A Taste for Murder Audiobook By Claudia Bishop cover art

A Taste for Murder

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A Taste for Murder

By: Claudia Bishop
Narrated by: Justine Eyre
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This is the first book in a delightful series featuring two sleuthing sisters.

Hemlock Falls is a pretty little town in upstate New York. Sarah Quilliam, with her talent for business, runs the Inn at Hemlock Falls, while her sister, Meg, keeps the guests happy with her culinary abilities. But when it comes to murder, the Quilliam sisters have to rely on other skills - spotting clues, solving crimes, and catching culprits.

The History Days festival is the highlight of the year in Hemlock Falls, and the reenactment of the 17th-century witch trials is the highlight of the festival. But this year the mock execution becomes all too real when a woman is crushed under a pile of stones. The victim has been identified as a guest at the inn, but the killer remains unknown - so far.

Claudia Bishop is the author of the popular Hemlock Falls mystery series as well as two novels in the Casebooks of Dr. McKenzie mysteries. Under the name Mary Stanton, she is also the author of an eight-volume children’s fantasy series, Unicorns of Balinor.

©1994 Mary Stanton (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Mystery

Critic reviews

“[A] great cozy series.” ( Books ’n’ Bytes)
All stars
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I read this book when it was first published and I loved it and the rest of the series. I was concerned it wouldn’t hold up and would feel dated. It isn’t dated at all, with exception to some of the tech references (no cell phones and records not digitized and online). I’m looking forward to many more hours of Hemlock Falls.

Still fresh

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Sometimes a good narrator can rescue a weak book, or a good book will shine through despite a weak narrator. Sadly, this one seemed to me therefore to have been the worst of both worlds. I really thought the premise of the book sounded clever. Cozies can be tricky, because it is easy to cross the line to sappy or outright silly. And that's pretty much how I viewed this one. Bought it on sale, just to see. A Taste For Murder may be someone else's taste, but it was not mine. I'm sorry, but it was pretty bad--at the groaner level.

I noticed that the author has also written children's literature. Oddly, I suspect that may be where her real talent is. I had the sense that she probably does a wonderful job with that genre. I would not hesitate to get her work there if the chance or need arose.

Disappointment

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There are several things wrong in this book. 1. The lead character Quill and the sheriff have absolutely no chemistry. He tolerates her and treats her like a child.
2. Quill is a bit immature and lacks managerial skills neede to run an Inn.
3. Although Quill is the lead character she is weak and her character is never really fleched out.
4. Meg the chef at the Inn intentionally sabatoges her food for a disagreeable customer.
5. She also refuses to follow the guidelines made by the Department of health.
6. The plot was a bit slow and seemed to go around in circles for a while.

I like the idea of the world created so I might get the next book to see if any of these flaws are worked out.

I'm not sure about this one

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