15 Irish Cozy Mysteries to Read for St. Patrick’s Day

Follow the aroma of shamrock sugar cookies to the Beacon Bakeshop, a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan where amateur sleuth Lindsey Bakewell is busy preparing for Beacon Harbor’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities – with a little help from her adorable Newfoundland, Wellington, of course!

Lindsey is baking up a storm—shamrock sugar cookies, Guinness chocolate cupcakes, Irish soda bread—for the well-timed grand opening of the Irish import gift shop, the Blarney Stone, owned by her boyfriend’s uncle, Finnigan O’Connor, recently relocated from the Emerald Isle.

But it’s Uncle Finn himself who seems full of blarney when he gleefully reveals a pot of real gold he claims he stole from an actual leprechaun. And Finn’s fortune takes a turn for the worse when he’s arrested for the bludgeoning of a small unidentified man dressed as a leprechaun—the murder weapon alleged to be his now-missing shillelagh.

Eccentric Uncle Finn may enjoy believing he’s outwitted a leprechaun, but he would never be so deluded as to clobber one with his walking stick. Now Lindsey will need more than the luck of the Irish to seize a golden opportunity to catch the real killer…

Rodeo Drive bridalwear designer Rayne McGrath expected her thirtieth birthday to start with a power lunch and end with champagne, lobster, and a diamond engagement ring from her fiancé. Instead, flat-broke and busted, she’s on a plane to Ireland, where she discovers that she’s inherited a run-down family castle. Uncle Nevin’s will contains a few caveats—for example, if Rayne doesn’t turn McGrath Castle around within a year, the entire village will be financially destroyed.

With the fate of the town in her hands, and rumors that Rayne’s uncle’s death wasn’t actually an accident, she can’t possibly go back to her old life in L.A. As the devastating truth about her uncle dawns on Rayne, it’s not just her reputation that’s on the line, it’s her life.

Featuring a sharp and endearing protagonist, a colorful and quirky locale, and replete with twists and turns befitting an old Irish village, the first in Brannigan’s mystery series transports us to a milieu as romantic as it is deadly.

In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Naomi’s Bistro has always been a warm and welcoming spot to visit with neighbors, enjoy some brown bread and tea, and get the local gossip. Nowadays, twenty-two-year-old Siobhán O’Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago. It’s been a rough year for the O’Sullivans, but it’s about to get rougher. One morning, as they’re opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table, dressed in a suit as if for his own funeral, a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest. With the local garda suspecting the O’Sullivans and their business in danger of being shunned—murder tends to spoil the appetite—it’s up to feisty redheaded Siobhán to solve the crime and save her beloved brood.

In Dublin’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty, murder occurs at the feet of sweet Molly Malone . . .

Ferrying tourists around Dublin for the Leprechaun Limo Service makes quite a change after years in the military. Still, Megan Malone is enjoying her life in Ireland. She likes the scenery, the easy pace, the quirky, quick-witted locals. Everything–except having one of her clients drop dead at the statue of fabled fishmonger, Molly Malone.

Most restaurant critics notch up their share of enemies. Elizabeth Darr, however, was a well-loved international star. She and her husband, Simon, had just had dinner when Elizabeth collapsed, and spoiled seafood is the first suspect. The restaurant’s owner, worried her business is doomed, begs Megan to look into it. Between her irate boss and a handsome Garda who’s both amused and annoyed by her persistence, Megan has her hands full even before she’s cajoled into taking care of two adorable Jack Russell puppies (which she is almost definitely not keeping). But if cockles and mussels aren’t to blame, can Megan find the real culprit… before another fishy death occurs?

A member of a prominent New Jersey family has been found dead on St. Patrick’s Day—and Pamela Paterson and her knitting club have a parade of suspects . . .

The Listers have been part of Arborville society for generations—though seventy-something Isobel Lister doesn’t fit the role of upper-crust heiress. She’s always been a colorful character, and her fun-loving spirit is on display at the senior center celebration as she performs some beloved Irish songs. But just minutes later, her body is found backstage.

It’s hard to imagine who’d target such a harmless eccentric, but Pamela finds herself suspecting everyone. There’s the Wiccan who thought St. Patrick wasn’t so saintly; the woman upset about cultural appropriation who feels the commercialization of shamrocks is a sham; the two men Isobel was seeing, who could have been green with jealousy—and old friends and family who may have feared Isobel would spill their secrets. But Pamela’s on the case, and that means for the killer, the jig will soon be up…

Lucy Stone’s late-winter blues usually vanish by the time Tinker’s Cove goes green for its annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration. There’s just one wee problem that not even the luck of the Irish can fix–murder!

