Folly at the Fair

An Annie Oakley Mystery (Annie Oakley Mystery Series, Book 3)

By: Kari Bovee

Narrated by: Susanna Burney

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

She never misses a target. But unless she can solve this murder, she’ll become one....

Chicago World’s Fair, 1893. “Little Sure Shot” Annie Oakley is exhausted from her work with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. But when a fellow performer scuffles with a man who threatens her harm, she has to keep her eyes peeled. And when the heckler is found dead under the Ferris Wheel, Annie won’t rest until she proves her defender is innocent.

Before she can rustle up any clues, an old friend asks Annie to protect her young daughter. And as more bodies turn up around the grounds, she’s going to need all her sharpshooting skills just to stay alive.

Can Annie live up to her reputation and put a bullseye on the killer?

Folly at the Fair is the third book in the Annie Oakley Mystery historical fiction series. If you like strong heroines, Wild West adventures, and suspenseful twists and turns, then you’ll love Kari Bovee’s fast-paced whodunit.

Buy Folly at the Fair to take a ride on a thrilling mystery today!

©2020 Kari Bovee (P)2023 Kari Bovee

A Fun, Feisty Heroine!

Folly at the Fair is the third novel in the Annie Oakley Mysteries. Annie Oakley is tired of being a performer at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. She wants to take a break and spend time with her husband. When she performs at Chicago’s World Fair, she finds a body on the fairgrounds. The murder suspect is her own best friend. Will Annie Oakley be able to prove her friend’s innocence?

Unlike Peccadillo at the Palace in which Annie Oakley is more confident, Annie is very insecure. She starts to suspect that Frank no longer loves her and is interested in other women. Annie Oakley also had to deal with a stalker fan that follows her at every show. Therefore, Annie is struggling emotionally and is very vulnerable. Despite her problems, she is very determined to save her friend. In finding the killer, Annie becomes a strong fighter in trying to solve the mystery. With all the problems that she is going through, I can see why Annie Oakley is exhausted from performing, and I believe that she needed a break from all the stress she was going through. I was surprised that this audiobook did not focus solely on Annie’s perspective but was also told through Frank and Emma’s perspectives. I found this to be a bit jarring because it was not consistent with the previous audiobooks in this series, which focused solely on Annie. Still, It was a treat to revisit these characters from the previous novels.

Overall, this audiobook is about friendship, marriage, and finding one’s self. I didn’t like that I knew who the murderer was earlier in the series. It lessened the suspense for me. Nevertheless, it is still a very entertaining read! The audiobook’s best feature was the setting of the World’s Fair. You can definitely tell the author did her research! Thus, I have really enjoyed the four books in the Annie Oakley Mysteries! I hope that the author will continue the series, but it doesn’t seem like it will be anytime soon. This series was full of fun cozy mysteries filled with romance, friendship, and a strong female protagonist! I recommend this series for fans of A Study in Scarlet Women, Her Royal Spyness, and The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet!
(Note: I received a copy of this audiobook as part of a blog tour. All opinions expressed are my own.)

Best yet in the series!

Note: This is book 3 in the series (book 4 if you count the prequel) but works fine as a stand alone.
The story has jumped ahead several years with this latest book. It’s now been 10 years since Annie first joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. She and Frank Butler are still married. Chief Sitting Bull is still touring with the show. And now the show is part of Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. It’s a big, big fair! Took like 2 years to put together. So there’s all sorts of attractions and Annie has a hectic schedule of 2 or 3 performances a day.
And yet there are distractions. Out of the blue, a little girl names Liza is dropped into her lap. She’s the daughter of Alison, Annie’s childhood friend who she hasn’t seen since she was like 12. Of course Annie won’t turn little Liza away but she does wonder what happened to Alison. Then there’s another another horsemanship group from the country of Georgia at the fair. Annie feels a little competitive with them, especially with a certain talented lady (Frida) as Frank pays her some attention, as well as her son Ivan. Then there’s Annie’s stalker, Mr. Farnham. Is he dangerous? Or just persistently dense? Time will tell.
Then the bodies start to show up. Of course Annie and her journalist friend Emma have to do some investigating. I really like this team. I think they compliment each other quite well with their skills and temperaments. Also Emma, who does come from money, has some useful connections. An incident on the Ferris wheel leads them to a local doctor Gordon who treated a distraught man and that leads to even more questions.
She Wild West Show overall goes through a lot at this fair. Like Bobby is in trouble for shooting a man in defense of Annie. Then there’s Ska, who is awesome, but her kid Clayton goes missing with Liza and Ivan at one point. So stressful! It’s really good that this series includes snippets from the Native Americans who are part of the show.
This mystery really reminded me of the real life case of H. H. Holmes, who was a charlatan and a murderer who did plenty of horrible things in Chicago during the 1893 world fair. If you liked this story, I really recommend the non-fiction history The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.
Throughout this series, the author hasn’t turned a blind eye to the harshest side of life. I love that the story brings up STDs and what treatments were available at the time and how that could severely affect a woman’s life. So often these things are glossed over or never even brought up even though this was a real medical issue for so many before widespread availability of prophylactics and antibiotics.
The story winds up and up, building suspense and gives up a very satisfying ending. The killer is denied his next victim! I also like that Annie and Frank are both in a better place concerning their marriage. This whole series has been really good but I think this latest one is my favorite so far. 5/5 stars.
The Narration: Susanna Burney is still doing a great job with this series. She’s got the perfect voice for Annie and I like how she’s been able to gently age her up as the series starts when she’s like 12 and now she’s in her early 20s. Annie sounds more confident and I like how she can smartly navigate around various obstacles. I especially liked her stern voice for Colonel Bill and her light Irish accent for Frank. My one little quibble is that Frida’s Georgian accent seemed to come and go. Burney’s slightly haughty voice for Emma was perfect. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with this recording. 4.75/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.

The 5th book in the Annie Oakley Mystery!

This fifth book of the Annie Oakley Mystery Series ( book #4) does not disappoint! The mystery and suspense continues from the first page to the last.
In this book, Annie signs on for the duration of the Wold”s Fair In Chicago, after the emotional pain from the travesty she experienced in book #3.
All is no longer well in the love match between her and Frank.
Will their marriage survive?
New experiences arise that draw both women and others into them.
A friend from the past evolves.
Dead bodies are frequently being uncovered.
There is so much more happening in this novel.
The author continues with the action, mystery and suspense of previous novels but with even more complications.
The Narrator, Susanna Burney, is in “top form” with consistent voice inflection and In placement of emphasis in all the right places.
The characters feel real and the scenes are easily visualized.
*This audiobook was gifted me with no pressure to post a positive review. This is my honest review.

Very talented and descriptive author!

Kari Bovee is so talented! Her detailed descriptions help you to visualize everything that’s going on!