**MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD**

I thought this would have a decent plot from the blurb, but it was pretty weak and nonsensical. Bel has returned home after being fired in disgrace for something that wasn't even her fault. Now she's had to move home with her tail between her legs, and is taking part in her cousin's wedding. While there, she meets a handsome man who winds up being thrown to his death from the balcony of her family's manor house, and she wants to find the murderer so that one of her family members won't be found guilty. To complicate matters, an old boyfriend is now a police detective, which makes it slightly awkward for her. But finding a killer won't be easy, especially if she's looking in all the wrong places...

This could have been so much better, but it wasn't. Her family owns a crumbling manor house that they rent out for weddings, and Bel's brothers all play in an Irish band for these weddings. So are they only renting to people who are Irish? Because I can't imagine that most people would hire an Irish band unless they were. There must be an awful lot of big Irish families around there to keep the manor running. I was wondering why they just didn't sell the place and live somewhere else. I wouldn't live in a money pit.

Honestly, the book would have been more interesting if there were a ghost running around haunting the place; I couldn't see a single reason why they kept it - except for the fact that it was a plot device to give Bel a job in the long run. Speaking of which, I didn't understand why she was fired when everyone knows that fresh fish might very well have bones in it. That's why you don't just shove the entire thing in your mouth and instead pick it apart to eat it.

Plus, the blurb states as how she runs into Detective Kevin Hanson, her "long-ago love," so you're naturally thinking that they'll probably rekindle something, right? Wrong. Why was he even given the role of being an ex-boyfriend? That didn't make any sense since it really added nothing to the story and he'd moved on long ago.

And the ending? Well, let's just say that it sucked. Big time. Personal opinion and all that. Because of it, I won't be reading any more books by this author. ( )

When I started to read this book, I was prepared for a simple cozy mystery. I was looking for a light read. What I got was a lot more than that. Yes it is a cozy, but there was a lot of suspense, some romance, a lot of family drama and even some humour. The story was very well developed and kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. There was a lot that drew me in, and this bodes well for the series.

Belfast (Bel) McGrath has returned home to Foster's Landing after suffering a major incident both personal and career ending. Bel is an award winning chef, but does she want to cook for her parent's wedding banquet business. When Bel left town years before, her best friend had disappeared after a fight and she and her boyfriend had a falling out. She was not sure what she was coming back to, but she was going home. Two months after her return, she is the maid of honor in her cousin's wedding and a young man is killed, in fact, he is thrown over a bannister from the second floor and lands on a bust of FDR. The mystery begins. This is not the only mystery in the book. There is the mysterious Uncle, but who is he really and why is he there? There is the slow-witted brother that everyone seems to be protecting, but does he need the protection? And, the mystery of why Bel was so quick to leave her hometown of Foster's Landing after Amy disappears, and where is she?

Then there is the romance. Bel meets and starts to fall for Brandon, a boy she went to school with and thinks she might just be able to trust. But when Kevin, the old boyfriend, and her kiss, she is not sure where this is going? We find that there is love and loyalty within this loud Irish family that lives and runs the manor house after immigrating from Ireland. There are also many secrets that cause more problems than they solve. I really enjoyed the character of Bel. She was smart, loyal and did not give up. She wanted to find out what was going on no matter what, but she can keep a secret as well when she needs to. Her cousin, Caleigh, I didn't like so much. She was selfish and self-centered. I hope to see more of Brandon in the next book and that things progress between him and Bel, they both deserve some good luck in relationships.

I definitely recommend this book not only to cozy mystery lovers, but to anyone who likes a mystery without a lot of blood, guts and gore as well as someone who likes the family drama of a large immigrant family. ( )

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Belfast McGrath's culinary career crashed and burned in New York, leading her to (temporarily, she hopes) move back in with her large family--and get roped into becoming the cook for their wedding business. But when someone dies at her cousin's wedding, Bel finds herself drawn into solving both the mystery and the secrets of her family's past.

Bel is a great character. She's strong, but struggling, smart but still trying to figure life (and her heart) out. Her family is also full of great characters, all unique.

The mystery is also a good one, full of lots of twists and turns. Almost everyone has a motive, and everyone has a secret. The reveals at the end are especially surprising, which is always a good thing in my eyes.

I'm also really intrigued by the mystery from Bel's past, of what happened the night her best friend disappeared.

There's not much not to like about this series. There are a lot of characters, and how everyone is related (or not related) can get a little confusing at times.

I've really enjoyed the two books I've read in this series so far, and would definitely recommend them to cozy mystery fans. ( )