Mission Impawsible

Paws & Claws Mystery Series, Book 4

By: Krista Davis

Narrated by: Elise Arsenault

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Holly Miller and her grandmother, Oma, are working their tails off to prepare the Sugar Maple Inn for an upcoming matchmaking event for pet owners. While Holly has no interest in pairing up, Oma plans on playing Cupid and finding someone to warm her reluctant granddaughter's heart. Unfortunately, one man Holly does meet is cold - dead cold - and he has a personal letter from Oma in his pocket. As suspicion is cast over the inn's guests, Holly - with the help of her furry friends, Trixie the Jack Russell and Twinkletoes the cat - must fetch the real killer, or she may soon have a date in court.

©2017 Cristina Ryplansky (P)2017 Tantor

Another winner

Krista Davis has written another great addition to the Paws & Claws series. I highly recommend this book to all cozy mysteries.

Loved That It Was Perfect For Valentines Day Month

This was great to read during the month of February 2022 for Valentines Day month! The romance and mystery are funny with the pets! Especially if someone funny as Marvin trying to run a business to match people up based on their pets!

Why does this series have such bad narrators?

This is a new narrator, which should be good. The narrator for books 1-3 sounds like she's reading to children. But this narrator is no better. This one has a bad ear for accents and makes everyone sound like a stereotype. We have the "Jersey Shore Girl," the "White Lady does 'Black Lady'" voice, and the "Vampire Oma" as examples.

If you can overlook this narrator, then get the book! The town is charming, the main character is good, the story is interesting and well-crafted.

Enjoyable as usual but why change narrators?

Would you listen to Mission Impawsible again? Why?

I enjoyed this book and will probably listen to it again because I enjoy the series overall. I love Holly, Oma, Trixie, Twinkletoes and the rest.

What about Elise Arsenault’s performance did you like?

Ms. Arsenault's performance was completely acceptable and after I got my mind around the change in narrator (Jeanie Kanaley narrated books 1-3) I mostly enjoyed the book. I'm not a fan of switching narrators in the middle of an established series; I find it very jarring. When I preordered the book I hadn't realized there was a change but it was the first thing I noticed a few words into the book.

Can't wait for next book

loved the series so far i love the animals and the idea of wagtail is wonderful

Narrator

How could the performance have been better?

I did not like this narrator nearly as well as the other books in the series. I would recommend you go back to the previous one. Did not like her attempt at different voices and her expression.

Any additional comments?

Book was good, but somewhat disappointed with the narration.

Great addition to a wonderful series

Any additional comments?

I love this series and this latest addition is amazing, I loved going back to Wagtail. I can say honestly that if a town like this existed in the real world - I would be there. Love the whole premise for this series - it's original and extremely well executed. The only problem is that it was over way too fast. I can't wait for the next installment.

Improved narration

I'm pleased with the change in narrator. I can acknowledge the previous narrator's talent for for foreign accents, while at the same time, her style and voice came across as old for a thirty- something protagonist, and I found that the amount of drama and emphasis packed into every sentence made for tiring listening. The new narrator is easier on the ear, and more believable as a millennial woman.

Mission Impawsible: Find a Date

The Sugar Maple Inn in Wagtail is hosting an Animal Attraction dating week that matches couples based upon their pets’ interests. The event proves to be popular, when Holly finds out that her grandmother has entered her into the event against her wishes. When the man matched to her talks her into going out with him, they find the body of a man whose only identification is a letter from Holly’s Oma (Grandma) naming him as the man who never showed up that night. Imagine everyone’s amazement when, the next day, a man arrives at the inn giving his name as the one they have assumed to be the dead man’s. It turns out the real man was mugged the night before and all his papers stolen. He arrived late because he’d spent the night in the hospital.

At this point, even more bodies start turning up. The match-maker hired for the event has learned the use of tricks to team up couples and has developed a theory regarding animals’ use of their olfactory senses to help their humans find a mate. Butt it seems that animals use their olfactory senses for more than just that, as every body gets discovered by Trixie, Holly’s Jack Russell terrier.

The book is a real delight to enjoy. In a day when I really needed a lift, this book gave me a smile. I love the dynamics of the animals and their humans. The pair of mothers who team up to go undercover to watch their daughters is a real hoot, with their disguises and the Mission: Impossible TV show theme. The one character I missed though was Holly’s childhood friend, Holmes, who, though engaged, has a special connection with Holly that makes us root for him to end up with her.

Elise Arsenault reads the audio version of this book. Her voice suits the narration and delights the audience. She really enhances the listening experience.

Mission Impawsible has proven to be a great addition to a fun series. I really hope that the fifth book in the series comes out soon. I give this book five stars!

Great Series

I love this series! I'm glad there was a listing at the beginning of this book of all the characters because it was kind of confusing trying to keep up with them all.
I like this narrator better than the previous one but one suggestion. The prior one did a good job of getting the southern accents of the residents of Wagtail mountain. The current narrator doesn't give them any accents at all. I'm from Virginia, and believe me the people from that area have a very strong southern accent.