Narrated by Carrie Coello
Run Time: 7 hrs and 18 mins
Summary:
Besides being a high school student (during the summer?) Paislee Grimes functions as a small town historian.
Additional Comments:
- Side characters 4/5: have a lot of character to them. I believe the side characters are one of the strongest points to this book. They’re many and varied. Making the connections of who’s related to whom can be daunting. I’m not sure I have them all straight.
- Main character 3/5: It’s a first-person narrative, and to be honest, the MC’s kind of annoying.
- Performance 4/5: I didn’t detect much variation between various characters, but then again, I listened at 2x speed. That always messes with nuances of the performance. The narrator has a nice voice, and I’d definitely listen to more from her.
- Plot 3/5: It’s standard fare cozy-like mystery, right down to an obsession with something cooked (in this case pancakes) and spouting off of recipes mid-book. What the heck is with cozy-like mysteries and recipes? The plot itself meanders all over the place. I think the MC spent 5 minutes of audio-time picking up her little sister.
- I have a lot of issues with the way the mystery unfolds and certain things like the MC’s father, the coroner being okay with his daughter traipsing over a crime scene when he didn’t know who the victim would be. Somebody asking a random 17 year old high school student to solve a murder mystery isn’t normal either, Nancy Drew references aside.
- Content Warnings: Nothing gruesome is described, but there is a LOT of casual cursing. I think holy s- was used at least 7 times. Not sure I can truly count this as a clean book or not. If they were f-bomb’s I would have quit outright. Guess I’ve been jaded.
Conclusion:
If you can deal with curse words being used quite liberally and don’t mind the plot wandering on random pancakes-are-awesome tangents, you’ll likely enjoy this quirky tale.
Audiobook Promotions …
Were on Audiobookcrave.com (which just went under). Ones with links are relisted at Audiobooksunleashed.com.
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry
Spirit’s Bane (Guardian Angel Files Book 1)
Kindred Spirits (Guardian Angel Files Book 2)
Violence in Vegas (Eagle Eyes Book 1) – not relisted yet
Rescue in Reno (Eagle Eyes Book 2)
Danger in Dallas (Eagle Eyes Book 3)
Devya’s Children Series Links:
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.
Check out my other titles available on Audiobooks Unleashed:
Beyond Broken Pencils – contemporary, literary
Shadow Council Combo (Books 1-4)
The Individual titles are available but not yet listed on an ad site
SC 1: Money Makes it Deadlier
SC 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter
SC 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos
SC 4: Treachery Makes it Tense)
Eagle Eyes – mystery thriller
Scratched Off – mystery, thriller; FBI agent vs serial killer, more intense than Shadow Council/Eagle Eyes
Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy
The Collins Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 1, Christian mystery
The Kiverson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 2, Christian mystery
The Davidson Case – Heartfelt Cases Book 3, Christian mystery
Other titles:
5 Steps to Better Blurbs – for authors
Innova – Christian Dystopia
The Golden City Captives – short fantasy
Fatal Interest – short mystery/thriller
