Always Murder

The Last Picks, Book 9

By: Gregory Ashe

Narrated by: Andrew Gibson

The only thing worse than murder is…no murder?

It’s Christmastime, and Dashiell Dawson Dane (just Dash) is looking forward to a quiet holiday season—no unexpected visitors, no relationship drama, and absolutely no murders.

But when his friend Millie asks for help, Dash says yes. Because that’s what friends do.

Millie’s brother, he learns, has been accused of stealing packages from his job as a delivery driver. Worse, he’s been fired. So, Millie’s request is simple: clear her brother’s name—and, in the process, save Christmas.

No small task, it turns out, as Dash faces a suspiciously hostile warehouse manager, stumbles onto a family of porch pirates, and somehow gets roped into the Nought Family Nativity Pageant. And when Millie’s brother disappears, Dash fears the worst. In Dash’s (growing) experience, that can only mean one thing…

Because it’s always murder.

Isn’t it?

©2025 Gregory Ashe (P)2025 Gregory Ashe

Best narration!

The story line is great, characters are fun and quirky, but what always does it for me is the narration. It brings the book to life and Andrew Gibson does a terrific job.

More Millie

The Last Picks are a family, one they created for themselves. While Millie's own family may dismiss and overlook her, Dash and the rest are always there... even when it involves murder. Loved this next installment, which has Dash and Millie (or shall we say Jinx! :-) solving a porch pirate mystery that leads to murder in typical madcap fashion. While I wanted to b*slap Millie's sisters, having Millie shine at the end gave me all the feels. Fun and engaging mystery and another excellent narration means I'll listen to this book again, at Christmastime.

Can't Get Enough

I can't get enough of these stories, although isn't it about time for Dash to actually finish a book?? lol - I love the way Gregory Ashe is developing the relationships between the main characters and Andrew Gibson gives another perfect performance.

Entertaining listen.

I am feeling a bit conflicted about this audiobook. I enjoyed the story. Gregory Ashe uses the meta approach to storytelling extremely well. Andrew Gibson’s animated performance of Dash is excellent. Both Ashe’s writing and Gibson’s performance together are entertaining, but the resolution wasn’t satisfying this time. If you have been reading the Last Picks series up to this volume, you have probably noticed that the author is using different writing techniques and mystery tropes in each book. I don’t like this trope. I never liked this one. I usually feel like the author is maliciously trying to trick me. To me, that approach seems counterproductive in a work designed to entertain people. I don’t think the trope used in this book will ever be on my “to read” list, but I had fun listening to the rest of the story. Some of the hints about burgeoning relationships and plot directions have me intrigued. I appreciate Andrew Gibson’s performance so much that I usually wait for the narration, but I am seriously contemplating reading ahead instead of waiting for the audiobook. This book is definitely worth listening to. So, yeah. Go listen now. It’s worth your time.

A little Christmas tear!

I don’t know if I’m hormonal or what, but that ending made me tear up also!

Andrew Gibson, as always, really brings this book alive. I even read the books in his voice now!

I wouldn’t call this book Christmas heavy. I saved it until this week right before Christmas to stay in the mood, but . . . I guess if I had any criticism, that would be it. And that criticism is tiny, minute, even. The mystery was a bit convenient, but cozy mysteries tend to be that way. I’m always coming back for the characters here and not necessarily for the mysteries. If I want deep mysteries from Greg, well, I’m going to his other series. Anyway, a fun romp!