
Christmas at Corbie Hall
A McLaren Mystery
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Callum Hale
-
By:
-
Jo A. Hiestand
About this listen
Former police detective Michael McLaren is looking forward to spending Christmas at his grandfather's ancient Hall. Not only because it will be his first holiday with his grandfather and uncle, but also with his lady love, Melanie. Everything seems perfect for the Scottish Highland getaway. Even Mother Nature is contributing snow, adding a festive and romantic overtone to the gathering. But McLaren’s holiday plan gets snowed under when a dead man is discovered outside his grandfather’s house--in circumstances similar to an older murder. And it’s not long before McLaren is asked to look into the previous death.
The victim was a drummer in a local pipe band. He also drummed at the Christmas market, where his body was found on a snowy, cold evening. The man found dead at the door of his grandfather’s house also played in a pipe band. Are the two murders connected? Or did their jobs at the bank have to do with their deaths?Can McLaren wrap up the cases in time to unwrap Christmas gifts with Melanie? It’s a race against the calendar and weather if he wants the Day—and his future with her—to be merry and bright.
©2023 Jo A Hiestand (P)2023 Jo A HiestandListeners also enjoyed...
-
All I Want for Christmas Is a Rogue
- Regency Hearts Aflame
- By: Amanda Mariel
- Narrated by: Charlie Albers
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amidst the enchanting wintry landscapes of Regency England, fate weaves an unexpected story of love and redemption. Lady Emily Fairchild, a spirited widow carrying the weight of her past, crosses paths with the charismatic rogue, Mr. Nicolas Winters, the second son of a prestigious earl. When a twist of destiny brings Nicolas wounded and unconscious to Emily's door, her compassionate heart compels her to nurse him back to health. As he gradually awakens, an air of mystery surrounds the captivating stranger.
-
-
Lovely holiday story
- By Anonymous5 on 01-27-25
By: Amanda Mariel
-
Welcome to Piney Falls
- Piney Falls Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Joann Keder
- Narrated by: Carolyne Leys
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lanie Anders has a perfectly ordered life. From her half-foam morning latte to her high-powered executive job—she controls every outcome. But when her house burns to the ground in mysterious circumstances, her life is thrown into confusion. Searching for some kind of purpose, she stumbles across a century-old mystery and flees to Piney Falls, Oregon, an oceanside hamlet with a curious past. But something isn’t quite right in the picturesque town. Her neighbor speaks in riddles, the death rate is alarmingly high, and the impossibly handsome town baker is hiding something.
-
-
Difficult to get Through
- By Georgia McNabb on 02-08-24
By: Joann Keder
-
Nine Millimeter
- The Robert Mason Murder Mystery Series, Book 2
- By: Matthew Thomson
- Narrated by: Glynn Holmes Sr.
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Veteran Detective Robert Mason with the Atlanta Police Department and his twenty year old daughter, Samantha team up once again to solve the brutal murder of Restaurant owner Claude Moreau. Will they be able to unravel the clues and solve the case before the killer strikes again? Follow along in this action packed thriller and see if you can figure out who the killer is.
-
-
Great story!
- By Jessica on 10-17-24
By: Matthew Thomson
-
Cold Revenge
- The McLaren Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Jo A. Hiestand
- Narrated by: James Lyne
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One year ago, Marta Hughes won a purse-choking sum of money at a local casino. She never returned home. Her body was discovered in a ditch 12 miles from her home; her car was back in her driveway. Linnet Isherwood cannot let her friend's unsolved murder rest. She convinces ex-cop Michael McLaren to return to the work he loves. He sifts through a confusing web of lies, misconceptions, and veiled motives.
-
-
I’d Prefer Reading the Book to Listening to it
- By Emmy on 05-14-18
By: Jo A. Hiestand
-
Murder at Cold Creek College
- Cold Creek Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Christa Nardi
- Narrated by: Alyssa Baumann
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dead colleague isn't the best way to start a semester, or a romance. Although Sheridan Hendley is not a sleuth, when her colleague is murdered, she assists the detective in gathering information.
