Murder at St Margaret

Oxford Key Mysteries, Book 1

By: Lynn Morrison

Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

A dead chef. A ruined gala. And the ghosts didn't see a thing.

As Oxford's new Head of Ceremonies, Natalie Payne's first task is to organize St Margaret's autumn gala. However, her plans are dashed when she finds their famed chef dead in the kitchen.

And then a centuries-old cat informs Nat she has her own magical legacy...and responsibilities. A murder in the halls is a sure sign that something has gone wrong with Oxford's magical protections.

Now Nat has to solve the murder, find a new chef for the gala, and figure out why Oxford’s magical defenses are down. With the help of Oxford's magical Eternals and some new friends, Nat has a chance.

But can she do it before St Margaret loses its connection to the magic of Oxford?

If you like cozy mysteries where ghosts walk the halls, paintings come to life, creatures play, and magic seems within reach, the Oxford Key Mysteries are sure to delight.

©2020 Lynn Morrison (P)2022 Lynn Morrison

Wonderfully magical cozy mystery!

I loved Murder at St Margaret, the debut book by Lynn Morrison. Natalie Payne is the newly appointed Head of Ceremonies at Oxford University. She only has a short time to plan St Margaret’s Autumn Gala and prove herself. But murder interferes with her plans. Good thing there are ghosts, talking portraits and statues and her wyvern to help Nat uncover the murderer and strengthen Oxford’s waning magical fields. The story is solid and the characters are believable and well developed. The narration by Pearl Hewitt is also outstanding. The characters come to life. I look forward to more of Natalie’s adventures in academia!

Not your everyday ghost story!

This is a nice start to a series. There were a couple of story jumps that were confusing (times & places moved without understanding how much or how far) , but it didn’t detract from a cute story. And, yes, I’ll get book 2.

Loved it!

This book pulled me in from page 1! A beautiful detailed description of Oxford and how all the colleges work.
I love the paranormal elements. The main character is a strong woman and I love the way she interacts with all the characters in the book.
I couldn't figure out who committed the murder.
I can't wait for the next book! Found a great new author!!
Also I loved the narrator. She has a lovely English accent and all her voices were individual so you can tell who is speaking.
An excellent book all around!

This book is a review copy and this is my honest review.

Magic & Murder

This was an interesting suspense novel featuring magical creatures, and new found magic for Natalie at Oxford University. Natalie arrives on her first say of work at Oxford only to find the death of top Chef. She soon learns that magical powers exist because of her grandfather. She finds herself super busy finding how to use the magic to do her iob and solving the murder.

Great start to a new series

A fun, mystery adventure to the Oxford University. Love tithe magic and the characters.
Lots of twists and turns.

Paranormal and Cozi in one book.

I listened to this solely based on noticing it was narrated by Pearl Hewitt as I was not familiar with the author. As usual Pearl was great. The story itself was not what I expected. I would say it was not a very credible plot, but I guess that goes without saying in this sub-genre. I hung in listening long enough that by the time it was over I found I did really enjoy it.

Murder at St Margret

Pearl Hewitt was wonderful with the different dialogues. The story keep me interested many twists and turns. I recommend this. Sue White

Fun Mystery

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Lynn Morrison. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

When Natalie becomes Oxford’s new Head of Ceremonies, she has no idea what she’s in for. When she learns that her grandfather’s fairy tales were true and that there is a world of magic at Oxford that only a chosen few can see, she’s thrilled. But now, not only does she have a gala to get ready for, she also needs to find out what is going on with the magic and a murderer needs to be found.

I enjoyed reading about the magical side of Oxford. I especially liked “H”. What a fun character!

Pearl Hewitt does a great job with narration. Her pace and timing are good, and she’s able to make each character sound distinct.

I’m looking forward to listening to the next book in this series.

New series!

Light and fun new series. Loved the different characters and Ms. Hewitt's narration was amazing! The mystery being solved did seem to get lost a bit with all the magic and introduction to characters and back stories, but overall an enjoyable listen.

Enjoyable cozy mystery with a magical twist

Murder at St. Margaret is the first in a cozy mystery series that has a sprinkle of magic. Natalie is the newest event planner at St. Margaret's College. It is a part of the larger Oxford University system. She soon discovers that her adopted cat is really a tiny Wyvern and that she has comes from a line of magic keepers.

I thought this was a fun mystery. I liked the magical world that Natalie fond herself thrust into. I also loved that she was one of three newcomers who are tasked with keeping the magic at Oxford. Kate and Mathilde round out the trio. I loved that they were learning together. The other characters were fun and added a lot of color to the story. H was adorable. The mystery was OK. The solution kind of fell in Nat's lap, but I did enjoy following her as she tried to solve it. There is a larger question of why the magic is leaking out of the Oxford. There were no answers here, so I'm assuming that mystery continues over the series.

I listened to the audiobook and I would recommend it in this format. I enjoyed the voiced the narrator used. H's was cute and I could totally picture a little wyvern speaking like that. I do recommend this one. I look forward to the next book.