Friday Focus: Weekend Reads

  

 It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by My Head is Full of Books, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
  

Today I'm featuring Mystery at an Irish Wedding by L.C. Winters. The excerpts shared are from an eBook version I received from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Beginning:  Chapter 1

The antique bus, with its fading forest green paint, spun around the corner at what was clearly a reckless pace.

********************  

56% of eBook: "I am a moral man," he muttered. "I don't like to tell tales out of school, especially with no evidence."

"********************  

My thoughts: Mystery at an Irish Wedding, the first book in the Half Moon Bay mystery series, introduces a picturesque Irish seaside setting and clever protagonist. The plot includes a solid list of strong suspects with plausible motives and a steady feed of twists and turns that keep one guessing whodunit until the very last pages.

********************  

From Goodreads: Therapist Clementine Moriarty thought her return to the whimsical seaside town of Half Moon in cozy Donegal would be a chance to reconnect with her roots, spend time at her parents' charming little seaside art gallery and heal from heartbreak. But her homecoming is anything but peaceful when she stumbles upon an unwelcome surprise—her ex-fiancé, Greg, is getting married to her best friend, Charlotte, on the very beach where Clementine was supposed to say "I do."

Through a series of unexpected twists and turns, what starts as a personal nightmare soon spirals into an intriguing mystery. An anonymous email had lured Clementine back home, but who sent it and why? As the wedding unfolds, tensions simmer, secrets surface, and Half Moon Bay’s picturesque façade begins to crack. When someone turns up dead with a series of baffling clues and puzzles, Clementine finds herself in the role of unlikely detective as she becomes the prime suspect.

With the help of a heartwarming, blue-haired artist and her sharp intuition, Clementine must navigate a maze of jealous exes, local gossip, and buried betrayals to uncover the truth amid the charming and whimsical backdrop of Donegal. But in a village where everyone has something to hide, will this quirky crime-solving team be able to unmask the killer before it's too late? 

Perfect for fans of small-town mysteries, vibrant characters, clever clues, and a touch of romance, Murder at an Irish Wedding will keep you guessing until the final page.