Kathleen C.

Earns 5/5 Carrot Cakes … Clever Fun!

Revisado: 05-25-23

Carrot Cake Murder

A family reunion is planned for near one hundred guests. Uncle Gus Herman, missing for twenty-five years, makes an unexpected appearance. His boastful stories and wads of cash are suspicious. Gus is missing, again, and Hannah goes looking for him. Oops! She spies a slice of carrot cake, Uncle Gus’s favorite, and his body nearby. Someone wasn’t that thrilled with his return. I enjoyed Joanna Fluke’s tenth book in the series by listening to the audio version narrated by the talented Suzanne Toren. I was surprised, however, that it was in no way connected to the recent television production, but I still loved the differences. Sure, some of the same characters were involved, the love triangle plays out in the periphery, and Hannah is as singleminded and prone to trouble when investigating a murder, but it’s summertime, Hannah and Mike are more at odds over her interference, and baking and cooking talk gets more air time with full recipes that all seem connected to the drama (cooks will want the ebook or print copy for this reference). You know what happens when a cozy mystery has so many family members gathering together … there’s a murder! A long absent uncle shows up unexpectedly and ends up murdered, and while investigating, Hannah uncover a hidden past, a valuable item, and a guilty person. Clever. Intriguing. Delicious Fun!

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Earns 5+/5 Scottish Kilts … Clever & Engaging Cozy Gem!

Revisado: 04-19-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I am a big fan of audiobooks. I am a big fan of H.Y. Hanna’s Oxford Tearoom Mysteries. I am a big fan of heather, highlanders, and homicide. So … put them together, and I am a fan of “A High Whisk Situation.”

Gemma Rose has no choice but to close her tearoom for very necessary repairs, and as suggested by her BFF Cassie Jenkins, head off to the Aberglinn Castle Hotel. Cassie has been hired as an artist-in-residence offering painting workshops to the guest, but Gemma would be free to explore the countryside, local tearooms and bakeries, and maybe even the handsome highlander Ewan Campbell; she is on a “break” from workaholic Detective Devlin O’Connor. However, it isn’t all good food, good friends, and good whisky. The hotel manager, Aileen Fergusson, is disagreeable, demanding, and dead! And … what better way to enjoy all the intrigue, antics, interrogating, suspicious behaviors, and trips to the local pub, then with Pearl Hewitt’s enjoyable narration. Her pleasant natural voice is the key to my entertainment, and she is excellent with the nuances found in several British and Scottish regional dialects, even some American by way of Texas, Arabic by way of Dubai, and Japanese. She also does well portraying various personalities, ages, and gender through her tone, and what better way to experience the emotions and perilous predicaments than with Pearl!

H.Y. Hanna’s twelfth book is Highlanderrific! Her Gemma Rose is a favorite literary character, and I’m always entertained by the tearoom theme, foodie talk, and multi-generational cast, but adding references to Scottish myths and folklore, a castle, a Highland hunk, and exploring whisky makes this book the best of the series! The mystery itself was enjoyably complex with the victim having more than a few conflicts, and as details are revealed, dead ends exposed, secrets divulged, identities questioned, and a suspect list hard to whittle to one, readers, like me, had a great time pondering all the possibilities. And the final arrest was a surprise and again placed our ladies in jeopardy … fun!

Of course, what’s a murder investigation without my favorite troop and feline, romance, fascinating information, and a recipe. The [four] Old Biddies show up unannounced with Gemma’s mischievous cat, Muesli, in tow offering witty insights, creative investigative methods, and trouble. A hunky third party seems to complicate the on-a-break couple, Gemma and Devlin, but karma (via H.Y. Hanna’s well-written story) has a way of throwing them together adding a fun romantic element. As a great treat, enjoy the information about barrels of whisky as an investment commodity was a curious detail; it’s disappointing my retirement counselor never mention that for my portfolio. Once again, H.Y. Hanna and this book is a major contender for “You’re the Top” list for 2023!

