Murder on Potrero Hill

A Peyton Brooks' Mystery, Book 1

By: M. L. Hamilton

Narrated by: Kelley Hazen

Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Peyton knows the first suspect is always the husband, but Jake Ryder isn't acting like a typical suspect. Jake truly loved his wife. So what went wrong? Stepping into the circle of the social elite, Peyton finds that things work differently when you're at the top. And Jake Ryder seems to be caught in the epicenter. Ultimately, Peyton finds that you never know what darkness lurks in the human mind and that some will murder to keep that darkness hidden.

©2012 ML Hamilton (P)2013 ML Hamilton

B -

Predictable ending; yet fun getting there. Parts of the story blog down in minutia. I almost quit after the first third. But, I had to confirm the end. Glad I stayed. Being from The City I'll listen to another another, hoping for crisper narrative.

WOW what a great read

This story keeps you listening. Hard to put down or should I say sleep. The police are sure they have their man, and do everything to make his life hell. I was not expecting such a good read, the narrator did a great job, you could always tell who was talking by the change in her voice, Hope you enjoy as much as I did. Need to change title to Murders on Potrero Hill

love the references to hometown SF

An exciting story with a perfect ending. you can connect with the main characters easily.

The first suspect is always the husband...

What starts out looking like a death with an unfortunate natural causes quickly escalates to something much more. Jake Ryder’s life is turned on end as he seems to be the logical suspect, but there’s more to this story than meets the eye. It’s up to Peyton Brooks to get to the bottom of things.

M. L. Hamilton is a master story teller. She keeps you guessing with the unexpected twists and turns and never fails to deliver an entertaining story.

I am never disappointed with a Kelley Hazen narrations. She has the uncanny ability to gives each character their own unique voice and delivers the story with such emotion. A true entertainer.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

It's not always the husband...

That's the second Peyton Brooks' Mystery that I've listened to (the first one being the prequel to the series) and I liked it a lot - like really a lot:) It's gripping, intriguing, it makes you want to smack the stupid policemen in the head to make them realize they're mistaken, and it makes you keep your fingers crossed for Peyton to finally find the real killer... In one word - it's unputdownable.
The plot is quite simple in general: Jake finds his unconscious wife in their bathroom, she's taken to hospital and dies there, seemingly from natural causes, due to a genetic disorder. What's worse, right then and there he finds out she was pregnant. But why didn't she tell him? And then the police enters the scene, as not everything is as it seemed to be - and for the police it's the husband who is the obvious suspect. This is where we get really annoyed with Peyton and Marco - why aren't they looking for other suspects? Why have they decided right from the start it must have been the husband? Why are they trying to destroy Jake's life without even officially charging him with anything?
I liked Peyton and Marco in the prequel and I have to admit I was initially disappointed with them acting like proverbial dumbass policemen who take the obvious clues and just want to quickly close the case without going deeper into the matters. But luckily for me, M. L. Hamilton knows how to write a good crime story, and very soon both Peyton and Marco turn out to be their old selves - inquisitive, following their hunches, meticulously trying to tie all loose ends.
Also, I liked the dual perspective of the narration (it reminded me a lot of "The Fugitive") with the simultaneous investigations led by the police (Peyton and Marco) and by the suspect himself (Jake). It added dynamics to the story.

As for Ms Hazen's interpretation:
I had a problem with Marco's and Stan's voices in the prequel (they were too unnatural there) but this time they are spot on. I can believe now that Marco is every woman's dream:) And I definitely prefer Ms Hazen's interpretation of this book to some of her other narrations - I know she is really good at differentiating voices but sometimes they might end up sounding unnatural, like too low- or too high-pitched. I think with this book she nailed it - she was able to bring all characters to life and give them distinctive qualities without really changing her own voice so much. Thanks to it the whole book sounds natural and flows smoothly. I just think she's perfect here.

Narrator needs to STOP trying to do ethnic voices!

Narrator cannot do ethnic voices to save her life!! The character is supposed to be Hispanic BUT sounds Asian......says one or two words with a Spanish accent and then she goes into some other race! Awful....awful....AWFUL!!! Couldn't listen to her at first but than really got into the book and couldn't turn it off!

Definitely adding this new to me series to my list of monthly books!

Great Read

Murder on Potrero Hill (Peyton Brooks’ Mystery #1) was another great read by M.L. Hamilton. Peyton has always been taught that the first suspect is always the husband. Unfortunately Jake Ryder isn’t acting like a typical suspect, you can tell he truly loved his wife. As Peyton investigates, she gets tangled with the social elite. But nothing is as it seems and Peyton has to unravel a tangled web. This was another great narration by Kelly Hazel. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series.

Loved it, didn't have it all figured out at first.

I hate it when you figure out the entire plot by chapter 5. this one kept me guessing for a long time.

Peyton Brooks is kind of mean!

Made listening to it a bit difficult at times! Overall goiod story! Will try others.

Great Fast Pace Listen!

I loved this book! I could not stop listening to it from the moment I started it. I loved the twists and turns this book had along with some of the characters. The author wrote great imagery and suspense in this book. The narrator was able to perform so many distinguishable character voices it was easy to hear who was speaking. I loved the emotions, the tension and the suspense she added to the story. I will definitely be listening to more books by this talented author and narrator. I loved the fact that this book was a standalone listen and part of a series. I requested this audiobook and have voluntarily written the review.