Mabel Gets the Ax

Mysteries of Medicine Spring, Book 1

De: Susan Kimmel Wright

Narrado por: Lauren Pedersen

Mabel plans to bring the thrills of volunteering to the masses—if she doesn’t get the ax first.

After losing her job of 23 years, Mabel decides to launch what will surely be a glamorous new career as an author. Having recently inherited her late grandmother’s house, she has the freedom to spend time volunteering and writing about her experiences.

Unfortunately, Mabel’s plans soon go off the rails. Her inheritance comes with decades of clutter, an overgrown lot, a dog named Barnacle, and a neighbor with an ax to grind. And her first assignment as a Medicine Spring Historical Society volunteer is to lead a tour of the Sauer Mansion, locally known as the “Ax Murder House,” site of a notorious 1930s double homicide.

As Mabel shepherds her tour group through the house, it appears history’s repeating itself when she stumbles across a body in the parlor. Finding herself on the suspect list, Mabel scrambles to figure out who swung the fatal ax. In the process, she can’t help being drawn into investigating the unsolved historic murders, teamed up with PI John Bigelow, a man she isn’t sure she can trust. With an ax murderer on the loose, will Mabel be next?

©2021 Susan Kimmel Wright (P)2023 Mountain Brook Ink

4 of 5 stars Cozy Mystery

Introduction:

Cozy mysteries follow their own pattern.

Sometimes, the main character is super sharp, and other times, they’re lucky they can tie their shoes. Mabel falls somewhere in between but closer to the hapless heroine.



Specs:

· Title: Mabel Gets the Ax

· Series: Mysteries of Medicine Spring, Book 1

· Author: Susan Kimmel Wright

· Narrated by: Lauren Pedersen

· Run time: 9 hrs and 5 min


Summary:

After losing her job, Mabel decides she’s going to be a writer. She lives in her grandmother’s old house but hasn’t quite sorted the estate stuff.


As with all cozy mysteries, someone kicks the bucket pretty quickly. It’s Hellen, one of the less nice people Mabel meets at the Medicine Spring Historical Society. Mabel visits the society in the hopes of volunteering and getting good intel for her book.


Additional Comments:

· Mabel ticks off all the right box for cozy heroine. Older, not the young and hot type, has a dog, has a cat, etc. Couldn’t remember the dog’s name, but he is lively.

· The book is about 2 hours too long.

· There was an awful lot of talking in the book. One decent action scene near the end.

· I’m not sure what kind of investigating Mabel would have done if she didn’t have John Bigelow bust into her life.

· It was a little amusing that new family members seemed to pop up late in the book. (Didn’t know she had a sister til like 7 hours in.)

· The mystery ties up nicely, both past and present.

· Character is likable. Friend is nice but sort of forgettable.

· John’s there as a suitable excuse to talk about the case.

· There’s even a nice red herring thrown in.

· Performance was well done. The voices were distinguishable. I sped it up but I speed up pretty much all books.


Rating and Conclusion: 4 of 5 stars

A decent cozy mystery.


* I was given a free copy of the audiobook by either the author or narrator. I've freely chosen to review the story. All thoughts are my own.

Love this story

This story is very engaging and is it entertaining very unusual for me to not be able to figure out who did it before the very end so loved us.

cozy mystery

This was a well narrated enjoyable listen with some interesting characters. Did not expect the killer.
I received a free copy for an honest review

Mabel gets the ax

This was a really good who dunnit. Poor Mabel is in for trouble when she tries to join the historical society after losing her job and moving to her grandmas house. People hold grudges for decades. Lauren Pedersen was a terrific narrator. I was given this book free for an honest review.

Great cozy story

Mabel gets the ax by Susan Kimmel Wright is an entertaining cozy story. When Mabel gets fired from her law firm after 26 years, she decides to reinvent herself as an author. She inherited her grandmother’s house and is clearing it out, while easing herself into her new profession. She joins the Medicine Springs Historical Society to get material for her book on volunteering. Unfortunately, her first tour of the Sauer House (Ax Murder House) discovers a dead body! The current murder mirrors the 1930’s murder in the same place. Mabel works with PI John Bigelow to solve the murder. I enjoyed watching Mabel revamp her life, develop new relationships and play with her dog and cat. The narration by Lauren Pedersen is wonderful. She brings the story and characters to life with her performance. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book.

5 Stars

Mabel Gets the Ax is an entertaining cozy mystery. I look forward to the next book.

Fun book

This was a fun and lol book. The story was written well and narrator was great. Being 50, Mabel is a busy, fun and always finding trouble lady.

Unlikable characters, terrible narrator

This title was suggested to me by an Audible customer service rep so I thought I would give it a try. Very painful listen and glad it's over. I give it one star out of respect for the writer for seeing this mess through to the end and getting it published.

The main character is an unkind, self-centered, passive-aggressive, lazy crybaby who doesn't understand why she's not taken seriously. Perhaps it's because even though she's gagging to join the historical society, she balks at being asked to do anything. She tells people she's a writer even though she hasn't written anything. She claims to be a feminist but is surprisingly silly and helpless. She's supposed to be a lawyer but is easily bewildered, panicky, and distracted (especially by food). She complains constantly, be it to herself or to anyone who will listen, and is rude and obtuse. She has a best friend that often does her favors but the one time the friend needs her help she acts like she doesn't see her friend's predicament. And rather than state her preference she pouts until the other person coddles her. And the constant food obsession is just sad. It's not funny or cute. It just makes this already challenging character even more pathetic and impossible to root for. I understand wanting characters to be real and relatable but there's a point where real and relatable becomes tedious and aggravating.

The plot is thin and the author makes it clear pretty early on who the culprit is. Many of the characters are one-dimensional and act irrationally and they only seem to pop up when the author wants some drama.

And finally, the narrator sounds like the computer-generated voices on TikTok videos; a nasal monotone that makes it difficult to figure out who's speaking.

I'm not prone to posting negative reviews, but I'm pretty upset that I wasted a credit on this nonsense.