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Earns 5/5 Open Houses … Exciting, Engaging Cozy!

Revisado: 04-13-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

With Option to Kill Earns 5/5 Open Houses … Exciting, Engaging Cozy!

I am a big fan of audiobooks for their convenience and added entertainment. I was very eager to “listen” to the newest Cindy York Mystery, “With Option to Kill,” by Catherine Bruns and enriched by the talented voice artistry of Amy Deuchler, who is the main narrator for the entire series. There are several characters in the book, and Deuchler has a pleasant voice and did well to portray the differences in age and gender, as well as tone for personalities and language diversity and emotions for all the perilous moments. It’s not the only way to enjoy Bruns’ story, but definitely one I put at the top of my list!

SOLD! Catherine Bruns fifth book in her Cindy York Mystery series was an exciting, well written journey navigating through frustrating family dynamics, dishonest relatives, death threats, disgruntled exes, and a past that may have led to murder. Cindy York’s plans to surprise her husband on his fiftieth birthday was made complicated by the unexpected appearance of his sister, Annette, who’s been absent for twenty years. She indicates she’s here to stay, and to minimize the impact on the family, Cindy quickly finds her an apartment. The owner, Mac Tremont, agrees to an immediate viewing of the property where Annette successfully charms him, strikes a deal, and moves right in. But, that night Cindy’s “red flag” anxiety intensifies when Annette makes a frantic phone call, asking for help, and saying the police were on their way. Mac is dead, and “it’s all my fault!” Sadly, the victim appears collateral damage, and as Cindy explores the situation further, evidence points to her sister-in-law’s life choices as the root cause. Cindy’s husband is thrilled to have his sister back in his life, so he’s blind to the obvious inconsistencies in Annette’s story putting the family and Cindy’s marriage in jeopardy. It gets closer to home with a trashed house, surprise connections, and a shocking final showdown. What a cozy ride!

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Earns 5/5 Emotional Journeys…Engaging Fun!

Revisado: 04-07-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Duck for Cover & Other Tales Earns 5/5 Emotional Journeys…Engaging Fun!

Snippets, bits and pieces, vignettes that need to be shared, and the audiobook is one perfect way to enjoy them all! Emily M. Wilson’s voice artistry enriched Barbara’s writing with her entertaining performance using a change in tone to illustrate age, gender, and the various emotional predicaments. Barbara Venkataraman compiled fourteen shorts with a wide range of themes, characters, and karmic consequences. She explores revenge and comeuppance, pay back and pay forward, and the dynamics of a myriad of relationships. Each tale is a well-written narrative with engaging dialogue to illustrate the multi-generational personalities and a multitude of emotions. I, too, had various reactions from a fist pump “Yeah!” to a gasp of relief, from a poignant tear to an audible giggle, from thanks karma to a “I want more” wish. All in all this set was an enjoyable experience, short in length, but not short on entertainment, and exactly what I expected from Barbara Venkataraman!

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Earns 5/5 For Sale Signs…Clever, Engaging Fun!

Revisado: 01-11-23 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Catherine Bruns has penned a well-written, engaging series with Cindy York, a real estate agent who just wants to provide the best service to clients wishing to sell their home and make a fair living for herself and her children. However, in these three clever mysteries with twists and turns and satisfying endings, she runs into a “scruples free” colleague in “Killer Transaction,” resurfacing tragic events in “Priced to Kill,” and a problematic listing in “For Sale by Killer” all leading to business worries, perilous closings, and more than a few dead bodies. But she isn't alone in all this as she joined by a delightful partner, loving husband, cringe-worthy mother-in-law, a trying teenager and overactive twin eight year olds, and, of course, Karma taking point! Using a first-person narrative with Cindy’s perspective readers are entertained and informed by her inner thoughts, fears, frustrations, and closeness to family and friends. Excellent series with compelling investigations, entertaining characters, and surprises that'll make you a fan!

