This is the second book in the Belfast McGrath Mysteries. I have enjoyed both of them, although you do not have to have read the first to enjoy this one.

Belfast (Bel) is the chef at her family's banquet/wedding venue as well as their home, Shamrock Manor. The Manor is just beginning to get back in the black following a murder in the last book. The wedding that opens the story is Pegeen Casey, whose family is involved in import/export and quite well off to Gerrard, a retired police detective and now private investigator. At the end of the wedding, Gerry is found dead in the women's washroom by Bel. This death is ruled a heart attack. Shortly after this, one of the Manor's servers, Pauline, is missing. Has she been kidnapped by her abusive husband, detained by ICE as she is an illegal or just run off with the $10,000.00 tip. Bel and her brother Cargan, set out to find her for very different reasons. While this is all going on, the mystery of what happened to Bel's BFF from her youth is also playing out.

Bel is either fearless or just does not think, as she puts herself in some precarious situations. She is still trying to sort out her emotions about men after having a nasty split from her previous fiancee. She is not sure where her new beau fits in to her life and still seems to have some buried feelings about Kevin, her highschool sweetheart who is also the police officer investigating the death at the manor as well as the disappearance from years earlier. The McGrath family are a hoot. They are a large Irish family that all work at the Manor so are always in each other's lives. Bel's mother is the typical interfering mom who wants the best for her daughter as well as for her to get married and have kids. They have Sunday dinners together and the sibling teasing is another light part of the book. A quick story with a plot that moves forward with short chapters to keep you reading, just one more. I enjoyed this story with just one exception, the ending regarding the missing server was not what I expected or liked, otherwise, a good read. I would recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers who enjoy plot twists and a good mystery. The publisher provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. ( )

I am really enjoying this series with Bel. This is the second book in the series and both have been very fun. There is always a dead body at the manor but it is never in a gory way. I also like the underlying mystery that is included. I received this book from St. Martins's Press for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will. ( )

Bel of the Brawl by Maggie McConnon is the second book in A Belfast McGrath Mystery series. Bel McGrath lives in Foster’s Landing and is the chef for Shamrock Manor. Shamrock Manor is run by her parents and is the go to venue for wedding receptions in their area. Every member of the family helps out in some way (her brothers are in the band). Their current client is Pegeen Casey and her fiancé, Gerry Mason. Bel is intrigued with she finds out that Gerry is a private investigator. She wants to discuss hiring him to investigate the long-ago disappearance of her friend, Amy Mitchell when he returns from his honeymoon. Unfortunately, Gerry is not going to be available to help her. Bel finds Gerry dead in a lady’s room stall (her stall was out of toilet paper). After everyone has left, the McGrath’s discover that one employee is missing as well as the $10,000 tip they received from Pegeen Casey’s father. When Pauline fails to show up the next day or arrive at home, Bel becomes concerned. Bel starts looking into Pauline’s disappearance and why her friends are so reluctant to report her missing. It seems that there is quite a bit that the family did not know about Pauline. It appears that Pauline has been a very busy girl when she is not working. There is another issue taking up Bel’s thoughts. The police have found Amy’s belonging (after all these years) in the local river along with a set of remains. Have they finally found Amy after all this time? In between cooking for weddings, looking for Pauline, and worrying what happened to Amy, Bel has little free time (though she does sneak in a little time with her boyfriend, Brendan Joyce). Sometimes Bel is not sure she made the right decision returning home to her unruly family. Will Bel discover Pauline’s whereabouts and the location of the missing money? To see if Bel makes it through another week at Shamrock Manor, read Bel of the Brawl.

Bel of the Brawl is easy to read and is full of action. While Bel of the Brawl is the second book in the series, it can be read alone. The author updates the readers on what occurred in Wedding Bel Blues. I found that this book was more cozy than mystery. The death of Gerry Mason was easily solved. I wish it had been a little more perplexing. The case of the missing best friend (Amy Mitchell) continued from Wedding Bel Blues into this book. It still remained a mystery at the end of the novel. I am curious how long the belongings would have stayed in the bottom of that river. Most items would deteriorate and float away after a number of years (maybe they are made of rubber). It seems to have become common place for authors to provide a secondary mystery in their books that play out in the background over the course of several books (unfortunately). I give Bel of the Brawl 3 out of 5 stars. I had a few issues with this story. It is a little unrealistic. I am puzzled how Bel can provide a multi-course wedding dinner for a hundred plus guests with only a sous chef. It seems impossible. I am curious as to why anyone with money would want to hold their wedding at Shamrock Manor. It sounds like a rinky dink outfit more suited to budget brides. Considering the number of discounts that Mr. McGrath hands out, I am surprised that Shamrock Manor is still in business. Personally, I am not a fan of Bel. The same goes true for the rest of the McGrath family (just too over-the-top ridiculous). Bel of the Brawl is more suited to readers who like humorous (wacky) cozy mysteries full of madcap antics. While Bel of the Brawl is not for me, I believe other readers will enjoy the zaniness of the McGrath family. ( )

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Bel is a chef for weddings at her family's estate, but murders keep happening around the happy events. This time, its the groom who has died, and a waitress and ten thousand dollar tip that have gone missing. And remains have been found on the island where Bel's best friend disappeared many years ago.

This was a great cozy mystery. The characters are vivid and unique, as is the setting. There are a lot of twists and turns, and a budding romance as well. The crime from the past, that of Bel's missing best friend, is really intriguing.

I wanted to know more about Bel's best friend's case! But that is not a fault of the author, rather a plus in her book, as it means she has me hooked for more books in this series.

I didn't like that the solution to the previous book in the series was mentioned in this book, thus giving that ending away before I could read it.

If you like cozy mysteries, I would definitely recommend this one. It has all the hallmarks of a great book of this genre-unique characters, a vivid setting, and a compelling mystery, plus something that has you hooked in and needing to read more. ( )