⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – 4 stars
The Bill Monroe Bluegrass Festival in Beanblossom, IN, is underway, and Robbie Jordan, owner of Pans n’ Pancakes, is excited since the venue will provide opportunities for a few musicians and dancers to stay at her newly opened B&B. Her boyfriend, Abe, is one of the performers at the festival, and she feels proud watching him from the audience. But when she and other observers see him arguing with one of the band members, and then that same member is found dead the next day, Robbie gets involved in the investigation since the suspects include her boyfriend, her father and a couple of guests staying at her small B&B.
Death Over Easy is Book five in the Country Store Mystery series. I enjoyed it despite having absolutely no knowledge of bluegrass music, banjos and whatnot. One of my favorite things about this series is revisiting with recurring characters, particularly Lt. Buck Bird, a tall, lanky Detective with a bottomless pit appetite and a deep Hoosier accent.
I liked that several of the characters were potential suspects, and it was interesting how various characters had different opinions of the victim; some thought she was a great person, others thought she was awful. I kept trying to ascertain her true nature. And even though I had an inkling of who the murderer was fairly early on, it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story.
I had a niggle with the occasional instances of sexual innuendo in the book. It was unnecessary. And since the audio narrator had a very senior voice those instances sounded a little ridiculous. The flirty exchanges between Robbie and Abe sounded like an overgrown school girl with a dirty old man and it was not appealing.
An issue I had with the audio narrator, Laural Merlington, was that her voice was not that of a person in her twenties or thirties, which I believe was the age of the protagonist. She sounded, at the very least, to be a woman in her sixties, maybe even seventies. It’s not that the narrator wasn’t perfectly capable or articulate, it’s just that she sounded much older than some of the characters, and as a consequence I found it difficult to connect with some of them. I kept thinking to myself that she’d be a lot more convincing as the voice of Jessica Fletcher, or possibly the book (not movie) version of Agatha Raisin—but not Robbie Jordan. I’d wished I had a paperback copy in addition to the audio version so that I could switch up when her voice began to harass me.
All things considered, Death Over Easy was an enjoyable cozy mystery and I will be on the lookout for further additions to the series.
Thank you, Tantor Audio, for a free download of Death Over Easy. In exchange I have provided an honest review.
Thanks for visiting everyone. 🤗
Your posts are so fun to read! Too bad about the narrator with this one. Always so disappointing when the narrator doesn’t seem to match the character and makes such difference. I hope your next one is much better!
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Thank you so much!! 💕
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Pity the narrator didn’t match this one, she is a good narrator but you are right a voice needs to match a book. I love the cover because that’s a gorgeous quilt on the cover!
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She is good, but I could not match her voice up with the young proprietor. 😔
I love that cover too! 😍
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Yup, that narration can throw off the story sometimes. I’ve checked out sample audios from a couple of my favourite reads and decided against getting them. The audio just did not match what I had created while reading for myself. That said, I’ve listened to others that were fantastic!
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So true, Nina!! I don’t know why I didn’t test this one out first. 🤔 I think the narrator was different earlier on in the series. I’ve been doing pretty good as far as narrators go so I’ve been slacking when it comes to sampling first. 😔
But you’re so right!! I’ve listened to narrators that have changed my life!! I have a list of favorites, and I’ll actually look forward to listening.
Thanks for stopping by. 😊
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Oh yes. I think the reason I ended up liking audiobooks is because the first couple I listened too had great narration. Killer Jam narrator Terri Linden Clarke… so glad you put me on to that one! Lol
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OMG….to this day I still love and fondly remember Killer Jam! One of my all time favorite cozies. And yes, the audio narrator was PERFECT for that book. 😌
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😊😊😊😊
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Great review!!! I do hate when the narrator pulls you out of the story that way. The narrator can really alter the book experience when you do audiobooks!
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So true!!