Catherine’s books come in several formats from print to digital to my favorite … audio! I am a big fan of audiobooks that not only let me relive the pleasure of being read to, but, due to the talented voice artist Amy Deuchler, enjoying a great performance of various character voices portraying well personality, age, and gender and adding all the emotions a murder mystery offers from frustration to fear with a few giggles thrown in. This three book set is 21-1/2 hours of great entertainment with excellent quality and easy use on any device. Catherine’s work is the star, a favorite on my cozy mystery list, and Amy Deuchler has greatly enriched my enjoyment.

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Earns 5+/5 Scoops of Ice Cream…Brilliantly Clever!

Revisado: 12-18-22

Devil’s Delight Earns 5+/5 Scoops of Ice Cream…Brilliantly Clever; Top Notch!

Raisin Investigations is busy with a few undercover activities: one at a brewery complaining about a rash of thefts, another at a sixth form college that may have a drug problem, and the last, a bit embarrassing is at a naturist society. Edward Carstairs found a dead body positioned on an ancient stone, but when Agatha and her associate go to investigate, it’s gone. No body and no evidence one had ever been there. Oh, how Agatha loves a mystery! It gets more complicated when later a body is discovered with a connection to the Mircester Naturist Society, followed by a stalker, several threats, a car accident, and … ice cream! Could there be a “cover-up” among these “nudies”? Is frozen dessert really a cutthroat business? St. Jude may be the patron Saint of difficult cases, but Agatha is the one that solves them.

Audio “Delight” I picked up the audio version of Devil’s Delight thrilled to discover that my favorite actress, Dame Penelope Keith, once again is the narrator enriching my listening pleasure. Her natural voice has always been pleasant, but she is also extremely talented at performing various accents or regional dialects, adding a lisp, and supporting personalities related to gender, age, and education. If you’re aware of any of her acting roles, my favorites being “The Good Life” and “To the Manor Born,” you might agree with me that she was Agatha Raisin before Agatha Raisin was Agatha Raisin.

Be not leery, although this is the thirty-third Agatha Raisin mystery, it is the third book for R.W. Green who continues to stay true to M.C. Beaton’s original vision of her fashionista title character. The caseloads offers a creative murder mystery, clever details, quirky characters, and a potential for perilous predicament. Agatha’s theories about the murder slowly point to the perp, but the excitement is in “how” the perpetrators are exposed and arrested. Google-worthy elements are added about the Rollright stones, Whispering Knights, the King Stone, and the Lone Warrior, the Italian opera Cavalleria Rusticana, and even unique ice cream flavors…chili peppers? Green’s writing style is definitely entertaining with the descriptive narrative, clever quips, snarky responses, and continued conflicts with DI Wilkes you expect to see. Agatha persists with her pondering relationships of all kinds from close friends to employees, but mostly her thoughts focus on romance, love, and marriage with three varying candidates all with their own pros and cons; no resolution, but with its status quo comes a possible answer. Despite fans of the television show seeing many differences in the book from age to ethnicity to personality and some characters only found in one or the other, it is unique, must read!

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Earns 5+/5 Gardens of Delightful Fun!

Revisado: 10-03-22

This 1970s sit com, The Good Life, is a top favorite television show having watched it numerous times, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this audio rendition. A couple, Tom and Barbara Good, fed up with the rat race decide to give it all up to live a self-sufficient existence…in the suburbs. They throw away all the mod cons, create their own electricity, grow their own food, sell the surplus, raise chicken, pigs, and Geraldine the goat, however, their efforts usually end in a comic struggle that entangles their good friends and neighbors, Margo and Jerry Ledbetter. The series is not based on a book, so this audio isn’t a typical narration; it is actually the audio of the television episodes with the actors Richard Briers, Felicity Kendall, Penelope Keith, and Paul Eddington in their iconic roles along with all the extraneous noises and laughter from the audience. The additional narrative describing the characters’ non-verbal actions is courtesy of Dame Penelope Keith. In many ways, it’s like a radio show, but in my opinion, though, if you’ve not seen the television show, you miss some of the nuances of facial features and body language. For me, I loved it!