After returning from her father-in-law’s funeral in Florida, Lucy can almost hear the death knell of her part-time reporter job the instant she meets new hire Rob Callahan. He’s young, ambitious, and positioning himself to become the Pennysaver’s next star reporter. Adding insult to injury, Lucy only gets assigned the local St. Patrick’s Day parade once Rob passes on the story. But before beer flows and bagpipes sound, Rob becomes suspected of destroying more than other people’s careers…

It’s a shock when Rob is suddenly charged with sending a corrections officer from town to a fiery death. Contrary to the evidence, Lucy seriously doubts her office rival committed murder, and she’s willing to follow that nagging hunch into the darkest corners of the community if it means shedding light on the truth…

As an unnerving mystery unfolds, a strange woman reveals news that could change everything for Lucy and her family. Troubles in her personal and professional life are colliding, and Lucy comes to realize that she’ll sooner discover a four-leaf clover than confront a killer with the gift of the gab and live to tell about it…

Catering sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons wade into a Celtic knot of malice and mayhem when a St. Patrick’s Day celebration goes terribly wrong, in this eighth installment of Crawford’s cozy series.

Gastronomical dream team Bernie and Libby Simmons wade into a Celtic knot of malice and mayhem when a St. Patrick’s celebration goes terribly wrong…

To most of the people of little Longley, New York, St. Paddy’s Day means good food, great music, and plenty of Guinness. But when the lifeless body of Mike Sweeney floats to the top of a vat of green beer, it looks like the luck o’ the Irish has just run out.

Unfortunately for the Simmons sisters, the number one suspect is related to one of their best catering customers, the pampered and powerful Bree Nottingham. When Bree visits A Little Taste of Heaven to beseech them to clear her nephew’s name, they just can’t say no.

But the more information Bernie and Libby stir up, the more Duncan Nottingham looks like a killer. Known for his hot temper and love of the drink, Duncan and the deceased were both part of the Corned Beef and Cabbage Club, a group with more buried history than the Emerald Isle. And each member- especially Duncan- had a motive to sing Sweeney his last Irish lullaby. A motive they don’t want anyone revealing.

For Bernie and Libby, the situation is deadly and in danger of boiling over. And they can’t count on good old Saint Pat to drive out the snake in their midst…they’ll have to do it themselves, before a murderer strikes again.

Meet Ireland’s newest daring detective: she’s a bookstore owner, a coffee lover, and a crime writer. Now Mercy McCarthy needs a little Irish luck as she takes on her first case!

After receiving an unexpected inheritance from her grandfather, Mercy and her twin sister Lizzie are now the proud owners of a charming antique bookshop in the tiny Irish village of Shamrock Cove. But before they can take in the beautiful view of the sea, one of their neighbors drops dead!

Mercy finds the Judge, a well-respected man who lives next door, dying on his own doorstep. She rushes to help, but with his final words, he accuses Mercy of murder! Most of their new neighbors hear his words and, with suspicion pointing at Mercy, she decides to investigate the case to clear her name.

Searching amongst the Judge’s old books, Mercy uncovers letters proving several of the townsfolk had reason to dislike the older man—but was it the local pub landlord, the kindly cook, or neighborly knitter who killed him?

Then Mercy’s chief suspect turns up dead, and she receives a threatening note, typed on paper from her own bookstore… Ireland was supposed to be a fresh start for Mercy and Lizzie, but dead bodies keep turning up.

Does Mercy have what it takes to nail the culprit, or will the killer close the book on her time in this charming Irish village?

When Sinead Long trades Manhattan skyscrapers for the thatched cottages of Cloncastle, she’s ready for fresh scones, familiar faces, and a slower pace of life in her Irish hometown. But her plans for peace crumble fast when she discovers her husband’s affair with her old school rival, Joan.

Determined to confront the woman who’s destroyed her marriage, Sinead storms over to Joan’s house, only to find her rival stone cold dead in her own kitchen. Before she can even process what she’s seeing, the garda arrive, and suddenly Sinead finds herself at the top of their suspect list.

Now all of Cloncastle is buzzing with gossip, from the pub snug to the bakery queue, and everyone seems to have an opinion on her guilt. To clear her name and salvage what’s left of her fresh start, Sinead must untangle a web of grudges, rivalries, and long-buried secrets. Because in a town this small, everyone has something to hide, and someone is willing to kill to keep their secrets buried.

Start your next cozy obsession with the Quay Road Mysteries, a delightful new Irish series where betrayal, murder, and a dash of wit prove that small towns make for the biggest secrets. Perfect for fans of traditional mysteries with heart, humour, and plenty of surprises around every cobblestone corner.

Annabelle Shannon returns to her ancestral homeland of Ireland and is eager to take in the sights and sounds, but more importantly, spend time with her grams at their family’s historic Gladstone Castle.

