A Sinister Slice of Murder

A Jessie Delacroix Murder Mystery

By: Constance Barker, A.J. DeBellis

Narrated by: Angel Clark

Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

A haunted inn...a ghostly séance...and a tearoom full of scrumptious delicacies!

Jessie Delacroix leaves the hustle and hassle of a new career as an assistant investigator for a law firm in Savannah to return to her roots in the small tourist town of Whispering Pines. The 25-year-old dynamo is not prepared for the ghosts who await her there in the haunted bed-and-breakfast and tearoom that she inherited and now must operate.

Not only does she find the spirits of those she loved long ago, but a sinister murder occurs just one day after her arrival. Is this a sign of malicious spirits...or foul play of another sort? The police are stumped, so it's up to Jessie and her little beagle, Arthur, to uncover the surprising answer - with a little help from her supernatural granny and a mystical pawnbroker.

Join Jessie, Arthur, Carlo (the short-tempered but lovable chef), Sheriff Muldoon, and a host of other characters as they explore the dark secrets of the haunted inn and the ghostly town of Whispering Pines. You'll find fun, humor, and an intriguing and detailed mystery, with all the clues meticulously laid out but hidden in plain sight. Only the best sleuths, like Jessie Delacroix, can pick them up. Can you solve the murder and predict the final twist?

This is the first book in a new paranormal murder-mystery series. Each book will lay out a well-crafted mystery to test your powers of perception as it slowly answers the bigger question: What is the secret of Whispering Pines? The series not only includes otherworldly spirits and psychic abilities, but it will also bring you visions of mouthwatering finger sandwiches, incredible canapés, and crab cakes that might just change your life!

©2015 Constance Barker (P)2016 Constance Barker

Good story, abrasive narrator

The story was a nice little mystery, with a paranormal touch. However, the narration hurt. Some of the voices were just grating.

Annoying delivery

The story was okay, not great. I'm sorry to say that the reader had an annoying voice. My impression was that reader was trying too hard to get into character and her voice screeched. I am not a fan of ghost stories, and this was definitely a story about ghosts (or spirits). That probably affected my review. Perhaps a woman in her 20's would have enjoyed.

Adequate paranormal mystery; marginal narration

Disclosure: free copy received in exchange for review.

Story rating 3.5; not 4 (could not give 1/2-star rating)

Although not my first paranormal mystery, this was not as tightly plotted as I prefer, with some twists telegraphed early (although the biggest twist was nearly concealed until an appropriate time). It filled a four-hour drive adequately, although I may not actively seek out any subsequent installments.

As for the narrator, I found it difficult to distinguish several sets of character voices from each other. In addition, more than one female character was voiced artificially high and squeaky.

entertaining

What a twisted greedy person. Suspenseful and intriguing. I enjoyed it. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a good job.

Good book

Love short stories. Constance Barker has a way with keeping you want to read more. Now to start the next one.

Cute mystery, narration not so much!

A Sinister Slice of Murder
A Jessie Delacroix Murder Mystery
By: Constance Barker, A.J. DeBellis
Narrated by: Angel Clark
This book I received from freeaudiblecodes and the review is voluntary. This is book one in the series and it has a cute mystery and I think it mostly is to introduce the characters too. The main character seems a bit hot headed at the beginning and then moves back home to run a B&B because the staff is upset because of the ghosts. We find it's the balls mom and grandma who play a big role in the book. She also has a beagle pup who also has a big part.
One of the patrons dies during a seance at the B&B. His head is cut off but in a way not to leave blood. Also the head is missing!
Her grandma keeps possessing the poor dog so she can leave the residence to look for clues as our gal walks him. It's really a fairly good story but the narration is pretty poor. No matter the voice, it is just wrong. This would be better as a book unless the author gets a different narrator.
Overall, A fair mystery, a cute dog, some interesting characters. Poor narration.

Spooky

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

Spirits, a seance, and a gruesome murder. 3 things I always thought would go well together lol. I personally never really believed in spirits but grandma is soo funny!
Arther the beagle plays a integral part the murder case busts wide open! And goodness it’s crazy good.

Loved it! :))))

Great story with some interesting twists. The characters were fun and likable. Narrator did a great job. Looking forward to more by this author and narrator.

Excellent

Jessie inherited a bed and breakfast place, wanting a quiet life after the hustle of her job in Savannah. She didn’t count on the ghosts that Iinhabit this place,then murder the next day or was it a prank.
Enjoyed as I have her other stories I have read.

Great story

it took me a while to get into the story but then I really enjoyed it. I did not enjoy the narrator. It reminded me of anime- very chirppy and clippy.

Don't lose your head over this book

This was a fun listen and a good start to a new series. It was fairly short listen so great for cars rides. I did know who the killer was but with its easy style it keeps you listening until the end to see if you are right. The plot was good and it is obviously setting up a story for later books. The one thing that had me confused was the main character is she a medium or a witch, it never really explained or why she could talk to ghosts. I liked the characters especially the gran who kept taking possession of the dog so she could help solve the case. Look forward to the next book.
Jessie returns home to help save her grans bed & breakfast and tea room. It seems that the ghost of her grandmother is scareing away customers, as well as staff. Apon arrival she discovers that not only has her Gran stuck around but also her mother and they want to help. One of the ways the B&B is drumming up business is by holding a seance for a grieving family who want to contact there dead son. The problem is, the father loses his head, literally, during the middle of the seance and what was meant to help the business could mean the end of it. Jessie with the help from her gran sets out to find the killer so the B&B can reopen. The murder weapon turns out to be trick to pin down and with everybody present it should be an easy case to solve. However with the lights going out, nobody saw anything and Jessie will have her work cut out for her. Can she work out the reason for the murder? And in doing so will that unmask the killer? Or will.there be another body?
I liked the narrator. I have heard a number of books read by her and have always found she puts a lot of energy and emotion into her reading.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.