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Your blog always cracks me up! Love love love it! 🤣
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Thank you!! 😂 💕
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Loved this entertaining review, Laurie! I had never thought about a voice sounding older- I am definitely going to pay attention to that in the future because I am sure that makes a big difference. Xoxo
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I have enjoyed this series a lot for the same reasons you have. I have not listened to any of them and based on this review, I will not start now. Great, honest review Laurie.
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Love your awesome review–so much fun–and so agree with your niggle. If the voice doesn’t match the dialogue, it’s not going to work. Also, agree with Diana above–(those are “BitMojis?–NEAT! Speaking of matching–totally told what you were thinking. Good job!
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Thank you so much for your comment!! Yes, I imagined a totally different voice for the MC. 😔
And yes, those are BitMojis. I think they so accurately reflect my emotions. 😂
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Usually you think the audio enhances your enjoyment. This review points up what can happen when the audio does not match up with expectations. I have listened to a few audio books when traveling by myself. I don’t listen to audio books in general. I’m not opposed to them; they just don’t fit my lifestyle right now. Thanks for providing honest feedback on this book–your review was very interesting. BTW, I would love to be lanky with a bottomless pit stomach. 😂
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Usually I’m very satisfied with the narrator. I have quite a few favorites in fact. Some of them have turned a book around for me when I’ve almost given up on reading it. I LIVE for my audiobooks!! I listen as often as is humanly possible. I LOVE them. But it’s a little disappointing when the voice just doesn’t fit.
Interesting, Linda?? I’m kind of scared of what that means. 😂
I wish I could be lanky with a bottomless pit appetite too. 😃 Thanks so much for your comment. 😉
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The description of Buck Bird! I wish I could eat all I wanted and yet be skinny!😆😂😊I’m just being silly.😏🙃
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Buck is a great character!! He comes into Robbie’s place and orders “the regular,” which is equivalent to almost every breakfast item on the menu!! I eat one tiny piece of cake and I could swear the scale shows it the next day. 🤦🏽♀️
You’re so funny. 😂
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I love your pics/gifs
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Thank you EziChi. 💕
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Hey Laurie, you had a niggle too.. Overgrown man and school girl – eeeekkkssss…
Hope the next read is good!!
I just got 3 cozy books sent. I hope to read it soon. But they are probably out of series… Let’s see
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The narrator just sounded too old as the protagonist, so when she did the male voice he sounded too old too. Not a good combination, Shalini. 🤦🏽♀️
I’m excited about your new cozies!! 🤩
How are you my dear Shalini?
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I am all well Laurie, how have you been? I got into Edelweiss, no idea what I did but got 2 books from there cozies
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Happy to hear you’re well, Shalini. 😊I’m doing pretty good too.
I’m glad you snagged a couple of cozies from Edelweiss.
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I can see how the narrator’s voice would be a distraction, Laurie. This is one reason why I rarely listen to audio books…the voice never seems to match up…at least for my ears. 🙂 Thanks for your honest review!
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Hi Jill!! I’ve listened to audio narrators that have greatly improved a book, and I’ve listened to some who have destroyed it. I have to say that usually I’m satisfied with the narrator. The book I’m listening to now has a narrator that fits the voice of the protagonist so well. It’s such a pleasure when that happens.
Thanks for reading, Jill. 💕
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I’m sure it nice. I think I suffer with ADD when I listen to audio books. It’s difficult for me to stay focused. 🙂 I hope you’re feeling well, Laurie! ❤
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Oh I definitely have ADD. But I wear my Apple watch so when my mind wanders I just hit the reverse button on it and my iPhone backs up so I don’t miss anything. 😉
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😉Smart gal!
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Reblogged this on Hobby Reads.
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Thank you!! 😊
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As always, the BitMojis are on point Glad you are still enjoying the series despite the issues that you had with the narrator in this one. I hope the next installment will be even better. Fab review!
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Thanks, Diana. 😂
The narrator was killing me!! I expected the main character to sound totally different so it was a struggle to get through it sometimes. What can you do? 🤷🏽♀️
Thanks for stopping by. 😉
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