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Earns 5++/5 Advice & Recipes…Brilliant Favorite!

Revisado: 10-02-22

Maria Van Harten, known respectfully as Tannie Maria, is dumbfounded. She’d been writing the recipe column for the Klein Karoo Gazette for a while, and now it is set to be replaced by an advice column. Hattie, the paper’s editor, has no choice, but she has an idea…Tannie Maria could write the column! Hattie downplays Maria’s lack of interest and concern she knows little of love, but entices her with the promise she could include a recipe with her advice: Tannie Maria’s Love Advice and Recipe Column. Agreed.

Jess, the young reporter, knows the small town has a big story hiding somewhere, something hard-hitting, something revealing, something explosive, but no one thought the big story would be murder, and no one thought it’d be connected to a “Dear Tannie Maria” letter. Maria has personal experience with abuse, so she is more connected to the plight of “Bereft Wife” seeking advice and a better mutton curry recipe to satisfy her husband. But, the curry dish isn’t enough to prevent murder. It seems obvious the husband did it, but he accuses the next door neighbor who was closely connected to his wife. Maria and Jess, without approval from Detective Lieutenant Henk Kennemeyer, make it their mission to ensure the killer is held responsible...just the big story Jess wanted. Can it be done without their own safety in jeopardy?

Books, as many know, are vastly better than any “based on” program with more room to explore more deeply character’s background, personal and professional motivations, and inner feelings. For me, the recent program gave me the basic ingredients and a delightful treat, but the book gave me the spice and depth of flavor. The additional letters begging for Tannie Maria’s advice and expertise in the kitchen, all the marvelous food talk and helpful tips (like directions for the perfect boiled egg), and more details and interactions between the close friends were all greatly entertaining, and the cast from the show gave me faces to match to the names, even if the author’s vision was a little different, I like what my mind’s eye visualized.

Sally Andrew’s first book is brilliant with the main drama being the one I enjoyed from the newly aired series. I don’t mind knowing the ending because there are different names, genders, and ethnicities, additional characters, letters, recipes, and events, and more details, often different, and insights into Tannie Maria’s own past, tragic and otherwise. Andrews has written from the first-person perspective of Tannie Maria filled with witty repartee and a engaging cleverness entwining food with love and murder to create a cohesive, compelling mystery. The book is an absolute must not just for an outstanding and expanded story, but also for the picturesque descriptions providing the perfect visual of the Klein Karoo landscape and the diverse, multi-generational characters, insights into the unique culture along with its conflicts and history.

The book includes Tannie Maria’s Glossary to help understand many of the words associated to the region and the native language, but with eBooks many words pop up with definitions and translations when clicked on. But, the best bonus is the recipes from Tannie Maria’s kitchen that illustrated her advice. There are tips and insights along with several recipes categorized as Meats (4), Sweets (8), and Breads (2)!

I have two copies of the book…it is that good! I have the Kindle version for easy referral to the marvelous recipes, but I also picked up the audiobook (11 hrs.; 24 mins) for the convenience and the extraordinary voice talent of Sandra Pinsloo. Her accent and cadence of her narration seemed accurate for which I have experienced. She did well to change tone for the various characters and made a good effort to portray male voices. She enriched my experience!

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Earns 5/5 Million-Dollar Listings…Exciting & Entertaining!

Revisado: 07-31-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

For the past four years, Cindy York has been a stay-at-home mom, but now that her four-year-old daughter is going to pre-school, she’s afraid the “me time” will drive her crazy…saved by the phone call! Jacques Forte, her former boss, has a idea for her to return to work. A client, Cindy’s former college roommate and BFF, needs to put her multi-million dollar home on the market and called to engage Cindy. Cindy isn’t eager to pop back into the game, but she learns Pam is being forced to sell her home by her soon-to-be ex-husband Kevin and has a change of heart. Taking the meeting, she finds her friend dependent on alcohol, an arrogant, cheat of a husband spewing vile complaints, and later, revelations of Pam’s violent threats toward her husband. Is it any surprise that Cindy discovers Kevin’s body floating in the pool?

