• Board Stiff

  • An Elliot Lisbon Mystery
  • By: Kendel Lynn
  • Narrated by: Rachel Frawley
  • Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (166 ratings)

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Board Stiff  By  cover art

Board Stiff

By: Kendel Lynn
Narrated by: Rachel Frawley
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Publisher's summary

As director of the Ballantyne Foundation on Sea Pine Island, SC, Elliott Lisbon scratches her detective itch by performing discreet inquiries for Foundation donors. Usually nothing serious until Jane Hatting, Ballantyne board chair, is accused of murder. The Ballantyne's reputation tanks, Jane's headed to a jail cell, and Elliott's sexy ex is the new lieutenant in town.

Armed with moxie and her Mini Coop, Elliott uncovers a trail of blackmail schemes, gambling debts, illicit affairs, and investment scams. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more treacherous her investigation. With victims piling up faster than shells at a clambake, Elliott realizes she's next on the killer's list.

©2012 Kendel Lynn (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Board Stiff

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    69
  • 4 Stars
    56
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    26
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    7
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Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
    44
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    59
  • 4 Stars
    56
  • 3 Stars
    26
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    3

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

A strong start to a new cozy mystery series

What did you love best about Board Stiff?

The story was fast moving without a lot of interludes. It also included several episodes of peeling back the onion to find a new level of plot.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I personally loved the two chefs, especially their interactions with each other. i found Elliott a bit too much to believe, but that is somewhat the nature of the beast with cozy mysteries.

What about Rachel Frawley’s performance did you like?

While the narrator was a bit breathy and off-setting at the beginning once the story began to move along it was more that sufficient to draw me right in.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Once I was past the first couple of chapters and the characters were established, I knew i would be with them through to the end. Well deserving of it's nomination for best first novel in the 2014 Agatha awards.

Any additional comments?

It would be really nice to have a ongoing successful male character who could participate in the mysteries without being a romantic interest for the main female character or one of her friends. As is common with many current cozy's, male characters are either a possible love interest for the main female character or her posse, gay, humorous figures (boozers, druggies, losers, computer nerds), or father figures too old to be of any romantic interest. i would hope that a successful 40-year-old single female would have a few mainstream male friends.

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6 people found this helpful

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

Stopped after two minutes

Any additional comments?

I have no idea about the story. The narrator over-pronounced "t"s, especially final ones and I didn't want to geT involved in the story and be irriTaTed by thaT all the way through. I'm all for clarity, but this felt forced.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Couldn’t get past the narrator

I was so excited to see how long this book was compared to what seems to be a standard 7-8 hours in this genre. However, I quickly realized that the timing was a result of how slowly the narrator spoke rather than the actual length of the story. Between that and the extreme over annunciation of every word, I was unfortunately not able to make it past the 15 minutes mark. I can’t speak to the qualities of the book or author, just the performance itself.

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3 people found this helpful

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

A good story

Board Stiff combines a quirky main character with an interesting group of supporting staff and a set of plot twists to bring about a very good story. The characters are a motley crew which all have their own set of flaw which can make them disliked at times but also makes them more human and relatable. The plot is slow moving but takes a number of twists that I didn’t see coming which made the overall story enjoyable. I’m probably not the target demographic for this story but overall I thought it was a nice little beach mystery.

Ms. Frawley does a decent job with the narration. She does a good job of switching up the characters but they all have her undertone in them so they're not totally distinct. She also pronounces her T's hard so if you tend to focus on one aspect of a narrator and have it drive you nuts this might not be the story for you.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Liked it! Want to listen to more!

Cozy mysteries are one of my favorite genres, but many are silly capers that might suit a child's story. This was humorous, but had a storyline that was layered and well paced. I won't go into the plot, that's why you listen to the book. Suffice it to say, OCD Elliot was fun to tag along with.
Narration has been a big subject in many reviews. Yes, Ms. Frawley was a bit stiff, precise in her diction and enunciation to the point that it was a little distracting. I have listened to many who are worse readers and after the first few chapters I put annoyance aside and enjoyed the well-developed cozy mystery.
I look forward to the next book in the series.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • C
  • 04-07-15

Grow Up

I am a great fan of the Low Country, so I approached this series with interest. Good depiction. Unfortunately the level of immature and bitchy behavior of many of the characters makes the characters in Glee's first season seem mature. For this series to be strong. they all need to grow up and fast and the drama can no longer come when stupid and/or illegal things are done by the protagonist

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1 person found this helpful

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

Good story the narrator over pronounced T and D

What did you love best about Board Stiff?

Cute cozy mystery

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I'm still listening

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Rachel Frawley?

Caroline Schaffer or anyone

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really

Any additional comments?

The narrators over pronounced T and D sounds were so frequent distracting and maddening at times. I probably won't listen to the next in the series because of the narration.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Another fun Lowcountry adventure!

I really enjoyed this book. However, I felt the narrator was too young for the character.

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

Just ok

This was the first in the series and I will definitely reserve my judgment until I read another one. This series to begin with was average at best and was just ok in my opinion.

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

I THINK I AM GOING TO LIKE THIS SERIES

LISBON, MADDIE, RANSOM, THE BALLENTINES, AND MORE ARE GREAT INGREDIENTS FOR INTERESTING ADVENTURES. THE 4 RATHER THSN 5 IS JUST BECAUSE THE READER IS TOO STILTED, AT TIMES, PARTICULARLY WITH "T"s. SHE JUST NEEDS TO FLOW THROUGH THOSE WORDS. SHE ISN'T A ROBOT. BUT I WILL BE BUYING THE NECT ONE.

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