Patti
- 11
- reviews
- 6
- helpful votes
- 130
- ratings
-
Lethal Letters
- Books by the Bay Mystery Series #6
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone's got their hands full in Oyster Bay, North Carolina. Aside from two upcoming weddings, there's also the historical society's annual fund-raiser: the Secret Garden Party and Candlelit Ball. Adding to the excitement, Olivia witnesses the discovery of a time capsule in the foundation of a local church. The historical society president hopes to display its contents at their party, but when the items are finally revealed to the public, Olivia notices that one of them has vanished.
-
-
Love the Series
- By Kim Talbert on 12-02-15
- Lethal Letters
- Books by the Bay Mystery Series #6
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
Huge factual problems with this one!
Reviewed: 06-23-19
The first time the author wrote that Olivia and Hudson were "not blood Kin" I thought she just made a mistake. In this book, only a few chapters in and the author has stated that these two children of identical twin brothers are not kin, not related and "do not share a drop of blood between them"! This would not be a big thing except now she is using it as some dark secret that might make them lose one another!!? Ridiculous! They are not only first cousins but much closer cousins because their fathers are twin brothers who are identical - right down to their DNA!
The characters remain just too shallow for words as the author tells us time and again of some mystical connection in which her protagonist personalizes her relationship to persons she has just met or persons she first sees after death. Olivia is just an unlikable self centered woman who gets away with rude intrusive behavior and evidence tampering due to her money and power. The fact that she supposedly graduated from college but doesn't know how biologically closely she is relate to her own cousin . . . . just can't read anymore . . .
Author also rewriting history from first book where girl jumped into a dinghy and father did not know and sailed on to now saying her father set her adrift in a dinghy! gotta raise that hysterical suffering to a higher degree now.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Written in Stone
- Books by the Bay Mystery Series #4
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Munin Cooper, known as the Witch of Oyster Bay, warns Olivia Limoges that death is coming, neither of them realize that it is the older woman herself who will soon be found dead. And Olivia's instincts tell her that something - or someone - more sinister than a mystical force is at play...Olivia has a lot on her plate preparing for the Coastal Carolina Food Festival. When she hears the news of Munin's untimely death, however, finding the murderer takes priority.
-
-
WARNING: Has An Explicit Graphic Scene!
- By Christina on 12-10-15
- Written in Stone
- Books by the Bay Mystery Series #4
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
Not the best book in an good series thus far
Reviewed: 06-19-19
Book 4 in this series was disappointing. Perhaps the author tried to include too much? She may also have made the common mistake of forgetting who her audience are thus far. Book covers have that quirky Cozy feel with a few innocent items that take on sinister meaning after reading book - this is fun and compelling. But now the books themselves have a flavor of more serious full length novel but without enough content for that genre. Olivia still always right and using her money to back it us. She presumes but is very annoyed when others do so.
Very interesting subject but the characters (supporting as well as protagonist) seem forces to form overly quick bonds bound by angst. Just seems overly dramatic like persons who become overly invested in the immediate tragedy of others. Also book when on and on and I just couldn't care much about the outcome as it moved around in confusing manner. The developing charm of the series just wasn't there. Author telling us what character felt rather than showing us. Didn't take time to show us why. Ending seemed sudden/impulsive and too tidy. Seems perhaps author is bored with her series. Even book club members are becoming trite. Hoping next book returns to book club and flavor of earlier volumes.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Last Word
- Books by the Bay Mystery Series # 3
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Olivia Limoges and the Bayside Book Writers are excited about Oyster Bay's newest resident: bestselling novelist Nick Plumley, who's come to work on his next book. But when Olivia stops by Plumley's rental she finds that he's been strangled to death. Her instincts tell her that something from the past came back to haunt him, but she never expects that the investigation could spell doom for one of her dearest friends....
-
-
Amazing story!
- By Madonna on 10-14-15
- The Last Word
- Books by the Bay Mystery Series # 3
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
Compelling mystery story for third in series!
Reviewed: 06-18-19
The mystery in this third book is fascinating in its setting. Compels the reader to research more around the past events. The characters in the series have developed into likeable human beings who have interesting flaws - much like real life friendships. Some concerns arising that Olivia might be developing toward Mary Sue territory. Haviland is still a bright spot but feels a bit more like a prop.
This installment is sad but feels pretty real. I do personally feel the author did not develop the stated relationship with the perpetrator (warm, close, affectionate) well enough before the crisis to elicit the emotional response that followed. Some of the criticisms the members of the writers group level at one another in their meetings could be applied by the author to her own work! And I wonder if this is her point?
The story is brilliant!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
A Deadly Cliché
- Books by the Bay Mystery, Book 2
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While walking her poodle, Olivia Limoges discovers a dead body buried in the sand. Could it be connected to the bizarre burglaries plaguing Oyster Bay, North Carolina? At every crime scene, the thieves set up odd tableaus: a stick of butter with a knife through it, dolls with silver spoons in their mouths, a deck of cards with a missing queen. Olivia realizes that each setup represents a cliché. And who better to decode the cliché clues than her Bayside Book Writers group?
-
-
A Wonderful 2nd Installment!
- By Christina on 10-04-15
- A Deadly Cliché
- Books by the Bay Mystery, Book 2
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
Much improved 2nd effort
Reviewed: 06-18-19
Characters are developing nicely. Mystery was quite engaging and Olivia is not the perfect heroine. So happy I continued with this series!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
A Killer Plot
- Books by the Bay Mystery Series #1
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Olivia Limoges is the subject of constant gossip. Ever since her mysterious return to the small coastal town of Oyster Bay, North Carolina, Olivia has kept to herself, her dog, and her unfinished novel. With a little cajoling from charming writer Camden Ford, she agrees to join the Bayside Book Writers to break her writer's block and even make a few friends. But when townspeople start turning up dead with haiku poems left by the bodies, anyone with a flair for language is suddenly suspect.
