Death of Riley

2.5 I was disappointed given how much I enjoyed the first installment. I started this the same night I finished the first book and while it started off fine, toward the middle of the book it went off the rails. There were way too many things happening at once and some ultimately felt irrelevant in the greater scheme of things. Then the conclusion came all too quickly, which I did anticipate as I've noticed this theme in other books by Rhys Bowen, but this tops the others I've read. I can't say why without having to mark it for spoilers, but I can say where it draws from historical events, the reasons behind the mystery Molly is trying to solve is glossed over all too quickly after monotonous (and frankly improbable) steps getting here. I also found Molly's naivety more endearing in the first book than the second — as though she's learned nothing from her first mystery.

All that said, I'm not discouraged from the series yet. It had disappointing and baffling moments but I'm invested enough there are still ends I'd like to see tied up. I do enjoy Rhys Bowen's stories. Even when they don't sit right with me I continue to come back.

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one, but the mystery was still good. I think it was in part because of a bit more risqué content than the first one contained—there are numerous Irish curses, and Molly ends up with a bohemian artsy crowd with scant morals. Otherwise, a solid mystery as Molly seeks to go from amateur to professional and blunders her way through a case far beyond her experience.