Chancing Your Arm: A Mags Munroe Story

The Mags Munroe Series, Book 5

De: Jean Grainger

Narrado por: Siobhan Waring

In the quirky Irish town of Ballycarrick, Sergeant Mags Munroe is busy. When Chance Your Arm, an internationally acclaimed showjumper, mysteriously vanishes and a troubled celebrity seeks refuge in a luxury Irish castle, Mags finds herself reluctantly drawn into two high-profile cases.

As well as crime investigation, she must manage feuding families, a leaky church roof and the dreadful D.I. Duckie Cassidy. As the cases unfold, Mags uncovers a web of secrets and deceptions that shake her understanding of the town she thought she knew.

Joining forces with Conor O'Shea, the handsome, kind and astute owner of Castle Dysert, Mags combines their considerable skills. With wit, determination, and a knack for uncovering the truth, can Mags solve these seemingly unrelated cases? This delightful Irish cozy mystery will have you laughing, guessing, and cheering for the irrepressible Sergeant Munroe and her charming ally.

©2024 Jean Grainger (P)2024 Gold Harp Media Ltd.

Great narrator

The characters are lovely . The story line is interesting and it’s a calming escape from the divisiveness of today

SUCH F.U.N. BEING RE-UNITED WITH MAGS MONROE, HER FAMILY AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF THEIR LITTLE IRISH TOWN❣️

HOW LONG UNTIL BOOK SIX COMES OUT?!

I absolutely LOVE Mags Monroe! Almost everything she says and the way she says it (so drolly) makes me laugh! What I wouldn’t give to be one of Ms. Grainger’s friends! Her daughter’s Bearded Dragon, Snickers and the way it pops out of unusual places just kills me! (I could NEVER live with one of those things within a half mile of my house, but somehow, when he pops out at Mags, it’s hilarious — it’s hard to know who is more frightened when it happens, Mags or Snickers).

All the characters in Mags’ world are so endearing; all except Ducky that is. He’s SO annoying and SUCH a blowhard, you almost HAVE to like him and feel sorry for him… Zoe, the new age, kooky rookie on the Guard, she had such a great way of putting Ducky in his place without even realizing she’s doing it. Every time her character started speaking, I started laughing. Poor, stupid Ducky.

Ms. Grainger certainly left lots of possibilities for Mags and her lovely husband, Kieran in Book 6 (I PRAY there will be a Book 6 and that it won’t be too long before it’s published). In this book, Kieran has had an offer to sell his very busy roofing business for over a million Euros, and he wants to do it. He’s dreaming of a life of leisure and of having all the time he wants with his wife Mags, who he loves so much, knowing they will be financially set for life.

Kieran springs this surprise on Mags over a romantic dinner at Castle Dissert, thinking she will be equally as excited. He wants to retire too, but Mags, at 52, isn’t ready to retire yet. She loves being the head of police in her little town and helping people. Their difference of opinion causes a rare rift between the two, who are normally right in step with each other.

Mags, while struggling with the decision about whether to retire or not, gets a surprise offer that’s ALMOST too good to be true. The owner of Castle Dissert as asked Mags to come be his Head of Security. The perks he offers are so good, how can she turn down the offer? Pay 25% what she makes now, a full retirement package, free use of all the Castle has to offer for she and her family, liberal paid time off and vacation time, AND she gets to make her own schedule, giving her the option to spend all the time she wants with her girls who are growing up much too fast and traveling with Kieran as he wants to do when he retires shortly. Big changes are in the works for Mags. The question is, is she willing to give up her work with the Guarda, which is SO much of who she is and make some major changes, or will she remain with the Guarda for another eight years until she has to retire at the age of 60, and find a way to make her working FT mesh with Kieran’s FT retirement?

I can’t WAIT to find out! Please don’t keep us in suspense for too long Ms. Grainger!🙏

Ms. Siobhan Waring is the narrator and as always, she is FABULOUS! I can’t imagine ANYONE ELSE being the voice of Mags Monroe. Ms. Waring is my all time, #1 FAVORITE narrator. Her accent and the sound of her voice is magical — the moment I hear her begin to speak, my whole body relaxes and goes, “AHHHHHH.” I am incredibly jealous of her (talent aside). Just to have her accent and voice would be a dream come true.💕

Ms. Grainger and Ms. Waring together? PURE MAGIC!

Would I recommend this book to others? ABSOLUTELY. While one COULD read this as a stand-alone book, it would make the reader understand and appreciate this book so much more if they start with Book One. Beginning with Book One allows the reader to get to know Mags and how she thinks and functions as well as watch her family interact with each other.

For some reason, I hesitated to read the Mags Monroe series. I had finished every other book in every other series by Ms. Grainger; I was desperate for more from her. All that was left were the (then) four books in the Mags Monroe series. Something about the book description really didn’t do much for me. Even the first chapter or two into the first book, I still wasn’t sure.

I should have known better and had more faith in Ms. Grainger. This series turned out to be just as wonderful (and far less serious) than all of Ms. Grainger’s books. I think that’s the number one thing I love about Mags is she has such a dry, delightful sense of humor that is not present in any of Ms. Grainger’s other books/characters.

In fact, as much as I love ALL of Ms. Grainger’s books and series, Mags Monroe has turned out to be my FAVORITE character. She is just so utterly relatable to the every woman. We all deal with the same issues as Mags: work/home life balance, drama with our kids (especially if you have girls!), sometimes difficult relatives, sometimes difficult coworkers, struggling with body image issues as we age. There is a little of Mags in all of us.💕

Jean Grainger does it again

I love how the story in this Irish village continues to evolve. The characters develop and the stories are told on the backdrop of history with compassion and humor. I have listened to all of this series and was not disappointed once. Wonderful stories and the performer is first rate.

Sgt Mags Monroe stories never disappoint

Jean Grainger often tells stories that capture my heart. The Mags Monroe stories enthrall me. A “normal” extraordinary woman being a hero over and over just being herself. She is not an adrenaline junkie for the spotlight or notoriety; rather someone you would love to while a way an afternoon with a cuppa and a cream scone.The whole series of stories stand on their own but read them all and find the rich character and different settings Jean writes them in. The plots are believable, funny, sad, thrilling at times “can’t wait to turn the page” or listen to Siobhan or Jean whichever is narrating the story reveal the next part, and yes the sentiment is uplifting mostly. However, I like that, reading and listening to books is my timeout for things that don’t turn out well. Jean Grainger is not so over the top sweet that your teeth hurt, but I at least am usually, inspired, have new point of view ideas to provoke my thoughts,and satisfied with a marvelous read! Do yourself a favor and read this whole series.

Another great read

Jean Granger is my absolute favorite author. I have loved everyone of her books and have read everyone of her books. I look forward to the next one that she writes and hopes that it will be soon.

A true Mags Munroe drama

As usual, but more, your storytelling is magnificent. This chapter of the characters and the town sound so “real life”. Finished it in 2 days, so ready for the second go round…Thank you Ms Jean Grainger

Takes me back to Ireland

Can’t wait for the next book. Mags and the village take me back to Ireland. Next visit for me will be May 2025.

Great Mags Story

This was a lovely, layered and yet somehow just typical fabulous entry in the Mags story. Great storylines and I’m curious to see what happens next.

Delightful world of Mags.

The reader is superb. Gentle delightful humor depicting everyday foibles of people is a small town through the eyes of the serpent