Review: A LESSON IN MALICE, Catherine Kirwan

• 
  this edition from my local library
  
• published by HACHETTE BOOKS Ireland 2023
• ISBN 978-1-5293-8143-6
• 456 pages

Synopsis (Publisher)

She said yes to a dinner invitation. Now she's a murder suspect ...

A visit to her old university takes an unexpected turn for solicitor Finn Fitzpatrick when she receives an exclusive invitation. She is far from high profile on the legal scene, so why is she on the guestlist for a select gathering in the College president's private dining room?

Three days later, a body is discovered on College grounds. And, as the police launch their hunt for the killer, everyone who was dinner that night falls under suspicion. Including Finn.

Soon, she's investigating the murder, unearthing the bitter rivalries and hidden agendas lurking beneath the success of her fellow dinner guests. As the mysteries and revelations pile up, Finn finds herself keeping secrets from those around her - but at what cost? 

My Take

This is the second novel featuring Cork solicitor Finn Fitzpatrick.

It seems that the high profile speaker from Australia, a graduate originally from Cork University, with a reputation for womanising, came to the conference intending to speak to Finn. But circumstances got in the way and they never had a chance to talk and now he is dead. Finn has not been able to work out why she was invited to speak anyway, but now she finds herself as the liaison between the university and the police. 

And then some unexpected news results in her being arrested and investigated.

I obviously didn't find the book as captivating as some of those whose blurbs appear on the cover. Nevertheless it took me into a world and a setting with which I was not familiar.

My rating: 4.4

About the author
Catherine Kirwan grew up in the parish of Fews, County Waterford. She studied law at University College Cork and she now lives in Cork City where she works as a solicitor.
This is her second novel