The Oyster Festival! Until last week Mary Helen had never heard of the event, but then Eileen had called with the sad news that her sister Molly, whom she had gone to County Galway, Ireland, to nurse through her final illness, had died. Eileen's nieces and nephews were so grateful for her help that they insisted on treating their aunt to a holiday before she returned to her convent in San Francisco. The Oyster Festival was in County Galway, so why not attend that? As an added surprise, they had purchased a ticket so that her good friend, Sister Mary Helen, could join her.

Sister Mary Helen could use a break and welcomes the chance to visit her friend Sister Eileen who has been in Ireland for quite some time. The two plan a nice quiet time attending the week-long Oyster Festival in the tiny village of Ballyclarin. But things are never really quiet when Sister Mary Helen is around and soon she stumbles across a dead body. Sister Mary Helen knows a thing or two about murder and can't help investigating this one (with Sister Eileen's help of course). But even she will have a hard time solving the case - the bodies are beginning to pile up and she'll only be in Ireland for a week.

"Murder at the Monk's Table" is another good entry in the Sister Mary Helen cozy mystery series. Sister Mary Helen is one my favorite cozy mystery characters - a septuagenarian nun who just happens to be good at solving mysteries. Author Sister Carol Anne O'Marie shakes things up a bit with this book, moving the location from San Francisco to Ireland, and as a result the book has the feeling of a British cozy mystery in the Agatha Christie style. Since the book is set in Ireland, there is no visit from police detectives Dennis Gallagher or Kate Murphy; instead readers get a glimpse into the life of Garda Liam O'Dea. There are a lot of fun things in this book including the Oyster Festival. The mystery itself is well-done with plenty of suspects and red herrings and readers will have a hard time figuring out who the killer is. However, the book has a few flaws - the plot relies a bit too much on Sister Mary Helen being in the right place at the right time and her reason for withholding an important piece of information didn't quite work (she's a bit too meek in this book). However, despite these flaws, this is a very enjoyable cozy mystery.

Fans of cozy mysteries will like "Murder at the Monk's Table". ( )

It was ok..don't think I'd read another by this author though. Didn't keep my interest..but it did take place in Ireland!! :) ( )

A pretty thin little mystery. ( )

I wanted to love the main characters, but they were just flat and there was no attempt to give them personalities at all. They didn't really solve the murder as much as trip over people whispering the truth a lot. I wouldn't recommend it. ( )