Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Audiobook Review: Death of an Outsider by M.C. Beaton

Death of a Outsider sees Hamish Macbeth leaving his beloved Lochdubh to spend three months covering for a police officer in the Highland town of Cnothan. With his beloved dog, Hamish gets to know the locals and discovers he's not the only "outsider" in Cnothan. There are quite a few, a lovely lass from Canadian and a married couple that the locals cannot stand. It seems that Mr Mainwaring has a way of causing the locals to dislike him, as he picks and prods his way into all their lives. When a skeleton turns up dead and it is discovered to belong to Mr Mainwaring, Macbeth and Inspector Blair set out to investigate the case and find out who disliked Mainwaring enough to want him dead.

I've liked the first two books in this series and I'm continuing on by listening to book 3, Death of a Outsider, on audio. I love seeing what Hamish gets up to and it's nice to see him away from Lochdubh for this adventure. He's trying to keep his mind off Priscilla, his crush and the girl that he can't quite see a future with, even though he wants to. He finds things interesting in Cnothan - especially with a very unattached Canadian artist. And of course there is a murder to solve!!

Speaking of the murder. I read a lot of murder mysteries and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised of who Mainwaring was killed and the discovering of his skeleton. Yes not a corpse but a skeleton. I haven't seen this in a previous mystery and I love how creative M.C. Beaton was with this.

I really enjoyed Death of a Outsider and will listen to more of these books on audio. It seems that there was a new narrator with this one - Shaun Grindell. He provides the voice for the rest of the audios in this series, and while it took me a little while to get used to his narration I am looking forward to seeing how he narrates future books.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Audiobook Review: Cloche & Dagger by Jenn McKinlay

After Scarlett Parker discovers that her boyfriend has been lying to her and is still married, her fiery temper gets the best of her and she behaves badly and gets the name of the “Party Crasher”. To put some distance between the incident, Scarlett decides to visit her cousin, Vivian, who runs Mim’s Whims, the millinery business they both inherited when their grandmother passed away. In England Scarlett doesn’t quite find the peace and quiet she’s looking for, especially when Vivian appears to be missing and a client turns up dead. With an old love interest in tow, Scarlett and her new friends must solve a murder and try to keep the hat shop open, in Vivian’s absence.
I first discovered Jenn McKinlay through her Cupcake Bakery mysteries and then her Library Lover’s mysteries. Being a fan of English-based mysteries, I was thrilled to learn that she was publishing a series set in England.

Right from the second Scarlett steps off the plane in England, I was hooked on her adventure. She’s such a fun heroine, as she struggles with the pain of her embarrassment of her ex-boyfriend, to not remembering, Harrison, a boy she stood up as a teen. She has a fiery temperament, and it seems she’s always getting herself into trouble!! Scarlett is plain and simple fun and it was so enjoyable to read her first adventure.

The first mystery in this series really sets the scene about the store, Mim’s Whims, Vivian and Scarlett’s history together, growing up together and spending their summers at the store. We are also introduced to the fabulous pair of Andre and Nick, a couple that live just down the street, and help Scarlett cause trouble and get out of trouble too!! I absolutely adored Andre and Nick and I can’t wait to see more of them in the next book.

I listened to Cloche and Dagger on audiobook and the narration is voiced by Karyn O’Bryant. It was my first time listening to Karyn O’Bryant narrate and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. She quickly switches between the English and American accents, and her voices matched the personalities so perfectly. From vibrant Nick to Harrison, who can be quite the stick-in-the-mud and formal, the voices were simply perfect. I hope that future books in this series will be published in audiobook format with Karyn O’Bryant providing the narration.

Cloche and Dagger is a five-star read. It’s a debut in a new series and it is an absolute stellar start to this series. I can’t wait for the second book (Death of a Mad Hatter) to hit the shelves next year.