WILD IRISH ROSE (Molly Murphy #18) by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles will be published on March 1st 2022 by Minotaur Books.
Molly Murphy is trying to put her detective career behind her and settle into life as a wife, mother, and society lady. A trip to Ellis Island along with other society women to hand out winter clothing to the arriving immigrants brings back memories of Molly's time passing through the immigration center and lands her in the middle of one of her husband's murder investigations. While Molly is on Ellis Island, a man is murdered. The number one suspect is an Irish woman who closely resembles Molly. Having once been in the same predicament—wrongly accused of murdering a man on Ellis Island—Molly champions the Rose's cause and forces her husband to let her help with his investigation. Knowing Molly may get information out of Rose than his detectives, he allows her to unofficially help. Molly's investigation takes her from Ellis Island to New York's high society.
After a five year hiatus, Molly Murphy is back. Rhys Bowen is now teaming up with her daughter, Clare Broyles, to continue the series. Having just reread all of the books in the series, it was easy to spot the differences in writing style. There was also some repetition of already established facts from previous novels. Molly's mother-in-law has long lamented Molly's abysmal sewing skills, but now she is questioning Molly's level of skill as if she has no idea. There is also a pattern of Molly and Daniel arguing over her involvement in cases. He doesn't want her to get involved and place herself in danger, but she continuously proves herself invaluable to his investigations. At least Daniel is finally allowing her to help in some aspects. But their nearly constant bickering is growing tedious. As are all of the critical comments from Molly's monster-in-law. Aside from the repeated themes, it was an interesting novel. At times, Molly fails to dig beyond face value and comes off looking foolish.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.