-
-
My new favorite Cozy Mystery Series!
- By Christina on 09-21-15
- A Killer Plot
- Books by the Bay Mystery Series #1
- By: Ellery Adams
- Narrated by: Karen White
Mixed, with good story, some interesting character
Reviewed: 06-13-19
Was really hopeful that this series would be a great fit. First, the story was very good. Mature writing with good depth and quality in descriptions. Writing seemed to be improving as story unfolded. Just when most characters appeared to be moving toward cliche territory, the author snatched them from the brink with unexpected turns which none-the-less avoided "jumping the shark."
The narration was uneven however and quite annoying in the beginning. Odd stilted way of portraying the main character. Sometimes general narration was presented in that same odd manner. This did improve part way into the book but was present so strongly one was tempted to stop listening.
Some cliche portrayals of characters still seem present: Small town people are simple and ignorant, working men hate queers, wealthy people are selfish and grasping, etc. Hopefully the author will continue to open her own mind and eyes for character creations and continual growth in the next book and avoid the easy way so prevalent in many series. This will avoid the tedium which strikes when the characters become characatures of themselves.
Good series beginning.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Liberty Bar
- Inspector Maigret, Book 17
- By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A new translation of Georges Simenon's devastating novel set on the French Riviera. It had a smell of holidays. The previous evening, in Cannes harbour, with the setting sun, had also had the smell of holidays, especially the Ardena, whose owner swaggered in front of two girls with gorgeous figures. Dazzled at first by the glamour of sunny Antibes, Maigret soon finds himself immersed in the less salubrious side of the Riviera, as he retraces the final steps of a local eccentric.
-
-
Not a favorite
- By Patti on 03-20-19
- Liberty Bar
- Inspector Maigret, Book 17
- By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
Not a favorite
Reviewed: 03-20-19
Personal opinion but didn't really like this one. Ending did not feel satisfying. Planning to return this one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Sweet Danger
- By: Margery Allingham
- Narrated by: Franis Matthews
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Way back during the Crusades, Richard I presented the Huntingforest family with the tiny Balkan state of Averna but since then the kingdom has been forgotten, until circumstances in Europe suddenly render it extremely strategically important to the British government. They hire unconventional detective Albert Campion to recover the long-missing proofs of ownership - the deeds, a crown, and a receipt - which are apparently hidden in the village of Pontisbright.
-
-
A Campy Campion
- By Marie on 01-12-15
- Sweet Danger
- By: Margery Allingham
- Narrated by: Franis Matthews
The Beginning of the love story
Reviewed: 02-15-19
More a beginning of the love story rather than a mystery but with fun old fashion clues. M. Allingham characters already well known to be skillfully developed and warmly remembered. Narrator F. Matthew's Campion very well done. American accents not well done by this narrator nor by "the other guy." That is a minor annoyance in the face of wonderful voicing of Campion.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Still Life
- Chief Inspector Gamache, Book 1
- By: Louise Penny
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.
-
-
A rare find
- By Alex on 01-16-15
- Still Life
- Chief Inspector Gamache, Book 1
- By: Louise Penny
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
Not for me right now right here
Reviewed: 11-13-18
Have you ever found yourself accidently picking up a book that seems unread to you only to find you have read it before? Maybe once upon a time ... this may be one of those for me some day. For now, the story seemed a bit too aware of itself and perhaps the writer a bit too smitten with the idea of writing a full cast of completely diverse characters. This coupled with the slow start just wasn't a fit for me.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
The Look of Love
- San Francisco Sullivans, Book 1
- By: Bella Andre
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With The Look of Love, best-selling author Bella Andre introduces you to a fun and emotional contemporary romance series about the Sullivan family. Because when a Sullivan bad boy falls... he falls hard. And it's forever. Chloe Peterson is having a bad night. A really bad night. The large bruise on her cheek can attest to that. And when her car skids off the side of a wet country road straight into a ditch, she's convinced even the gorgeous guy who rescues her must be too good to be true. Or is he?
-
-
A total cheese fest...
- By SIMARA on 11-16-12
- The Look of Love
- San Francisco Sullivans, Book 1
- By: Bella Andre
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
Even sex can be boring
Reviewed: 03-17-18
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
A real story would have made a real listen.
Has The Look of Love turned you off from other books in this genre?
This author will have made my "don't bother to download" list.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Come Away with Me
- By: Kristen Proby
- Narrated by: Jennifer Mack
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Being confronted on the beach by a sexy stranger wasn't part of Natalie Conner's plans for a peaceful morning taking photos. And why on earth would he think she's taking pictures of him, anyway? Who is he? One thing’s for sure, he’s hot, and incredibly romantic, feeding Natalie’s wounded soul.
-
-
recommended for all you erotic romanceaholics!
- By Jordy ♡♡♡♡ on 12-26-13
- Come Away with Me
- By: Kristen Proby
- Narrated by: Jennifer Mack
Not sure if story or narration is worse
Reviewed: 01-28-18
What disappointed you about Come Away with Me?
Both story and performance were very disappointing. Story was boring with characters spoiled and independently wealthy and beautiful. Female lead Mary Sue with what I assume are supposed to be endearing self image issues. Unfortunate beginning for a series.
Would you ever listen to anything by Kristen Proby again?
This not my first read by Kristen Proby but is the first I`ve not been able to finish. With so many other authors from which to choose ...
What didn’t you like about Jennifer Mack’s performance?
Everything. So close to typical sexy baby vocal fry as to jar me from listening to marvel how this slide past producers. Maybe could work with teen young adult material but just wasn't credible for adult listening. Toe curlingly embarrasing performance.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Annoyance.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!