Soon after arriving to the sprawling home, situated in the outskirts of a quaint village, her grams delivers some exciting news: she’s planning to retire. Not only that, she offers for Annabelle to take over her position as a castle tour guide. In order to determine if Annabelle is truly interested, Grams invites her along to spend the night at a newly-restored thirteenth-century castle before it is set to open as a hotel.

But not long after settling in for the night at the castle hotel, one of the elderly guests is found face down on the floor, motionless, in one of the opulent quarters. The death is quickly deemed to be of natural causes, but Annabelle has her doubts…

Will the person responsible be apprehended before another victim is claimed?

Honoring the wish of her late grandmother, Maura Donovan visits the small Irish village where her Gran was born—though she never expected to get bogged down in a murder mystery. Nor had she planned to take a job in one of the local pubs, but she finds herself excited to get to know the people who knew her Gran.

In the pub, she’s swamped with drink orders as everyone in town gathers to talk about the recent discovery of a nearly one-hundred-year-old body in a nearby bog. When Maura realizes she may know something about the dead man—and that the body’s connected to another, more recent, death—she fears she’s about to become mired in a homicide investigation. After she discovers the death is connected to another from almost a century earlier, Maura has a sinking feeling she may really be getting in over her head…

An Irish castle, a gourmet food critic, and a dead body…

Darcy Finnegan and her trusty Schnoodle Mozart, along with bestie Lizzie, are off for a weekend soiree at Blackrock Castle.

How lucky can a girl get to cover a Michelin-starred chef in her foodie magazine? But what she discovers is a motive-driven cast of characters with a lust for murder.

Eagle-eyed Darcy notices a bottle tipped over the castle floor beside a lifeless body.

She’s compelled to hunt down the mystery of the deceased victim.

Meanwhile, Mozart sniffs for clues, and Lizzie sets eyes on Darcy’s former flame, detective Marcus Evans.
As the grand clock chimes the hour, multiple guests appear agitated and anxious. It’s a chilling scene, as guests are rattled by the thought of a killer amongst them.

Can Darcy crack the mystery before the curtain falls upon another guest?

Quinn is in the middle of a midlife crisis. Forty-six, divorced, and having recently walked away from her practice as a psychologist, she fears her best years are behind her. Fiona, Quinn’s best friend since childhood, has a plan to get her out of her rut — a trip to Ireland! Quinn loves everything about the people, the culture, the scenery, and especially a little town called Ballyfrannen.

On a whim, she decides to move there, and Fiona is eager to do the same. At first, things seem to be working out perfectly. They find a charming little stone cottage to buy and set about renovating it. Unfortunately, Quinn has a massive crush on the building contractor they hire to do the work. She feels like a tongue-tied schoolgirl whenever he’s around.

But then, love has never gone smoothly for Quinn. A visit from Quinn’s former husband only complicates her life further. Missing her work as a psychologist and desperately needing a distraction, Quinn volunteers a few hours a week at the local mental health clinic.

Soon, things take a dark turn. It sure seems like someone is trying to kill her. Quinn is not about to let anyone spoil her hard-won new life, though. Surrounded by her new friends, Fiona, and a menagerie of animals, Quinn sets out to find some answers. She’s in way over her head, though, as she uncovers, one by one, the dark secrets of this bucolic little town.

Maggie Doyle gives her cheating ex and crumbling career in the San Francisco PD the proverbial middle finger, and moves to the Wild West…of Ireland.

Lured by her aunt’s promise of a restful Irish vacation, Maggie agrees to help out at the Movie Theater Café in exchange for bed and board. Things are looking up—until the most hated woman on Whisper Island is poisoned at the café. With her aunt as the prime suspect, Maggie and her rock-hard muffins are hurled into the murder investigation.

With the help of her UFO-enthusiast friend, a nun, and a feral puppy, Maggie is determined to clear her aunt’s name. Can she catch the murderer before they strike again? Or will her terrible baking skills burn down the cafe first?

Spring is in the air, but the ladies of the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop hardly have time to stop and smell the roses. Not when famed Irish dancer Emily McGlashen is found murdered in her studio just after the St. Patrick’s Day parade–and one of the Crop’s own members is the prime suspect. Vera’s dance studio may have suffered when Emily waltzed into town, but the croppers know she’s not a vengeful murderer. Lucky for her, co-scrapbooker Annie is a freelance reporter eager to vindicate her friend. What she discovers is a puzzling labyrinth of secrets that only add question marks to Emily’s murder. Just when it seems they’ve run out of clues, an antique scrapbook turns up and points the croppers in the right direction–and brings them face to face with a killer more twisted than a Celtic knot…