Synopsis

“Wedding dresses, ex-fiancés, and a whole lot of murder—just another day in Half Moon Bay”

Therapist Clementine Moriarty thought her return to the whimsical seaside town of Half Moon Bay, nestled in cozy Donegal – would be a chance to reconnect with her roots, spend time at her parents’ charming little seaside art gallery and heal from heartbreak. But her homecoming is anything but peaceful when she stumbles upon an unwelcome surprise—her ex-fiancé, Greg, is getting married to her best friend, Charlotte, on the very beach where Clementine was supposed to say “I do.”

Through a series of unexpected twists and turns, what starts as a personal nightmare soon spirals into an intriguing mystery. An anonymous email had lured Clementine back home, but who sent it and why? As the wedding unfolds, tensions simmer, secrets surface, and Half Moon Bay’s picturesque façade begins to crack. When someone turns up dead with a series of baffling clues and puzzles, Clementine finds herself the role of unlikely detective as she becomes the prime suspect.

With the help of a heartwarming, blue-haired artist and her sharp intuition, Clementine must navigate a maze of jealous exes, local gossip, and buried betrayals to uncover the truth amid the charming and Whimsical backdrop of Donegal. But in a village where everyone has something to hide, will this quirky crime-solving team be able to unmask the killer before it’s too late?

Perfect for fans of small-town mysteries, vibrant characters, clever clues, and a touch of romance, Murder at an Irish Wedding will keep you guessing until the final page.

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Excerpt

There was a ringing sound behind her as the gallery door opened. Clementine turned to see the man with bright blue hair she’d spotted earlier on the shore front, the artist.

She couldn’t look away, there was something magnetic about him. Perhaps it was the way his well defined cheekbones swept down to his chin, his beautiful sky blue eyes which seemed to be filled with wonder and enthusiasm or his radiant smile which matched his eyes in their love of life.

She realised that she was staring at him. He was staring too but turned away when he made eye contact, almost embarrassed by the intimacy of the moment.

How strange, she thought, that someone so bold in his performance art, so self assured and able to create change and inspire thought would turn away, embarrassed and vulnerable.

“You will never guess what I just saw on the beach!” Mason said in a lively tone, turning to Clem’s parents Bridget and Arthur.

“You know the wedding down on the beach, the showy one with the screeching bridezilla and the nervous groom? It was well and truly interrupted!”

He barged into the gallery, a larger than life figure, taking up all the space he needed. Arthur and Bridget both greeted him with smiles but Bridget tried to butt in before he continued.

He ignored the social cue and how Clem’s facial expressions were turning from intrigued to horrified.

“I mean, talk about a ‘does anyone object’ moment! Ha! Ha! Talk about a jilted ex!! It was hilarious. I thought that Bridezilla was going to climb on top of the Bayside hotel and take the groom with her screaming ‘He My Man, He My Man’. She looked like she was about to burst and then the tirade started, I’ve never heard such a high pitched scream from anyone let alone a bride!”

Clem’s face turned a darker shade of red.

“I mean, I heard several dogs howling. I think one of the delivery drones malfunctioned. It was like a Captain Crunch hack or something but in a bridal scream. And who was the ex girlfriend? Eh? I mean, who interrupts a…?”.

His voice trailed off as he looked first at Clementine, then at her parents and then at the beach and once again back to her.

“You” he said “you’re the wedding interrupter!”

“I overreacted,” Clementine said, looking away.

“So, is he, like your ex or something?” he asked “Did you decide you’d object at the last moment? Hoping for a jilting? You were, weren’t you?”

“No! I wasn’t hoping for a jilting” Clem snapped “Well, maybe a jilting. But not because he’s my ex. It’s not that simple. I didn’t know about the wedding, I just got back today, she was my friend. She was supposed to be my best friend and it turns out..”

“I’m sorry” he said “I didn’t realise. Are you alright? That sounds like a horrible ordeal”.

“Do you want me to go and say ridiculous haikus at them? I could do it, I could clear the wedding in a few moments with my poetry, I’ve actually done it before!”.

Clem couldn’t help but laugh. Even now, amidst all of this, she was grinning.

About the Author

L.C. Winters is the pen name for Laura Cavanagh & Colin Vaughan. We are from Ireland and we aim to bring our culture, cozy Irish atmosphere, legends, and history into our stories. We write cozy mystery romance novels. Our focus is on creating a set of clever clues with twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end. Our first series is called ‘Half Moon Bay Mysteries and it is set in a small seaside village in Ireland. Our stories promote a romanticised view of small-town life with a host of eccentric, lovable characters.

As avid mystery fans (we love the classics like Agatha Christie as well as modern cozy authors like Richard Osman), we love deciphering clues and trying to beat the detective to figure out who committed the crime. So we decided to create mysteries with a complex set of interrelated clues, which are delivered in an easy-to-follow story. We hope that the ending of each of our mysteries is both a surprise and, at the same time, feels inevitable and ‘right’.

Laura has a degree in Psychology, and this is reflected in our protagonist Clementine, who uses her Psychology know-how to figure out the motives, secrets, and inconsistencies in each suspect.

With our cozy fiction, we aim to create heartwarming stories with lovable, quirky characters in a nice, soothing environment. Wherever you are when you are reading our stories, we hope to whisk you away to beautiful, picturesque Ireland, to the seaside county of Donegal!

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