How to Murder a Millionaire by Zara Keane

Maggie has opened her private eye business and even has her first case. She's been asked to find a sheep that went missing... twenty years ago. Paddy Driscoll 

is still upset that she's gone and Jimmy Wright is his main suspect. When Maggie goes to ask Jimmy about it, she finds a dead body. 

Interestingly, Jimmy's wealthy family is visiting from America. While his aunt Helen claims she hasn't seen him in decades, Maggie knows differently. Helen's son, Huff, is the same age as Jimmy and is a blowhard, yelling at all of his three children, his staff, even Maggie. Guess who is the next to get murdered?

The two cases do overlap in interesting ways.

Three stars

This book came out June 11, 2017

Follows The Postman Always Dies Twice

Followed by The 39 Cupcakes

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The Postman Always Dies Twice by Zara Keane

There wasn't much to this book but it is a nice addition to a fast, fun, and fluffy series. If you are looking for something light, this is a perfect read. A number of coincidences and some information at the end that means it isn't fairly clued but an amusing read. 

The island postman is something of a Lothario. It's well known that he sleeps with as many women as possible. Maggie doesn't particularly enjoy his attentions but she is still shocked when she finds his body at the bottom of a cliff on a dark and stormy night. Sergeant Reynolds immediately gets her back up when he arrests not only her friend Lenny's brother but their grandfather as well. But she doesn't lose too much time since she has been hired by her former nemesis, Melanie, to look into the ghostly appearances at the Whisper Island Hotel. It will be up to Maggie to put everything right and tie up this mystery with a bow. 

Four stars
This book came out April 17, 2017

Follows Dial P for Poison

Followed by How to Murder a Millionaire

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Dial P for Poison by Zara Keane

I requested this book from NetGalley on a whim. There are any number of cozy series that I'm already reading and I didn't really need another. But I found one.
Maggie Doyle is a former cop. She found her husband cheating on her, reacted badly, and then accepted her aunt's offer to help run a movie theater/cafe in Ireland. Even though Maggie can't cook. Like, really can't cook. Instead of finding a relaxing life, Maggie is surrounded by her aunt's cats, she struggles not to alienate her aunt's customers while her aunt is getting surgery, and then discovers the town's evil queen dead at the local movie night. And the local garda seems eager to pin the crime on her aunt. It's up to Maggie to keep her out of jail.
There are some issues with this book, as there are many when an author is trying to build a series, but I really enjoyed Maggie and hope to read more about her.

Four stars

This book came out April 12, 2017

Followed by The Postman Always Dies Twice

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby September 2023