Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of O'Marie's delightful new entry in her clerical cozy series (Novena for Murder, etc.), Sister Mary Helen travels from San Francisco to Ballyclarin, Ireland, "home of the Oyster Festival." Sister Mary Helen and her friend, Sister Eileen, are looking forward to a wonderful week in the peaceful village enjoying all the festivities, from an art contest to a hurling match. Then Sister Mary Helen stumbles on the body of local reporter Willie Ward, who has a reputation for being a gossipmonger, in the ladies' room of the local pub, the Monks' Table. The Irish police order her to stay out of the investigation, but soon Sister Mary Helen is deeply involved through no fault of her own. Miss Marple would admire Sister Mary Helen's good intentions and even more her resolve to find the murderer, whose identity many readers will discover before our heroine. Despite this weakness, a fresh setting with lots of Irish color will keep fans turning the pages. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A lethal Irish road trip for Sister Mary Helen and Sister Eileen. Sister Eileen's relatives have treated her to a holiday in Ballyclarin for the Oyster Festival. As a special surprise, they've included her dear friend, Sister Mary Helen. The two Sisters happily plunge into all the activities set up for the festival, meet the local characters and listen to the local gossip. An undercurrent of tension that runs beneath the cheerful surface prepares for Sister Mary Helen's discovery of the body of Willie Ward in the ladies' loo at the Monk's Table, their favorite eatery. Willie is, or was, a journalist with a nasty reputation and a long list of enemies. When DI's White and Reedy get an earful by the San Francisco police about the nuns' former involvement with murder, they give the Sisters a stern warning to mind their own business. Although Sister Mary Helen and Sister Eileen try to stay out of trouble, they keep stumbling over clues the police have missed. They soon find the lovely widow Cox, bloody but alive, on their front lawn. A mad whirl of races, games and dances produces yet more clues and eventually a solution. The killer is no surprise, but devotees will presumably enjoy another of the Sisters' travel adventures as much as they would postcards or photo albums. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Who killed Willie Ward, leaving him perched unceremoniously on the toilet in the ladies' restroom at the Monks' Table? That is what the indefatigable Sister Mary Helen and her faithful sidekick, Sister Eileen, intend to find out after their holiday in Ireland is interrupted by the homicide. No stranger to the dark side of human nature, the perceptive Sister Mary Helen puts her uncanny intuition to good use as she assesses the residents of Ballyclarin, attempting to decide who is capable of cold-blooded murder. Initially reluctant to let her in on the case, the local police quickly discover that beneath her piety, the good sister is quite the crackerjack detective. O'Marie, a num herself, continues to provide first-rate whodunits enlivened by sharply drawn characterizations. --Margaret Flanagan Copyright 2006 Booklist