'C' is for Coochy Coo

Malibu Mystery, Book 3

By: Sean Black, Rebecca Cantrell

Narrated by: Madeline Mrozek

The third book in the brand new fast-paced, funny series that's perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books.

Former child star Sofia Salgado is finding her feet as a trainee investigator at Malibu detective agency, Maloney Investigations, when a new case throws her, and everyone else at the agency, for a loop. Maloney Investigations are drafted in to help 13-year-old Daniel find his birth father. There's only one snag. According to Daniel's mom, former Los Angeles party girl, Candy Collins, there's more than one candidate - a lot more!

©2016 Sean Black Rebecca Cantrell (P)2016 Sean Black Rebecca Cantrell

My least favorite of the series so far

Any additional comments?

I love the concept of this series of books and have been the first in line to download them as they become available. Of the three, this is my least favorite listen.

The narration is stellar and the rhythm of the story is not at fault. The fault lies in the mystery and the lack of growth of the main characters--there was none.

There is some fun and mirth between Sofia and Aidan, the two main characters, but it falls flat and does very little to progress the story. The mystery was only mildly interesting and had very little to do with the title.

"C" gets a "c." It was just okay.

Total fun!

Loved this storyline. No violence just a fun book with great characters. I've read the other 2 in the series and this was no disappointment! I laughed many times and almost listened in one sitting. Can't wait for the fourth!

Good Fun

Although the subject matter is serious and kidney failure and dialysis could have been explained in a more detailed way (I, for one, would have liked to hear why Daniel's kidneys were failing and he had to be on dialysis), this was a light and thoroguhly entertaining listen. You can pick up the series here and not feel like you are missing a lot of backstory. This is a standalone book.

The dialogue between Sofia and Aiden was really dynamic and did remind me of Stephanie Plum with a more West Coast rhythm than the harder edge of the Plum series. At one point, they were talking with Daniel's mother, and trying to get the names of all the potential father's to track down in hopes of a getting a match for Daniel for a kidney transplant. Aiden kept texting innuendo's to Sofia. It had me laughing in my car by myself.

The book is about the Malibu Detective Agency taking on a pro bono case in order to help locate a 13 year old boy's biological father in the hopes of obtaining a match for a kidney transplant. Daniel's kidneys are failing...rapidly. The only problem is Daniel's mother was a LA party girl and there are a lot of potential fathers to try to get DNA matches from.

For me, the narration was excellent! Madeline Mrozek voiced each character differently and nailed both Sofia and Candy, while doing an awesome job on all the other characters as well. Her cadence, timing, and inflection were really good as well. I really enjoyed listening to her and will look for other books narrated by her.

In the end, would I listen to the rest of the series based from my experience listening to this one? Yes! They are already in my wish list.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

Laugh Out Loud PI Story!

Any additional comments?

C Is For Coochy Coo is a laugh out loud book with tongue in cheek humor that reminds me of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. It's what I call "brain candy" - one can sit back, relax, and enjoy it without having to think too much about the plot or world issues.

The story centers around Sofia Salgado who is a former child TV star who used to solve mysteries on her show. Now as an adult, she desires to do something that is good and worthwhile. So, she turns to learning how to be a professional Private Investigator and is a trainee at Maloney Investigations. In this particular story, Sofia and her PI instructor, Aiden, partner up to track down the biological father of a 13 year old boy desperately in need of a kidney transplant. It turns out there are over a dozen different candidates, including a baseball team! The relationship between Sofia and Aiden is testy with each one throwing zingers left and right just like Castle and Beckett did in the early Castle days.

I listened to the Audible version of this book narrated by Madeline Mrozek who did a wonderful job. She really brought the characters to life, using a variety of voices and giving each character their own distinct voice. Her smooth overtones and subtle character nuances made for a very enjoyable experience. I received a copy of this audiobook from the narrator via Audiobook Blast at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is the third book in the Malibu Mystery series by Sean Black and Rebecca Cantrell. I have not yet listened to or read the other books in the series, but didn't feel lost at all or like I missed major plot points by not listening to the two previous books in the series. After enjoying this one immensely, with multiple laugh out loud moments, I'll definitely give the other Malibu Mysteries a try!

Not quite a "mystery"

So, for starters, this isn't a murder mystery. I don't know that I would even call it a mystery at all. The plot revolves around a young boy who needs a kidney transplant & must find his biological father before time runs out to see if he's a match. The mother however slept with many men during that same time & doesn't know who the father is. So Maloney Investigations is hired to find him. It's like an episode of Maury or Jerry Springer, "you are NOT the father!" (Ha). But in all seriousness the whole book had no suspense or mystery, it was more of a fact finding mission. There was a bit of a twist, but not what you'd expect!

The only thing that saved this story is the fact that the banter between Sofia and Aiden is so charming. I love the two of them together, playing off one another, giving each other a hard time. You can feel the energy between the two of them through the words & this duo is what keeps me enthralled in this series as a whole. At this point I really love the characters (including Fred the seagull), so I didn't mind so much that this was more of a casual story vs a mystery with twists and turns, I still enjoyed it a lot. There were some fun characters (suspects) along the way & some funny encounters as they met all the potential fathers. We also got to catch up with Sofia'a family again, all of whom I enjoy very much. Overall I still enjoyed it, but hope the next book is back to more suspense! I received this book in exchange for an honest review.