This is a promising first installment in a series of cosy mysteries set in 1920s Cork City, where the Reverend Mother Aquinas finds herself caught up in figuring out whodunnit amid the ongoing Civil War. Cora Harrison would have benefited both from a better editor—there are some unwieldy run-on sentences, some missing words, and some repetition that should all have been dealt with—and from feedback from someone who could have told her that making the bad guy the one character with facial disfigurement was not a great idea. Those reservations aside, I thought that A Shameful Murder was strong in its sense of time and place, with some reasonably engaging core characters. I'll keep an eye out for the later books in this series in the hope that Harrison works out some of these early kinks. ( )

Ireland, historical-novel, historical-research, early-20th-century, murder, mystery

Political turmoil, flooding, the body of a partygoer washed onto the grounds of a convent. Investigating this murder are some unusual individuals who manage to do a creditable job. The characters are all very interesting personalities who are better than the investigation. I was less engaged than I had hoped, but narrator Rosalyn Landor rescued the whole for me with her inimitable performance.
I won this audiobook in a giveaway and enjoyed the listen. ( )

During the unrest of 1923 Cork, Ireland; Reverend Mother Aquinas walks out the gates of the Abbey and comes upon what she first believes to be a mermaid in silver satin but turns out to be the body of a local young woman who had gone missing during the local Merchant's Ball. At the same time another local girl goes missing and neither victim is quite who they appear to be.

Together w/ Police Sargent Patrick Cashman, Dr. Sher, & her cousin Reverend Mother puts together the puzzle pieces to solve the mystery of the two young women.

I found the book very interesting, the description of the Republicans and the prejudice against them, the poverty, the laws of property & inheritance in regards to women

I found that the quotes at the beginning of each chapter by Thomas Aquinas, were a sharp contrast in comparison to the good will & charitable acts of Reverend Mother Aquinas.

There were enough clues for me to figure most of the mystery out! ( )

In this book we are introduced to the Reverend Mother Aquinas, who runs the St. Mary's of the Isle convent in Cork City, Ireland, during the 1920s, when the Irish Civil War was on. The Reverend Mother finds a dead girl on her doorstep one morning, seemingly washed up by the flooding in the streets, and applies her intellect, social connections and position as a nun to persuade the players involved to give up their secrets and enable her to solve the crime.

There were a few hiccups, but overall this was a solid first in series. There was some repetition in character descriptions and actions -- at one point the Reverend Mother expresses relief about a situation in the same manner twice in two paragraphs, and it is abundantly established that she is the daughter of a rich merchant. One of the reveals had a sensational element about it as well, and some may find the story predictable. But the character of the Reverend Mother, as a woman in her seventies, is an interesting one, and I like the idea of a mystery set in Cork, having visited there myself a couple of years ago. The historical aspect also appealed to me.

If you are looking for an undemanding mystery read, this might be a good choice. ( )