The Witching Place: A Fatal Folio

A Curious Bookstore Cozy Mystery, Book 1

By: Sophie Love

Narrated by: Valarie Falken

Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

The Witching Place: A Fatal Folio is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by best-selling author Sophie Love, author of the Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a number one best seller.

When Alexis Blair, 29, is fired from her book publishing job and breaks up with her boyfriend on the same day, she wonders if life is urging her to make a fresh start. She decides it’s time to pursue her lifelong dream of opening a bookstore of her own - even if that means leaving Boston and accepting a job in a curious bookstore in a small seaside town an hour away.

But the odd shop, Alexis soon learns, is from more than just a rare, occult bookstore. Something strange is going on in the shop’s secret back room, with its eccentric owner, and in the small town itself.

And when a dead body appears, Alexis, with her beloved newfound cat, may find herself right in the middle of it all.

A pause-resisting cozy, rife with the supernatural, mystery, secrets, and love - and centered around a small town as odd and endearing as its shop - A Curious Bookstore will make you fall in love and keep you laughing out loud as you listen late into the night.

Books number two and three in the series - Murder by Manuscript and A Perilous Page - are now also available!

©2020 Sophie Love (P)2020 Sophie Love

Starting life anew.

Story line was good. Kept my interest. Characters were also believeable and interesting. Would recommend to all.

Fun cozy mystery with great characters & setting

This is a fun listen and a great start to the series. I enjoyed the narration. I didn’t see the ending coming so it kept me guessing. Recommended!

Cozy mystery & great narration

At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but it didn’t take long to get hooked and binge listen to it. The narrator does a great job bringing the book to life!

Will purchase the rest of the series.

I thought I accidentally got a children's book!

Of course you know from the title it's going to be a fun silly little read. So I wasn't expecting heavyosity, danger and drama, But I looked forward to being entertained by a nice light tale. The problem is actually the narrator's voice. She really sounds very very young, and coupled with the protagonist in the story being a young woman, the combination makes it sound like a children's book and the main character like a teenager. I'm definitely not into YA books and not a big fan of romance either. With her high, light, overly excited voice, it pulled down the quality of the story for me.

Several reviewers have described this piece as a "cozy mystery," and that I have no objection to. I've read a number of books in that vein. Who doesn't like women finding the courage to start over, mysterious cats, a bit of magic, and lots and lots of books?! But that little kiddie voice was just too much for me.

Although I did end up enjoying the arc of the story. I don't think I will listen to more in this series. I might pick them up on Kindle and just read them. Utilize this narrator's talents by giving her children's books to narrate. I do think she'd be excellent at it.

feels like a YA book

The main character is supposed to a mature woman but the narrator makes her sound like a young teen. Overall the story and the voice together are unsatisfactory. Might have felt differently if the narrator sounded like an adult.

Disappointed

Really struggled with this one. I could not finish it. I was very disappointed.

The narrator wrecks the experience

She sounds like she is reading each sentence for the first time without a clue to where to place the emphasis. It’s bad enough to avoid the other books in the series. Who hired her?

Narration not a good fit

I enjoyed the story fairly well. It was a bit silly in places but overall ok. But the narrator was not a good fit for this book. I think she’d be great as a children’s book narrator but she made this entire story seem so juvenile that I came back to the book details to check to see if this was YA. It was easier to listen to at 1.2x.