-
-
Phenomenal
- By Blackeagle on 10-04-23
By: Christa Nardi
-
Silver Circle Cat Rescue Mysteries, Books 1-2-3
- 3 Cozy Magic Midlife Mysteries
- By: Leanne Leeds
- Narrated by: Meghan Kelly
- Length: 21 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleanor "Ellie" Rockwell thought her days of excitement were over. After being laid off from her corporate job at forty-nine, she moved to the small town of Tablerock, Texas, opened the Silver Circle Cat Rescue, and settled into a quiet life with her daughter, Evie. Little did she know, her life was about to get a whole lot more...furry. When a magical crystal platter that allows cats to communicate with humans falls into her possession, Ellie finds herself thrown into a world of murder mysteries and feline sleuthing.
-
-
Silver circle books 1,2 and 3
- By Deedra on 12-08-24
By: Leanne Leeds
-
All I Want for Christmas Is a Rogue
- Regency Hearts Aflame
- By: Amanda Mariel
- Narrated by: Charlie Albers
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amidst the enchanting wintry landscapes of Regency England, fate weaves an unexpected story of love and redemption. Lady Emily Fairchild, a spirited widow carrying the weight of her past, crosses paths with the charismatic rogue, Mr. Nicolas Winters, the second son of a prestigious earl. When a twist of destiny brings Nicolas wounded and unconscious to Emily's door, her compassionate heart compels her to nurse him back to health. As he gradually awakens, an air of mystery surrounds the captivating stranger.
-
-
Lovely holiday story
- By Anonymous5 on 01-27-25
By: Amanda Mariel
-
Welcome to Piney Falls
- Piney Falls Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Joann Keder
- Narrated by: Carolyne Leys
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lanie Anders has a perfectly ordered life. From her half-foam morning latte to her high-powered executive job—she controls every outcome. But when her house burns to the ground in mysterious circumstances, her life is thrown into confusion. Searching for some kind of purpose, she stumbles across a century-old mystery and flees to Piney Falls, Oregon, an oceanside hamlet with a curious past. But something isn’t quite right in the picturesque town. Her neighbor speaks in riddles, the death rate is alarmingly high, and the impossibly handsome town baker is hiding something.
-
-
Difficult to get Through
- By Georgia McNabb on 02-08-24
By: Joann Keder
-
Nine Millimeter
- The Robert Mason Murder Mystery Series, Book 2
- By: Matthew Thomson
- Narrated by: Glynn Holmes Sr.
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Veteran Detective Robert Mason with the Atlanta Police Department and his twenty year old daughter, Samantha team up once again to solve the brutal murder of Restaurant owner Claude Moreau. Will they be able to unravel the clues and solve the case before the killer strikes again? Follow along in this action packed thriller and see if you can figure out who the killer is.
-
-
Great story!
- By Jessica on 10-17-24
By: Matthew Thomson
-
Cold Revenge
- The McLaren Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Jo A. Hiestand
- Narrated by: James Lyne
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One year ago, Marta Hughes won a purse-choking sum of money at a local casino. She never returned home. Her body was discovered in a ditch 12 miles from her home; her car was back in her driveway. Linnet Isherwood cannot let her friend's unsolved murder rest. She convinces ex-cop Michael McLaren to return to the work he loves. He sifts through a confusing web of lies, misconceptions, and veiled motives.
-
-
I’d Prefer Reading the Book to Listening to it
- By Emmy on 05-14-18
By: Jo A. Hiestand
-
Murder at Cold Creek College
- Cold Creek Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Christa Nardi
- Narrated by: Alyssa Baumann
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dead colleague isn't the best way to start a semester, or a romance. Although Sheridan Hendley is not a sleuth, when her colleague is murdered, she assists the detective in gathering information.
-
-
Phenomenal
- By Blackeagle on 10-04-23
By: Christa Nardi
-
Silver Circle Cat Rescue Mysteries, Books 1-2-3
- 3 Cozy Magic Midlife Mysteries
- By: Leanne Leeds
- Narrated by: Meghan Kelly
- Length: 21 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleanor "Ellie" Rockwell thought her days of excitement were over. After being laid off from her corporate job at forty-nine, she moved to the small town of Tablerock, Texas, opened the Silver Circle Cat Rescue, and settled into a quiet life with her daughter, Evie. Little did she know, her life was about to get a whole lot more...furry. When a magical crystal platter that allows cats to communicate with humans falls into her possession, Ellie finds herself thrown into a world of murder mysteries and feline sleuthing.
