy to be back in Ireland after a European assignment. She's longing for a lovely peat fire in her Ballynagh cottage when she spots a forlorn child fresh off the Dublin bus with no one to meet her. Reluctantly taking charge of delivering the child to Gwathney Hall, Torrey walks right into trouble. Historian John Gwathney has just been brutally gunned down, and the child's beautiful Auntie Megan--Gwathney's housekeeper and perhaps his lover--appears the likeliest suspect. But Torrey doesn't agree. She knows many eyes watch from behind the lace curtains of an Irish village, and no secrets are kept for long. Now, she's snooping into other people's business from the pub to the police station. Will her questions prove damning to a ruthless killer? Or deadly to herself?

My Review: Fourth in the series, I read this first. And to be honest, while it wasn't awful, it was nothing special and I don't want to pursue the series.

Why? Because. Well, if I'm honest, because it's got a staccato rhythm to its dialogue that made me twitch. Reminded me of an Ellen DeGeneres monologue, an experience I do NOT enjoy. People trail off, start up again somewhere else, and then simply run out of stuff to say.

Argh.

And then there are the chapters. They're perfect commercial-break-during-NCIS length. For others, this might be a good thing, but for me not so much. Plus I am less interested in clothing than author Deere appears to be. It isn't at all a *bad* book, just not one I found addictive. The mystery, which centers on a child, for once doesn't center on the danger to the child. I'm pleased by that, and by the community warmth and charm, and the sleuth's infectious good humor. She's a positive person, carping aside, and that makes for a better read than average. Try it...maybe start with the first one, The Irish Cottage Murder, but don't be reluctant if you're in the mood for a cozy and can deal with the dialogue's quirks.


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