• Arsenic with Austen: A Mystery

  • The Crime with the Classics, Book 1
  • By: Katherine Bolger Hyde
  • Narrated by: Caroline Shaffer
  • Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (124 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Arsenic with Austen: A Mystery  By  cover art

Arsenic with Austen: A Mystery

By: Katherine Bolger Hyde
Narrated by: Caroline Shaffer
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Arsenic with Austen is the first book in a delightful new cozy mystery series in which an English teacher becomes involved in murder cases that reflect elements of her favorite books.

When Emily Cavanaugh inherits a fortune from her great-aunt, she expects her life to change. She doesn't expect to embark on a murder investigation, confront the man who broke her heart 35 years before, and nearly lose her own life.

Emily travels to the sleepy coastal village of Stony Beach, Oregon, to claim her inheritance, centered on a beautiful Victorian estate called Windy Corner but also including a substantial portion of the real estate of the whole town. As she gets to know the town's eccentric inhabitants - including her own once-and-possibly-future love, Sheriff Luke Richards - she learns of a covert plan to develop Stony Beach into a major resort. She also hears hints that her aunt may have been murdered. Soon another suspicious death confirms this, and before long Emily herself experiences a near-fatal accident.

Meanwhile Emily reads Persuasion, hoping to find belated happiness with her first love, as Anne Elliot did with Captain Wentworth. She notices a similarity between her not-quite-cousin, Brock Runcible, heir to a smaller portion of her aunt's property, and Mr. Elliot in Persuasion, and her suspicions of Brock crystallize. But as she and Luke continue to investigate and events speed toward a climax, Emily realizes that underneath the innocent-looking rocks of Stony Beach lurk festering jealousies that would have shocked even the worst of Jane Austen's charming reprobates.

©2016 Katherine Bolger Hyde (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Arsenic with Austen: A Mystery

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    49
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    25
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    10
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    59
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    40
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    13

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Starts with great promise, but....

The plot telegraphs any twists long before they come to pass and the prose is overly flowery and gooey. The narration is good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Unimpressed

The story was contrived and main the main character whiny. I was disappointed in a particular scene where the main character mocks (repeatedly) a heavy woman - totally unnecessary for the plot. The speaker was terrible. She spoke in voices for different characters, other than the French character I found this painful to listen to. Her attempt to speak in a man's voice was the worst.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun listen!

This book was a great listen!
I want to go to Oregon , such a well written story line, easy to listen too and not too intense! Hope she continues the characters story!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable but narration doesn’t help

This is a cozy mystery with interesting characters in a story peppered with wonderful literary references throughout. Set along the Oregon coast, a middle aged literature professor becomes an heiress and and then a potential murder victim. The story is fun and interesting and I enjoyed it, even with the predictable bad choices and lack of insight. My big complaint is the narrator gives a strong female character a tentative questioning voice, often in contradiction to what is said. If I had read the book, she would have come across much more convincing.

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
    4 out of 5 stars

Arsenic with Austen

Enjoy able!
Liked the characters. Would enjoy reading more from this author. Could almost see the beach.


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
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good Debut

This is a good book with interesting characters and a well developed plot. There is a nice balance of humor and drama. I enjoyed this story and 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!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Love and mystery …what could be better?

I love this story so much I just listened for the second time! I feel at home with Emily and Luke and the other positive characters The attention to faith is also very pleasing because I am also a Believer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Good Performance, Unfortunate Plot

Truly thick heroine. Unbelievably naive and at times downright stupid. Unconvincing old love, the cats. Started as a great premise and ended like flat soda.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

the audio is a little off

all the expected clichés of this kind of mystery. a fun ride. the romance side is not well written, however.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

captivating yet a mild read

the story was interesting and kept me enthralled despite the religious overtones near the end - that I could do without - but it was worth listening to - enough that I've bought the second book by this author - the narration was right on including the occasional accent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!