-
-
Silver circle books 1,2 and 3
- By Deedra on 12-08-24
By: Leanne Leeds
Related to this topic
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
Eleven Numbers
- A Short Story
- By: Lee Child
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nathan Tyler is an unassuming professor at a middling American university with a rather obscure specialty in mathematics—in short, a nobody from nowhere. So why is the White House calling? Summoned to Washington, DC, for a top-secret briefing, Nathan discovers that he’s the key to a massive foreign intelligence breakthrough. Reading between the lines of a cryptic series of equations, he could open a door straight into the heart of the Kremlin and change the global balance of power forever.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Or on 02-02-25
By: Lee Child
-
Do You Remember?
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tess Strebel can’t recognize her own face. She can’t recognize her home. Her bedroom is unfamiliar. And she can’t remember the handsome stranger lying next to her in bed. A stranger who claims he’s her husband. Tess reads a letter in her own handwriting, composed during a rare lucid day, explaining her life as it now exists: she was in a terrible car accident one year ago. Every morning, she wakes up unable to remember most of the last decade. Including her own wedding.
-
-
One of the better ones
- By cotswoldrose on 10-13-24
By: Freida McFadden
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
Denali
- By: Austin Bunn
- Narrated by: Jack Falahee, Jake Lacy, Amrit Kaur, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three friends from small-town Pennsylvania set out to conquer Denali, North America's highest peak, but only two come down alive. On the mountain, their grand adventure unravels into a harrowing tale of survival, betrayal, and the haunting consequences of ambition pushed too far. For fans of Into Thin Air, Touching the Void, and 127 Hours, Denali has a full cast, jaw-dropping twists, and immersive sound design that will transport you to one of the most extreme environments on earth.
-
-
Fun and thrilling
- By Anonymous User on 01-23-25
By: Austin Bunn
-
Artemis
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Rosario Dawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
-
-
A ferrari with no motor
- By will on 11-18-17
By: Andy Weir
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
Eleven Numbers
- A Short Story
- By: Lee Child
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nathan Tyler is an unassuming professor at a middling American university with a rather obscure specialty in mathematics—in short, a nobody from nowhere. So why is the White House calling? Summoned to Washington, DC, for a top-secret briefing, Nathan discovers that he’s the key to a massive foreign intelligence breakthrough. Reading between the lines of a cryptic series of equations, he could open a door straight into the heart of the Kremlin and change the global balance of power forever.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Or on 02-02-25
By: Lee Child
-
Do You Remember?
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tess Strebel can’t recognize her own face. She can’t recognize her home. Her bedroom is unfamiliar. And she can’t remember the handsome stranger lying next to her in bed. A stranger who claims he’s her husband. Tess reads a letter in her own handwriting, composed during a rare lucid day, explaining her life as it now exists: she was in a terrible car accident one year ago. Every morning, she wakes up unable to remember most of the last decade. Including her own wedding.
-
-
One of the better ones
- By cotswoldrose on 10-13-24
By: Freida McFadden
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
Denali
- By: Austin Bunn
- Narrated by: Jack Falahee, Jake Lacy, Amrit Kaur, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three friends from small-town Pennsylvania set out to conquer Denali, North America's highest peak, but only two come down alive. On the mountain, their grand adventure unravels into a harrowing tale of survival, betrayal, and the haunting consequences of ambition pushed too far. For fans of Into Thin Air, Touching the Void, and 127 Hours, Denali has a full cast, jaw-dropping twists, and immersive sound design that will transport you to one of the most extreme environments on earth.
-
-
Fun and thrilling
- By Anonymous User on 01-23-25
By: Austin Bunn
-
Artemis
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Rosario Dawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
-
-
A ferrari with no motor
- By will on 11-18-17
By: Andy Weir
-
The Ex
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie thinks she has met the perfect man. Joel is sweet, handsome, romantic, and best of all, he’s crazy about Cassie. She thinks she’s found the guy she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Have children with. Grow old with. Yes, she knows about his perfect ex-girlfriend, Francesca. The beautiful, brilliant chef, beloved by all his friends. But she thinks Francesca is out of the picture. She thinks Francesca is gone for good. Think again, Cassie.
