Little Shop of Homicide

A Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery, Book 1

By: Denise Swanson

Narrated by: Maia Guest

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Dev Sinclair is the happy new owner of the old-fashioned shop in her small Missouri town. But if she doesn't focus on finding the killer of her ex's fiance, this five-and-dime owner may find herself serving 25 to life.

©2012 Denise Swanson Stybr (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Fabulous Mystery!!!

Where does Little Shop of Homicide rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is in my top books!

What does Maia Guest bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She made the characters come alive! Great voices and really delivered the emotions and humor!

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

Yes! And I wanted to jump right into the next book when I finished!

Any additional comments?

Yeah!! Another win from my purchases on Audible!! Such a great find!! Maia Guest is a terrific narrator who really brings this story to life!! I am definitely adding her to my list of VO artist to follow! She gave me such happy ears!

Now on to the story! Terrific plot that was creative and well paced. Loads of details and twist to keep you on your toes, but not so many you can't follow. The story had your attention from the very start and did a fantastic job of keeping the reader/listener engaged.

Dev was a really great character who was relateable, likable and had just the perfect mix of sass and sarcasm! I really was rooting for her the whole book! She also has quirky friends and a sassy Gran who round out the supporting cast.

I was head over heals for Tony as a love interest. Who can resist a bad boy cop? He was just too yummy! Throw in a possible triangle with her high school sweetheart Doc Noah and suddenly a girl has choices to make!

While this book has a touch of romance it is not the main element of the story. So, the steam factor is low. Nothing more than some super steamy kisses! It was actually sweet, definitely reminded me I can not live on smut alone!!Although, if the books progress the way I think, I do expect to see a bit of bedroom action for Dev!

The mystery was very well handled and kept you guessing most of the time. It wasn't difficult to pick up the clues and discover the murderer but it wasn't a slam dunk in chapter one either. I like to play detective along with the characters and this really filled that need. Great storytelling all around!

Denise Swanson is a new author for me but I am sure to grab the next book in this series and follow the journey. She left just enough mystery around for a gal to want to see what is next!

Okay story, terrible narration!

Overall, the story was okay. Not quite as good as the scumble river series. Narrator was raspy and sounded like a smoker the whole time.

Can’t wait to listen to the next one.

I think this author does a great job writing these story. This is another series of hers I will be listening to!

Fun story - speaker not my favorite.

Would you try another book from Denise Swanson and/or Maia Guest?

I like DS very much and I really wanted to like this one. I just couldn't get past MG's voices. Poppys voice was very hard to listen to. Very manly and why so quiet? The voice of Jake was just silly...is he out of breath? Or is that supposed to sound sexy? I will still read DS but not listen if MG is the narrator.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Little Shop of Homicide?

I enjoyed the scene in the police station after the Grandmother was picked up. Dev is talking to the chief and Grandmother cuts in with a completely with it and snarky comment for the cheif.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Voice were not good.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No because they would propably only use the same five actors that are in any movie :) Plus I like my own interpretation of a story.

Cute easy read

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Cute, easy read. Nice little detective story. I always enjoy these and would recommend.

Not bad but not great ...

This was an interesting premise, interesting characters, how the story/mystery unfolded was a little disjointed in some areas. I might read the next one we will see...

Wonderful!

What did you love best about Little Shop of Homicide?

This was a wonderful comedy, romance, suspense story. I know it seems a strange combination but it really works and I loved it.

Have you listened to any of Maia Guest’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I thought that Maia did a great job as narrator, it was very easy to tell who was speaking and she did male and female voice's equally well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh but not cry, it caused frustration and several times I found myself holding my breathe.

Any additional comments?

This was a great story.

I think I would have loved this book... if...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I don't even know how to say this in a nice or not offensive way. The book itself seems to be something I could end up loving enough to follow her entire series. But... The narrator. Oh no, no no no!! Her actual voice is not bad, but all the other voices she tried to take on, range from pretty bad to OMG what was she thinking?!? Poppy sounded like a creepy troll or someone on her death bed. Ick, just horrible.

Would you be willing to try another one of Maia Guest’s performances?

Good grief NO!!!!!

Ok story awful narration

Story was ok. Not too exciting but ok. But the narration was horrible. As long as the narrator was reading the main character part it was ok but any extra person...they all sounded as old folks with nasal speech . Please don't try so hard .

Not Bad

Would you try another book from Denise Swanson and/or Maia Guest?

yes, I've read her Scumble River Series and enjoyed them more

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I wish I hadn't read the Scumble River series first. To me this series seems like its a tree branch from the other series.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Maia Guest?

Yes, she isn't very good. I like the narrator from the Scumble River Series

Do you think Little Shop of Homicide needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

no, the story line was ok

Any additional comments?

I like Denise Swanson's Scumble River story line as you can tell, but this one is too similar.