The Last Draft - A cozy bookshop murder mystery full of twists

THE FIRST IN A NEW SERIES

De: Agatha Frost

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

The FIRST BOOK in an irresistibly charming British village murder mystery series full of twists and turns…

Meet Ellie Swan... an introverted bookworm with a history degree stuck at a crossroads. After putting her degree to work in a TV studio's historical continuity department for years, the studio merges with a giant streaming service and Ellie loses her dream job. She finds herself working in a coffee shop to make ends meet, and while waiting for the perfect opportunity to come along... she gets a phone call informing her that her dear Granny Maggie has broken her hip.

Leaving the city and her coffee shop job behind, Ellie returns to her quaint hometown of Meadowfield to care for her grandmother, but she finds more than just the family's beloved bookshop, Meadowfield Books, in disarray. Granny Maggie's hip was broken during a robbery gone wrong, and the thief—a relative of a deceased local author—is found dead. The item the thief stole? The local author's final manuscript.

While juggling caring for her grandmother and running the failing bookshop, Ellie finds herself in a web of mystery and murder, as she encounters a cast of characters each with a motive for coveting the author's final manuscript. Utilising her passion for history and her old community ties, Ellie untangles a series of clever clues and red herrings. From the financial desperation of the thief's father to the secretive actions of a local historian and antique dealer, the plot thickens when another of the family is also found dead. With a knack for history and a heart for sleuthing, Ellie uncovers hidden truths, from coveted manuscripts to clandestine motives, but can Ellie's keen insights and tenacity ensure justice is served? And will she find a renewed sense of purpose in her long-forgotten home?

Find out in The Last Draft, the first book in the NEW Meadowfield Mysteries series, a quintessentially British cozy mystery series packed with heart, charm, and a cracking mystery full twists and turns. Perfect for those who love a good puzzle served up with a side of homemade scones and village gossip.

Discover the secrets of Meadowfield, where every page turned is a clue unveiled...

Good story!

The automaton voice ruined the good story! No voice inflection, no emotion or correct pauses. Felt bad for the author… it is a good story.

story deserves better narration

The story was a delightful cozy story that left you guessing. However, as the other reviewers have mentioned, the AI narrator almost ruins it. I would love to listen to the next book in the series but I won't if it is not a human narrator. if cost is the barrier, please tell your producers that your fans want their support of your work to qualify for human narration.

Perfectly cozy

So hard to find such a delightful story that doesn't have harsh language. This story was wonderfully written!

Very good story but AI voice almost ruined it.

See above! I feel bad for any of these authors that have an AI voice. I’m sure they didn’t choose it. This one lacks warmth and the story was actually quite good so it seemed out of place.

The Last Draft

The plot seemed to cut corners at times and it took me a bit to become invested in the characters.

Narrated by AI audio voice and you can tell.

The book had a decent story line and plot. It wasn't anything to keep you on the edge of your seat and the story was pretty predictable, but it was a nice easy listen. The ai narration was not great. AI doesn't understand voice inflections, some pronunciations and doesn't differentiate the voices of different characters. I won't be listening to the rest of the series.

Unimpressed

The story itself is mediocre but not awful. The narration is awful. No inflection, no differentiation between voices.

Good mystery story, not good reader

The plot and characters are great. I enjoyed the story very much, but the reader is a digital voice with odd pauses, inflections, and pronunciations. The voice sounds very real and comfortable, but the random comma-pauses, like between an adjective and its noun, and the strange emphases on the wrong words in a sentence make it seem like its digital before you realize it actually is.

AI narration barely tolerable

I would have enjoyed this book much more had I read it myself. The odd timing of the AI voice was confusing and took me out of the story several times. I hope this isn’t the future of audio books.

Decent cozy mystery decent world building

Good read as Audible Plus benefit. Would not buy but then again, wouldn’t buy most mysteries because once I know whodunnit I don’t want to read again.

AI voice was decent but read every character the sans so easy to lose track of which character is speaking