-
-
Too bizarre for someone who loves bizarre
- By G. C. Webster on 07-01-22
By: Freida McFadden
-
Say No More
- By: Caroline Overington
- Narrated by: Anna Skellern
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer. A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a long shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.
-
-
Seriously, that was the ending?
- By alicia in athens on 02-13-25
-
10 Rules for the Perfect Murder
- By: James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts
- Narrated by: Reid Scott, Cobie Smulders, full cast
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the killing of a prominent mob lawyer, NYPD homicide detectives Jacob Jackson and Caitlin Grimes start receive chilling, written “rules” for how to commit the perfect murder. "Rule number one for the perfect murder: Evidence is your enemy. Leave none behind." Jackson (Reid Scott) and Grimes (Cobie Smulders) race to find the killer, setting them on a collision course with the city’s crime underbelly, and a perpetrator who seems happy to toy with them. “Rule number two. No crimes of passion. The perfect murder is always business, never pleasure.”
-
-
Tricky
- By Robert Scott Read on 10-30-24
By: James Patterson, and others
-
7 Hours to Die
- By: James Patterson, Duane Swierczynski
- Narrated by: Sarah Paulson, Patina Miller, Mel Rodriguez, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kidnappers grabbed Jenna in broad daylight, right in front of her children and their horrified classmates. Her family was issued an insane ransom demand: $25 million in cash and jewels, payable by the end of the school day, otherwise they’ll never see her again. As Jenna’s mother scrambles to gather the money, detectives Mo Butler and George Ortega follow the trail of the kidnappers, which will lead them through a sordid landscape of jealous lovers, broken dreamers, and twisted schemers. But every second counts, and there’s one thing Jenna Wade doesn’t have: very much time.
-
-
This was such a fun Quick listen
- By Mdc on 10-08-24
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Fahrenheit 451
- By: Ray Bradbury
- Narrated by: Tim Robbins
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family."
-
-
Wish I Hadn't Cliff Noted This in High School
- By Joel on 03-27-17
By: Ray Bradbury
-
Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen Fry - introductions
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 71 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since he made his first appearance in A Study In Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes has enthralled and delighted millions of fans throughout the world. Now Audible is proud to present Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, read by Stephen Fry. A lifelong fan of Doyle's detective fiction, Fry has narrated the definitive collection of Sherlock Holmes - four novels and four collections of short stories. And, exclusively for Audible, Stephen has written and narrated eight insightful introductions, one for each title.
-
-
Chapter Guide!
- By Katya Rice on 05-25-18
By: Arthur Conan Doyle, and others
What listeners say about Christmas at Corbie Hall
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chris B.
- 06-11-24
HIESTAND & HALE -THE PERFECT MYSTERY COMBO!
Another fabulous mystery, this time set in modern Scotland, but on a beautiful old estate!
An intricate plot, a little "closed door" romance, and a great cast, all brilliantly brought to life by the
Master Narrator, and Man of a thousand voices and accents, Callum Hale. Every voice is distinctly different from any other. He has a marvelous repertoire of women's voices as well as men's.
I enjoy that so much because Ms. Hiestand has worked tirelessly to people her mysteries with lots of personality, and only a great narrater can can breathe so much life into the book that you feel like you're listening to a great movie.
The author also does a great job of bringing you up date on the characters, whether it's been a while since you read the last book, or even if this is your first foray into the series.
The best part is that Hiestand and Hale will keep you guessing all the way to the end with this terrific plot.
As usual, I loved it and can't wait 'till the next one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sanet Geldenhuys
- 02-03-24
Murder mystery
Well thoughtout plot. Very discriptive scenes, as if you were there in Scotland. Loved the romance between Mclaren and Melanie. Heartfelt and warm story! Exellent narration done by Callum Hale👌🏻
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chris S.