What a delightfully entertaining audiobook! Catherine Bruns’ has Cindy York juggling a surprise arrival of her eldest, two pre-teens, and a pre-schooler, and confronting an antagonistic mother-in-law creating the realism I crave. The narrator, Amy Deuchler, goes beyond just reading with an entertaining performance changing in tone and style to represent each character, and with her baritone voice she meets the challenge making the perfect adjustment for gender. The murder mystery is pure Catherine Bruns…karmic justice, and the investigation opened up several engaging avenues beyond the spouse’s own motive, opportunity, and means with the victim’s sons, girlfriend, clients, and partners topping the list, but the final reveal was a compelling twist. Amy’s solemn and excited emotions enriched Bruns’ vivid language bringing to life the setting and character appearance and interactions among characters with an engaging performance of the diverse characters. Always a favorite series…Excellent. Entertaining. Best way to enjoy Bruns's work.

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Earns 5/5 Gluttonous Gals…Compelling Fun!

Revisado: 02-22-22

Tommel Castle Hotel in Lochdubh is the setting of a week-long gathering of an eclectic group of clients from the marriage agency Checkmate Singles Club. Its owner, Maria Worth, had painstakingly made the perfect pairings among her clients assured there’d be some coupling before the week was out. Her partner, Peta Gore, is an egregious woman, loud and intrusive, morbidly overweight with eating habits that turn many a stomach, and although she’d ruined many gatherings before, thankfully, she’s vacationing in Europe. At the introduction drinks party, the group, however, is not matching up according to Maria’s plan, but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves…until, the loud familiar voice strikes fear in Maria’s heart. Peta, along with her niece Crystal, has found them and sets scoffing up the lion’s share of the attention, the men’s company, and the food. Events are ruined, clients threaten to leave, hotel employees are targets of Peta’s venomous manner, and everyone seems to be entertaining themselves with thoughts about ways to be rid of such a “greedy woman.” And someone does! Was it Maria ridding herself of an albatross? the niece who vied an inheritance? one of the rebuffed men looking to marry money? the hotel cook with an injured pride? a stranger on the moor? Hamish’s nemesis Blair’s glaring incompetence is on display, Hamish’s laid back, yet insightful, approach garners important clues, innocents are arrested, a game turns attempted murder, and the final reveal, pressed by Hamish, is a shocking. Brilliant. Engaging. Clever.

M.C. Beaton’s iconic Lochdubh police officer, Hamish Macbeth, is an absolute delight differing greatly from the television series loosely based on Beaton’s book, but fans of highland mysteries, the 1990’s show, or Beaton herself will delight in the low-key manner, intuitive insights, and lovable nature of the red headed Scotsman. I am curious as to why the book’s title was changed since “Death of a Glutton” was much more accurate than “Death of a Greedy Woman,” but what every moniker, the victim was the perfect karmic choice. As the details emerge to lengthen the suspect list and making it not as straightforward as the nasty piece of work DCI Blair thinks, the drama delves deep into each character’s background with surprising results. Hamish is still having issues with the ladies, Priscilla at the top of the list, but he vies to just stay under the radar; he cares not for credit that might lead to a promotion…surprise! Well-written, descriptive, and engaging banter often written with a Scottish accent in mind make this a favorite series! And one of the best ways to enjoy Beaton’s work is with the audio version narrated by Shaun Grindell whose pleasant voice enriches Beaton’s narrative. He does extremely well to perform the Scottish brogue in varied ways to illustrate the different locals, a few English accents for the visitors, and changing his tone to represent gender and age. I could never read the story with the right accent, so listening to Grindell was the total experience.

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