- 12-31-23
Enjoyable mystery with all the festivities of the season
I enjoyed Christmas at Corbie Hall by Jo A. Hiestand. This book is part of the McLaren mysteries and is the first one I read. Although there obviously is a lot that has gone on before this book, I was able to read it as a stand-alone. There used to be enough back story to fill in the gaps. Michael McLaren and his girlfriend Melanie are spending Christmas in the Scottish Highlands at his grandfathers estate. McLaren, a former police detective, gets pulled into investigating two unsolved deaths after a man is found dead outside his grandfather’s home. Lots of action, twists and turns and seasonal celebrations. The narration by Callum Hale brings the characters and story to life. I received a free audiobook code for my honest review.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- N. N. Light
- 03-05-24
5++ stars...Callum should win a Grammy
Story Impressions –
McLaren and his love, Melanie, are in Scotland for Christmas. The holiday spirit is flowing until a murder sends McLaren into another investigation. Can he apprehend the murderer in time for Christmas? Christmas at Corbie Hall is a heartwarming holiday mystery I couldn’t stop listening to. As always, Jo Hiestand and Callum Hale whisk me away. The setting is Scotland at Christmastime. The characters, especially McLaren and Melanie, are reason enough alone to listen to this gem. Callum Hale is one of the best voice actors in the industry and he outdoes himself in this performance.
Narrator’s overall voice –
Callum Hale is one of the best narrators I’ve heard and trust me, I’ve heard plenty. His voice creates the descriptions needed to follow the story.
Does the voice actor fit the characters?
Callum uses different dialects for each character which is beneficial while listening. Callum also invokes emotion while reading.
Voice actor’s reading style –
Callum’s reading style is the perfect tempo, allowing the listener to be fully immersed in the mystery.
Voice actor’s impact on reading experience –
Callum makes this an enjoyable listen. Everything from his pacing to the intonation in his voice to the recreation of the characters to the emotive effect on the listener all combine to make this a great performance.
Voice actor’s pacing –
Callum’s pacing is lingering in parts, quick in others, on pace with the natural ebbs and flows of the story.
Audiobook flow –
The flow of the audiobook is right in line with the pace of the story.
What makes this audiobook unique –
An incredible performance by Callum. He becomes McLaren and Jamie plus all the other characters. He should win an Grammy for this one.
Would I recommend this audiobook –
Yes. Fans of British mysteries and holiday mysteries will enjoy this one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- B.McGrath
- 12-28-23
Jealousy and greed
This had several loose threads of deceit that McLaren pieced together as clues to solve several crimes that were committed due to jealousy and great greed! It was gutwrenching and made me heartsick to find out who the perpetrators were. McLaren leaves no stones unturned and finds a secret paternity also!! Whether it's fact or fiction ,
I enjoyed the part where McLaren deciphered the Celtic knots and their origins and meaning. That was quite interesting to me. Melanie always seems like such a martyr giving up her time with McLaren, so he can work. Wth??? Maybe now she'll have other things to occupy her time besides waiting fo McLaren!!!!! Not really her fan , because she greatly detracts from the main story with her whining as I see it. Despite her , it's a great mystery. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest opinion. The narrator did a good job bringing it to life. I enjoyed the accent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Just My Opinion
- 01-16-24
Intriguing Tale!
One of my favourite mystery authors is back with another intriguing tale of murder, danger and suspense and the icing on top is that it is narrated brilliantly by Callum Hale. Jo Hiestand is an author that keeps on giving with her richly detailed scenes that make you feel like you are part of the story. We are taken on a journey to Scotland with Michael and his lady love, Melanie for Christmas with his grandfather and uncle. While there, not surprisingly, Michael is drawn into having to solve a cold case. As usual there are many twists and turns and it’s always surprising and quite intriguing how Michael comes up with his conclusions and discovers the guilty party. The action begins right at the beginning of this story and continues throughout. There is also some romance thrown into the mix with a lovely ending. I have to say that this was definitely one of my favorite McLaren books of the series. I highly recommend this one, whether or not you have listened to any of the others. Callum Hale never ceases to amaze me with his numerous voices and accents, and all done so brilliantly. I look forward to the next book in the series.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!